Biocapsule Can Provide Steady Insulin Supply; Potential Breakthrough for Diabetes Patients
Pushing the frontiers of drug delivery technology, a biomedical engineer at the University of Illinois at Chicago has developed an implantable capsule that releases a steady supply of insulin to the bloodstream of people with diabetes. The biocapsule, developed by Tejal Desai with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), features two innovations designed to overcome previous obstacles. A biological process allows the capsule to continuously produce insulin, rather than using up a limited supply. The capsule is made of a material designed to overcome the problem of implant rejection.
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NSF-Funded Researchers Track Alaska Seal Migration for the First Time
Using a remarkable combination of time-tested hunting knowledge, the application of common-sense ingenuity and high-tech satellite tracking, researchers supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), working with Alaska Native hunters, have captured, electronically tagged, and tracked a ringed seal in its spring migration as it moved northward with the ice of the Chukchi Sea. This is the first time anyone has tracked a ringed seal in open sea ice, and its success has not only increased knowledge about the seal's movements, but also enhanced trust and mutual respect between scientists and custodians of traditional ecological knowledge, according to Gay Sheffield of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG).
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Tiny Films Have Promising Future as Nanoscale "Filters"
Films such as cell membranes, that allow the passage of some substances while blocking others are ubiquitous in nature. Artificial ones, ranging from the filters in seawater desalination plants to the oxygen-blocking plastic wrap in your kitchen, are also common. Now a research team at Northwestern University, supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), has developed a thin-film material with nanometer-sized cavities that serves as a molecular gatekeeper.
More... (posted November 1, 2001)