Researchers at the University of Lancaster have developed a smart material that can help those with affective disorders, such as anxiety, bi-polar disorder and depression, to monitor their emotions. The smart material, worn as a wrist band, can alert the user to a change in emotion in real time, sometimes even if they have not […]
Tag: Materials
Ultrasound and Microbubbles Used to Penetrate the Blood-Brain Barrier
While the blood-brain barrier (BBB) protects the brain from infections, it also makes it difficult to get drugs that treat neurological conditions to where they’re needed. Now, researchers at Columbia University have shown that their ultrasound technique can open up the BBB and allow for the delivery of therapeutic proteins and genes into the brain. […]
Graphene Sensor Inside Microfluidic Chip Detects Bacteria in Tiny Samples
Graphene, a two dimensional material made of a layer of carbon exactly one atom thick, has a variety of interesting properties. When used as a field-effect transistor, it can detect slight physical forces applied to its surface, making it particularly useful for diagnostics where targets are microscopically small. Researchers at Osaka University in Japan have […]
3D-Printing Utilized to Grow New Human Hair
Researchers from the Columbia University Irving Medical Center have developed a tissue engineering and 3D printing method to grow new hair follicles and stop hair loss. Their work, recently published in Nature Communications, demonstrates that they were able to grow human hair follicles in a dish and on mice for the first time. These hair […]
Researchers 3D Print Materials to Mimic Soft Tissues and Create Custom Braces
3D printing is already widely utilized in medicine during cardiac surgeries, to make orthopedic implants, and as guides to accurately put them in place. Typically, the devices that are printed are rigid, but the body is mostly made of soft tissues. Engineers at MIT have been working on offering clinicians a way to use additive […]
Method Makes PET Tracers out of Common Biomolecules
Researchers from the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed new radioactive tracers to track pharmaceuticals in the body and to image cancer. The findings, reported in journal Science, describe the new chemistry they have developed, along with data that demonstrate that the team was able to radioactively tag compounds that have […]
Contrast Agent Uses Heart’s Electricity to Activate Itself
Imaging the heart for signs of disease is still quite rudimentary. While CT, ultrasound, and PET (positron-emission tomography) scanners generate impressive looking graphics, they’re a long way from giving doctors a true representation of the anatomy and function of the heart and nearby vasculature. Contrast agents are widely used to allow these modalities to produce […]
Stretchable E-Tattoo for Long-Term Heart Monitoring
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a wearable heart monitor which can assess heart health over several days. The research team call the device an “e-tattoo” and claim that its stretchability makes it more comfortable and convenient to wear compared with previously developed devices. The device is the first stretchable, ultrathin […]
Multi-Organ Lab-on-a-Chip for Cancer Drug Testing
Researchers at Hesperos, Inc., a biotech firm based in Florida, have collaborated with Roche and the University of Central Florida to develop a multi-organ lab-on-a-chip system for drug testing. The device includes human organ-derived tissue constructs that allow for the efficacy and side-effects of anti-cancer drugs in various organs to be tested in a way […]
Engineers Create Cross-Linked Hydrogels to Lure Stem Cells Into Wounds
Hydrogels have become a popular material for new treatment strategies targeting a variety of diseases. They can deliver encapsulated therapeutic molecules, degrade in the body at a predefined rate, and can be biocompatible. However, each application requires the hydrogel to have appropriate strength, consistency, and the ability to carry growth factors or other molecules within […]
Crisper MRI Now Possible Thanks to Helical Resonator Metamaterials
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a complicated imaging modality and improving it requires a deep understanding of the physics involved. Scientists at Boston University have been working on improving MRI’s signal-to-noise ratio using special metamaterials that are made of arrays of helical resonators. Each of these resonators is just a piece of plastic with copper […]
Octopus-Inspired Wearable Biosensor Sticks to Wet and Dry Skin
Researchers from Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) in South Korea have developed a new waterproof, wearable biosensor that can stick to the skin in a unique way. Their work, recently published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, demonstrates the biosensor adheres to the skin in wet and dry conditions and can monitor […]
New Bioink for 3D Printing and Protein Therapy
Researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a 3D-printable hydrogel bioink containing mineral nanoparticles that can deliver protein therapeutics to control cell behavior. The material does not provoke the immune system and the researchers hope that it could be useful in replacing damaged tissues for regenerative medicine. 3D printing is a promising method for creating […]
Patches Made of Heart Tissue Going to Clinical Trials
Stem cell therapies to heal damaged hearts have proven to be lacking so far, probably because simply injecting new cells into afflicted regions isn’t enough. Researchers from Imperial College London have now created patches made of cardiac tissue to sew over damaged areas of the heart. These patches, which can beat on their own to […]
Body-Worn Electric Generator to Power Medical Implants, Wearable Devices
Many implantable and wearable devices need access to continuously available electrical power. Implants, such as cardiac pacemakers, often have to be exchanged for new ones during surgery because modern batteries have a limited lifetime. Engineers at Rice University have been working on a small and flat generator that is capable of producing significant amounts of […]
Bioabsorbable Wound Dressing with Nanoscale Chitosan to Rapidly Stop Bleeding
Chitosan is a sugar compound derived from the exoskeletons of shrimp, crab, and other shellfish. It is used extensively in medicine, including in dressings, because of its well known hemostatic properties. These properties work at the nanoscale, so delivering tiny bits of chitosan to the site of a wound can help improve how it works […]
Electronic Wristband With Flexible Batteries Helps Maintain Body Temperature
It has been well known that using localized cooling and heating can help people regulate their body temperature, reduce muscle fatigue during exercise, and generally make feel better. Heating and cooling pads are quite bulky, heavy, and don’t provide much control of their temperature, making them difficult to use in practice. Engineers at the University […]
3D Printed ELISA Pipette Tips for Low Cost Medical Testing
Researchers at the University of Connecticut have developed a 3D printed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) device, which fits onto a normal pipette and substantially reduces the time and cost of this common medical test. The device could allow for medical testing in remote or low-resource regions, where such tests would otherwise be unavailable. ELISA tests […]
Preserving Vaccines at Room Temperature Finally Possible
The availability of vaccines in poor and remote regions is usually the result of a lack of proper storage and transportation options. For most vaccines to survive, they must be kept cold and within a prescribed temperature range. Storage areas have to have fridges with access to reliable electricity and the delivery cars and trucks […]
Microscopic Graphene Flakes to Stop Epileptic Seizures
During epileptic seizures, the brain’s excitatory neurons go haywire, generating extreme amounts of electric activity. There are already electronic devices available that help to prevent and mitigate seizures, but so far they’re only effective in some patients while having all the downsides of a serious implantation. A team of European researchers from Sissa (International School […]