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Visualization of blood flow sharpens artificial heart design

Using magnetic cameras, researchers at Linköping University have examined blood flow in an artificial heart in real time. The results make it possible to design the heart in a way to reduce the risk of blood clots and red blood cell breakdown, a common problem in today’s artificial hearts.

The study, published in Scientific Reports, was done in collaboration with the company Scandinavian Real Heart AB, which is developing an .

“The heart is a muscle that never rests. It can never rest. The heart can beat for a hundred years without being serviced or stopping even once. But constructing a pump that can function in the same way—that’s a challenge,” says Tino Ebbers, professor of physiology at Linköping University.

Piecing together the puzzle of future solar cell materials

Global electricity use is increasing rapidly and must be addressed sustainably. Developing new materials could give us much more efficient solar cell materials than at present; materials so thin and flexible that they could encase anything from mobile phones or entire buildings.

Using computer simulation and , researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have now taken an important step toward understanding and handling halide perovskites, among the most promising but notoriously enigmatic materials.

Electricity use is constantly increasing globally and, according to the International Energy Agency, its proportion of the world’s total energy consumption is expected to exceed 50% in 25 years, compared to the current 20%.

Home high-intensity aerobic training outperforms balance training for cerebellar ataxias

Columbia University Medical Center-led research reports that home high-intensity aerobic training improved ataxia symptoms, fatigue, and aerobic fitness more than dose-matched home balance training in individuals with cerebellar ataxias.

Cerebellar ataxias are a group of different disorders marked by progressive loss of coordination that leads to disability. About 150,000 people in the US live with these conditions, with mean annual health care costs above $18,000 per person. Ongoing trials are searching for treatments that slow disease progression and improve functional abilities. Clinical practice guidelines advise balance training for .

Previous work in ataxia has centered on balance-focused programs that can improve Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) scores by 1.0 to 2.8 points when exercises are sufficiently challenging, a range that meets or exceeds the minimal clinically significant difference of 1.0 point.

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