AT&T Labs Builds an Asthma-Trigger Detection Device
The chemical-sniffing setup will send data to the Web so doctors and patients can get a better sense of what causes attacks.
Contributors
Susan Young
Follow @twitterapiBiomedicine Editor
I’m the biomedicine editor for MIT Technology Review. I look for stories where technology stands to improve human health or advance our understanding of the human condition.
I joined MIT Technology Review in March 2012 after a brief stint in the Washington, D.C., news bureau of the scientific journal Nature. Before I ventured to the East Coast, I spent several years in the San Francisco Bay Area as a doctoral student in molecular biology and one whirlwind year in science-writing boot camp in Santa Cruz.
In California, I wrote for the Stanford University press offices, the Multiple Sclerosis Discovery Forum, and the Salinas Californian newspaper. I grew up in a small town in eastern Texas, surrounded by bird song, rolling cattle fields, and lanky pine trees. When I’m not exploring health tech, you will probably find me cooking or giggling over an exceptional LOLcat.
Susan Young's Stories
Type
Scorpion Protein Illuminates Brain Tumors for Surgeons
A compound derived from a toxin from scorpion venom could help neurosurgeons differentiate between healthy and cancerous brain tissue.
Patient Shows New Dexterity with a Mind-Controlled Robot Arm
With twice as many electrodes in her brain as previous study participants, a paralyzed woman can move a robotic arm with unprecedented flexibility.
Healthy Genetic Variants Used to Make New Cholesterol Drugs
By mimicking genetic variation in people with naturally low levels of cholesterol, drug developers are hoping to create a new drug.
Brain Pacemaker Tested on Alzheimer’s Patients
In an experimental trial, surgeons have implanted deep-brain stimulators into U.S. and Canadian Alzheimer’s patients.
Gene Therapy on the Mend as Treatment Gets Western Approval
Regulatory approval of a gene therapy treatment in Europe could spark broader patient access to the technology.
Pass the Turkey Genome
Researchers are using genomics to breed a better Thanksgiving bird.
Genetic Screening Can Uncover Risky Matches at the Sperm Bank
A startup called GenePeeks will identify recessive diseases that could show up in children of sperm-bank clients and donors.
Xerox Designs System to Reduce Busywork for Nurses
The system automatically pulls up patient files and lets nurses use mobile devices to document work.
Organ-on-a-Chip Mimics Deadly Lung Condition
The organ-mimicking microdevice may one day reduce the need for animal testing.
