News

April 23, 2018

New test could tell doctors whether patients will respond to chemotherapy

Less than half the patients diagnosed with cancer respond favorably to chemotherapy, but a new method for testing how patients will respond to various drugs could pave the way for more personalized treatment.

Using Doppler light scattering, like a weather radar, researchers can determine how a patient will respond to chemotherapy even before they begin treatment.

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April 19, 2018

‘Key factor’ in development of Parkinson’s disease identified

Purdue University researchers Jean-Christophe “Chris” Rochet and Dr. Riyi Shi say their discovery of a key factor in the development of Parkinson’s disease could lead to new therapies, potentially including drugs currently on the market; it could facilitate earlier diagnosis and prevention of the neurological disorder. (Purdue University photo/Alex Kumar)

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April 16, 2018

Purdue contributes to experiments on light-matter interactions for potential quantum technology applications

Purdue researchers collaborated in a Rice University-led study detecting a quantum shift that results from the strong coupling of light and an ultra-high mobility two-dimensional electron gas rotating in opposite directions.

The work, published on April 16 in Nature Photonics, describes a system predicted to go into a new ground state (or state of lowest energy) that physicists could use to study phase transitions and possibly harness for the development of quantum bits for advanced computing. Researchers found that inducing strong coupling of light and matter in the form of a two-dimensional electron gas leads to a quantum interaction of counter-rotating fields called the Bloch-Siegert shift.

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April 12, 2018

Microscopic oxygen bubbles could help improve cancer therapeutics and accelerate wound healing

A Purdue University-patented technology shows promise in using microscopic bubbles filled with oxygen to help with various medical treatments, including improving cancer therapeutics and helping wounds heal faster.

Samara Biotech LLC, a Purdue startup, has developed an easy-to-use method to inject oxygen “nanobubbles” intravenously so they can be targeted precisely at wounds or cancerous tumors. The bubbles do not actually do the therapies, but enhance other therapies, such as improving chemotherapeutics or radiation efficacy, said Pushpak Bhandari, Samara Biotech founder.

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April 9, 2018

Repeat spawning comes with tradeoffs for trout

Steelhead trout that spawn multiple times have more than twice the lifetime reproductive success of single spawning trout, suggesting there is a substantial benefit associated with repeat spawning. But it comes with a tradeoff, according to new research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Repeat spawners make the dangerous journey from the ocean to their freshwater spawning grounds multiple times throughout their lives, while single spawners take the risk only once.

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March 27, 2018

New glass-like polymer could conduct electricity for transparent electronics

Purdue researchers have created a transparent polymer film that also conducts electricity, introducing an inexpensive organic material for applications such as the screens of electronic devices.

While some polymers can already conduct electricity with the help of a process called chemical doping, none have yet been made that conduct just as well in a transparent form. This combination could find use in TV, phone and computer screens that currently use a relatively expensive inorganic material, indium tin oxide, to serve as a transparent conductor.

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