Professor Dennis Yuk Ming Lo, associate dean of medicine at Chinese University, has developed a new method called liquid biopsy, which he claims can detect many kinds of cancer at a very early stage. Lo’s method decodes millions of DNA fragments in a human’s blood with the use of a DNA-sequencing machine. The results are then compared to that of a normal human genome or a complete set of human DNA. Researchers can now spot rearranged DNA patterns – a significant sign of a tumor. The liquid biopsy technology, cited by MIT Technology Review, is the result of over 20 years of research.

Researchers have found that loading magnetic nanoparticles, to deliver the clot-busting drug tPA (tissue plasminogen activator), offers a much more efficient journey, promising to destroy blood clots 100 to 1,000 times faster and aid significantly in the prevention of heart attacks and strokes.

Read the Newswise press release for more details about the findings. The research paper is available online:

Voros et al. TPA Immobilization on Iron Oxide Nanocubes and Localized Magnetic Hyperthermia Accelerate Blood Clot Lysis. Adv Funct Mater. 2015 Feb 11. [early view]

Sourcebooks has announced that it will be publishing a cookbook by IBM’s Watson. Due in April, Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson is a collaboration between IBM and the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). The culinary experts at ICE developed 65 original recipes, inspired by unconventional ingredient pairings generated by the supercomputer, including Spanish Almond Crescent, Creole Shrimp-Lamb Dumplings, Austrian Chocolate Burrito, Hoof-and-Honey Ale, Vietnamese Apple Kebab, Poutine and Chili—and, of course, bacon via Belgian Bacon Pudding. Because a computer cannot technically “taste” in the way a human can, Watson looks at ingredients partnered in existing recipes, according to Florian Pinel, senior technical member, IBM Watson.

Also, see Cognitive Cooking to learn about the IBM food truck that’s using computing to reinvent your favorite foods.