A research team funded by the National Science Council announced yesterday that combining certain nanomaterials with stem cells could offer a new cardiovascular regeneration treatment.
In the past, medical applications of nanomaterials have focused mainly on the detection and treatment of cancer, said research team leader Yeh Chen-sheng (葉晨聖), a professor of physical chemistry in National Cheng Kung University.
The nanomaterials used now have multiple functions of carrying medicine to the designated organs and dissolving in the diseased cells, tracking the effects of medicine and serving as a more effective treatment for cancer and congestive heart failure, he said.
According to team member Patrick Hsieh (謝清河), an associate professor and attending surgeon at the university’s Department of Surgery and Graduate Institute of Biomedical Engineering, the major problem for congestive heart failure treatment is organ transplant rejection. Injected stem cells have a low survival rate, and their use is too time consuming when treating acute myocardial infarction (sudden heart attack).
Heart disease was among the top five causes of death in Taiwan, killing nearly 500,000 people, according to a report on the 10 major causes of death between 2001 and 2005.
The team is now working on taking their research to a clinical level, hoping to make a breakthrough in the treatment of heart disease.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
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