ARMONK, New York - IBM's announcement of the first biodegradable nanoparticles that can seek out and destroy drug-resistant bacteria caps off a century of healthcare and life sciences innovation from IBM.

Earlier this week, scientists from IBM Research announced ground breaking early research discovering new types of nanoparticles that are physically attracted like magnets to MRSA cells, ignoring healthy cells completely and targeting and killing the bacteria by poking holes in its walls. This discovery could greatly improve the effectiveness of medication. This innovation is just one example of IBM's ability to use principles and technologies from computing, physics, materials science and chemistry to advance the science of medicine.

To celebrate IBM's Centennial, the company is unveiling an "icon of progress" representing IBM's contributions to fighting infectious diseases and contributions to world health. From the first continuous blood separator which led to treatment for leukemia patients, the first heart lung machine to keep patients alive during surgery, to the excimer laser used in LASIK eye surgery, IBM has made vast contributions to the fields of healthcare and life sciences.
Today, one in every eight of the earth's inhabitants will be over 65 by 2030, and more than one billion people are overweight and another 388 million people will die in the next 10 years of a chronic disease. New ways to treat illnesses, battle major outbreaks and transform how healthcare is delivered around the world are critical for the health of populations and for the economic health of our communities.

Breakthroughs in nanotechnology, gene sequencing and even innovations in chip design will continue to improve healthcare around the world.

Recognizing World Health Day, IBM is also applying its expertise to address public health issues such as in Cross River State, Nigeria. Here biometric identification and solar energy are just a few of the technologies in use to provide access to free healthcare and reduce child and maternal mortality rates by a goal of 50 percent by the end of 2011.

Through the years, IBM has created hardware and applications specifically designed to improve care, diagnosis and treatment of disease, and advance how medical knowledge is shared.

· Working with the World Health Organization, IBM precisely mapped outbreaks of smallpox in 1976. This effort contributed to the eventual eradication of the disease in the general population a few years later.

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