Knowledge Update

New York, Dec 23 (IANS) Researchers have developed a new tattoo ink that glows only under certain light conditions and disappears later. It can better help in surgical treatment of patients with a form of skin cancer much more than the commercially available tattoo pigments.

Tattoos may not be just for body art, but are also used by the medical community for precisely demarcating future treatment landmarks. 

This is especially important for identifying biopsy sites of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) patients as they typically have to wait up to three months between a biopsy confirming their condition and treatment. 

However, the commercially available tattoo pigments inks can cause discomfort and inflammation.

The new ink developed by researchers led by Kai Chen University of Southern California is time-limited. Under ambient lighting, the nanoparticles are invisible, which would avoid unwanted markings in a patient's skin, and is a safer, more patient-friendly option. 

Testing in mice showed that tattoos created with these nanoparticles did not cause inflammation and lasted for three months. 

The study was published in the journal ACS Nano.

​London, Dec 23 (IANS) In a large human trial led by the World Health Organisation (WHO), an experimental Ebola vaccine was found highly protective against the deadly virus, promising an effective weapon against any future outbreak.

The vaccine is the first to prevent infection from one of the most lethal known pathogens, according to the results published in The Lancet journal. 

"While these compelling results come too late for those who lost their lives during West Africa's Ebola epidemic, they show that when the next Ebola outbreak hits, we will not be defenceless," said Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO's Assistant Director-General for Health Systems and Innovation, and the study's lead author.

In the most recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa that started in late 2013, more than 11,000 people lost their lives. The WHO removed the global emergency tag for the disease early this year.

The vaccine, called rVSV-ZEBOV, was studied in a trial involving 11,841 people in Guinea during 2015. 

Among the 5,837 people who received the vaccine, no Ebola cases were recorded 10 days or more after vaccination. 

In comparison, there were 23 cases 10 days or more after vaccination among those who did not receive the vaccine.

The trial was led by the World Health Organization, together with Guinea's Ministry of Health and other international partners.

The vaccine's manufacturer, Merck, Sharpe & Dohme, this year received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the United States Food and Drug Administration and PRIME status from the European Medicines Agency, enabling faster regulatory review of the vaccine once it is submitted.

Since Ebola virus was first identified in 1976, sporadic outbreaks have been reported in Africa. 

But the 2013-2016 West African Ebola outbreak, which resulted in more than 11,300 deaths, highlighted the need for a vaccine.

The trial took place in the coastal region of Basse-Guinée, the area of Guinea still experiencing new Ebola cases when the trial started in 2015. 

To assess safety, people who received the vaccine were observed for 30 minutes after vaccination, and at repeated home visits up to 12 weeks later. 

Approximately half reported mild symptoms soon after vaccination, including headache, fatigue and muscle pain but recovered within days without long-term effects. 

Two serious adverse events were judged to be related to vaccination (a febrile reaction and one anaphylaxis) and one was judged to be possibly related (influenza-like illness). 

All three recovered without any long term effects, the study reported.

Amman, Dec 22 (IANS/WAM) Japan has signed an agreement for a $254 million grant to Jordan to enhance its financial situation and support development policies to reform public services in the country.

​Brussels, Dec 22 (IANS) The European Police Office (Europol) has signed an agreement with EURid, the European Commission-appointed internet registry manager, to enhance internet security cooperation.

Beijing, Dec 22 (IANS) China's State Council has passed a plan on healthcare and medical system reform for the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020).

Health care development is basic to the drive for a "Healthy China" and crucial to addressing people's needs, said a statement on Wednesday released after a State Council

​New York, Dec 22 (IANS) Social media giant Facebook has roped in 17 US universities to help it speed up technology projects by collaborating with faculties and labs.

Regina Dugan, Vice President of Engineering and Head of the social network's Building 8 (B8) group announced a Sponsored Academic Research Agreement (SARA) designed to

Tokyo, Dec 22 (IANS) Japanese car manufacturer Honda has begun negotiations with Waymo, a Google subsidiary that builds self-driven vehicles, to collaborate on developing the technology further, the company said on Thursday.

​New York, Dec 22 (IANS) Researchers have created a bacteria-powered battery on a single sheet of paper that can power disposable electronics.

The manufacturing technique reduces fabrication time and cost, and the design could revolutionise the use of bio-batteries as a power source in remote, dangerous and

New York, Dec 22 (IANS) Disney's television arm will produce several original shows for Snapchat photo-sharing and mobile service starting with "Watch Party: The Bachelor" show from January 3, 2017. According to a report in the Variety on Wednesday, the episodes are expected to be three to five minutes long and will be available for 24 hours on Snapchat. Users can watch the series in the Snapchat Discover section and the season finale will be produced as a Snapchat Live Story. "We have been exploring ways to tell stories on mobile, and Snapchat was a very exciting canvas for us to work on," said John Frelinghuysen, Executive Vice President of digital media strategy and business development for Disney-ABC TV. It is expected that over the next few months, Disney-ABC TV will produce more shows on Snapchat. The deal entails that Disney-ABC will produce and sell advertising packages incorporating Snapchat's 10-second full screen video ads. "Snapchat inventory may be sold in a bundle with linear TV ad buys, or separately to digital-only sponsors," added Frelinghuysen. Earlier, Disney's subsidary, ABC had tied up with the Snapchat to curate Live Stories around its broadcast of the Academy Awards this February. "Disney-ABC have rewritten the rules for how to develop daring, fun and adventurous series for TV, mastering formats ranging from scripted to reality and from drama to comedy," said Nick Bell, Snap Inc.'s VP of content.

London, Dec 22 (IANS) Researchers have shown that instead of expensive equipment, smartphones can be used to make movies of living cells and observe their response to different treatments.

Live imaging of cells is a very powerful tool for the study of cells, to learn about how cells respond to different treatments such as drugs or toxins.

The study published in the journal PLOS ONE showed that a simple smartphone can replace expensive equipment used for the process.

"The technology presented here can readily be adapted and modified according to the specific need of researchers, at a low cost," said Johan Kreuger from Uppsala University in Sweden.

"Indeed, in the future, it will be much more common that scientists create and modify their own research equipment, and this should greatly propel technology development," Kreuger said.

In the present study, old standard inverted microscopes that are very abundant at universities and hospitals were upgraded to high quality live imaging stations using a few 3D-printed parts, off-the-shelf electronics, and a smartphone. 

It was shown that the resultant upgraded systems provided excellent cell culture conditions and enabled high-resolution imaging of living cells.