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Category: biotech/medical – Page 1,384

In DNA, scientists find solution to building superconductor that could transform technology

Scientists at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and their collaborators have used DNA to overcome a nearly insurmountable obstacle to engineer materials that would revolutionize electronics.

One possible outcome of such engineered materials could be superconductors, which have zero electrical resistance, allowing electrons to flow unimpeded. That means that they don’t lose energy and don’t create heat, unlike current means of electrical transmission. Development of a superconductor that could be used widely at room temperature—instead of at extremely high or , as is now possible—could lead to hyper-fast computers, shrink the size of electronic devices, allow to float on magnets and slash energy use, among other benefits.

One such superconductor was first proposed more than 50 years ago by Stanford physicist William A. Little. Scientists have spent decades trying to make it work, but even after validating the feasibility of his idea, they were left with a challenge that appeared impossible to overcome. Until now.

What can sea squirts tell us about neurodegeneration?

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐚 𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?

A tiny marine creature with a strange lifestyle may provide valuable insights into human neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, according to scientists at Stanford Medicine.

Botryllus schlosseri, also called a star tunicate, is humans’ closest evolutionary relative among invertebrates in the sea. Attached to rocks along the coast, it appears as a tiny flower-shaped organism. Star tunicates start life as little tadpole-like creatures with two brains, swimming in the ocean. But eventually they drift down from the surface, settling into a stationary life on a rock, joining a colony of other tunicates.

As the tunicate, also known as a sea squirt, adapts to its new couch-potato lifestyle, it loses brain power: One of the two brains, its use for sea navigation now obsolete, begins to dissolve. The way the invertebrate’s brain degenerates and disappears has important parallels to the way the brain degenerates in human neural disorders, said Irving Weissman, MD, director of the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.

AI can reveal new cell biology just by looking at images

Humans are good at looking at images and finding patterns or making comparisons. Look at a collection of dog photos, for example, and you can sort them by color, by ear size, by face shape, and so on. But could you compare them quantitatively? And perhaps more intriguingly, could a machine extract meaningful information from images that humans can’t?

Now a team of Standford University’s Chan Zuckerberg Biohub scientists has developed a machine learning method to quantitatively analyze and compare images—in this case microscopy images of proteins—with no prior knowledge. As reported in Nature Methods, their algorithm, dubbed “cytoself,” provides rich, detailed information on location and function within a cell. This capability could quicken research time for cell biologists and eventually be used to accelerate the process of drug discovery and drug screening.

“This is very exciting—we’re applying AI to a new kind of problem and still recovering everything that humans know, plus more,” said Loic Royer, co-corresponding author of the study. “In the future we could do this for different kinds of images. It opens up a lot of possibilities.”

An Advanced New Sensors project Giving New Life to Prosthetics and Robotic Limbs

In medicine, a prosthesis, or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trauma, disease, or a condition present at birth. A pioneering project to develop advanced pressure sensors for use in robotic systems could transform prosthetics and robotic limbs. The innovative research project aspires to develop sensors that provide enhanced capabilities to robots, helping improve their motor skills and dexterity, through the use of highly accurate pressure sensors that provide haptic feedback and distributed touch.

It is led by the University of the West of Scotland (UWS), Integrated Graphene Ltd, and supported by the Scottish Research Partnership in Engineering (SRPe) and the National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland (NMIS) Industry Doctorate Programme in Advanced Manufacturing. This is not for the first time when the team of highly talented researchers have decided to bring the much needed transformative change in prosthetics and robotic limbs.

The human brain relies on a constant stream of tactile information to carry out basic tasks, like holding a cup of coffee. Yet some of the most advanced motorized limbs — including those controlled solely by a person’s thoughts — don’t provide this sort of feedback. As a result, even state-of-the-art prosthetics can often frustrate their users.

This Paper Battery Is as Powerful as a AA, And Is Activated by Water

A newly developed, water-activated disposable paper battery promises to make a big impact on single-use electronics – those temporary gadgets used in medical and industrial fields where electronic waste can quickly start piling up.

The battery that has been demonstrated by researchers is biodegradable, made from sustainable materials, and cheap to put together. What’s more, it can be produced in a variety of shapes and sizes as needed.

To give an idea of the power, a two-cell battery made using the technology was enough to power an LCD alarm clock. While it won’t be charging up your laptop anytime soon, there’s lots of potential for low-powered sensors and trackers.

A transhuman biohacker implanted over 50 chips and magnets in her body

‘Tis all in the senses.

On her blog, Lepht Anonym describes herself as “a faceless, genderless British biohacker. It lacks both gods and money and likes people, science, and practical transhumanism.” Anonym practices, sometimes referred to as grinding — a subculture of biohacking — DIY surgery to insert electronic hardware under the skin.

At the Grinderfest in 2019, Anonym inserted a little “pirate box” device in her upper right arm.

The Grindfest\

In conversation with Lepht Anonym, a faceless, genderless British biohacker that has implanted over 50 magnets and chips in her body for sensory ‘kicks’.

Resistant starch can reduce hereditary cancer risk by 60 percent

A recent study conducted by researchers from the Universities of Newcastle and Leeds has shown that resistant starch has a preventive effect on various hereditary cancers. The double-blind longitudinal study tracked almost 1,000 patients with Lynch Syndrome, a hereditary condition that raises the risk of several cancer types, for nearly 20 years.

“Reducing a range of cancers by over 60%”

How 3D Printing Can Help in Your Medical Device Manufacturing Project

The subtractive manufacturing process involves etching, drilling, or cutting from a solid board to build the final product. It is ideal for applications using a wide variety of materials and in the PCB fabrication of large-size products. In the additive manufacturing process, a product is developed by adding material one layer at a time and bonding the layers together until the final product is ready. The ability to control material density and the possibility of including intricate features makes this process versatile. It is used in a range of engineering and manufacturing applications, especially in custom manufacturing.

Benefits of 3D printing in medical device manufacturing.

3D printing is economical and offers quick PCB prototyping without the need for complex manufacturing steps. It optimizes the PCB design process by avoiding possible design faults in the initial PCB design stages. 3D printing is easy on flex PCBs and multilayer PCB printing is possible using the latest design software. With the growing manufacturing trends and improving software, 3D printing will be more than a prototyping tool and can be a viable alternative for production parts. 3D printing has been recently used for the end-part manufacturing of several medical devices like hearing aids, dental implants, and more. It is more beneficial for low-volume productions.