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Scientists at the NIH disclosed a novel adeno-associated virus (AAV) termed "44-9." AAV44-9 based vectors have high gene transfer activity in a number of cell types, including salivary gland cells, liver cells, and different types of neurons (e.g., cells of the cortex, olfactory bulb, and brain stem, and Purkinje cells of the cerebellum). These vectors can increase the transduction efficiency and decrease the potential of being neutralized by preexisting antibodies compared to the wild type AAV.

The subject technology discloses a tissue engineering method for treating cartilage damage. Stem cells from bone marrow are attached to a novel scaffold, hyaluronic acid-coated fibrin microbeads, and transferred to a live host to form cartilage. The regenerated cartilage is stable and not hypertrophic, which has been problematic in the current regenerative methods.

Rapid point-of-care, antibody-based testing is not available for the diagnosis of autoimmune and most infectious diseases. For detecting autoantibodies associated with most autoimmune conditions, fluid-phase immunoprecipitation assays are required. However, these assays usually involve radioactivity and are not feasible for point-of-care applications. The subject invention describes methods of using neodymium magnet for diagnosis of infectious and autoimmune diseases including lupus, Sjögren's syndrome, type I diabetes, HIV and Lyme disease.

CDC researchers have developed an improved dynamometer device and method for measuring maximum hand grip force or grip-strength. Human test subjects were used in conducting experiments to evaluate the handle and to assess the measurement method. In contrast to the currently used "Jamar handle" grip strength dynamometer devices, the cylindrical handle proved to be able to determine the overall grip strength for a subject, as well as show the grip force distribution around the circumference of the handle.

This CDC-developed technology describes a novel ergonomic device that supports a portion of the worker's weight while kneeling, relieving the knee pressure and pain common to many manual labor occupations. Unfortunately, many of the devices that have been used in the past to relieve pressure on the knees are bulky, heavy, and of questionable durability.

CDC researchers have developed technology that consists of a simple and inexpensive technique for creating fluorescent labeled primers for nucleic acid amplification. Fluorescent chemical-labeled probes and primers are extensively used in clinical and research laboratories for rapid, real-time detection and identification of microbes and genetic sequences. During nucleic acid amplification, the "UniFluor" primer is incorporated into newly synthesized double stranded DNA.

CDC scientists have developed a rapid and cost-efficient method for generating fluorescently labeled primers for PCR and real-time PCR. At present, fluorescent primers are useful for detecting and identifying microbes and specific nucleic acid sequences, amplifying nucleic acids for pyro-sequencing, determining the levels of gene expression, and many other uses. However, problems exist with current techniques used to create fluorescent primers. For one, labeling is not one hundred percent efficient, leading to inaccurate results.

CDC researchers have developed a novel method that generates globally amplified DNA copies retaining parental methylation information; making accurate DNA-archiving for methylation studies much more feasible and cost-effective than undertaking such an endeavor with alternate technologies. This unique approach eliminates a significant bottleneck in the collection of methylation information in the genome(s) of an individual organism, hosts and pathogens.

This CDC developed optimization technology allows one to characterize the behavior of the coefficient of variation (CV) for a range of mass spectrometer machine settings. Surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) are used for the early detection of numerous diseases, for example cervical cancer . A critical step in the analytical process is the optimization of experiment and machine settings to ensure the best possible reproducibility of results, as measured by the CV.

Micro-Screen is a CDC developed software program designed to capture images and archive and display a compiled image(s) from a portion of a microscope slide in real time. This program allows for the re-creation of larger images that are constructed from individual microscopic fields captured in up to five focal planes and two magnifications. This program may be especially useful for the creation of data archives for diagnostic and teaching purposes and for tracking histological changes during disease progression.