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Category: health – Page 294

Reduced heat leakage improves wearable health device

North Carolina State University engineers continue to improve the efficiency of a flexible device worn on the wrist that harvests heat energy from the human body to monitor health.

In a paper published in npj Flexible Electronics, the NC State researchers report significant enhancements in preventing leakage in the flexible body heat harvester they first reported in 2017 and updated in 2020. The harvesters use from the human body to power —think of smart watches that measure your heart rate, blood oxygen, glucose and other health parameters—that never need to have their batteries recharged. The technology relies on the same principles governing rigid thermoelectric harvesters that convert heat to .

Flexible harvesters that conform to the are highly desired for use with wearable technologies. Mehmet Ozturk, an NC State professor of electrical and computer engineering and the corresponding author of the paper, mentioned superior skin contact with , as well as the ergonomic and comfort considerations to the wearer, as the core reasons behind building flexible thermoelectric generators, or TEGs.

New study highlights first infection of human cells during spaceflight

Astronauts face many challenges to their health, due to the exceptional conditions of spaceflight. Among these are a variety of infectious microbes that can attack their suppressed immune systems.

Now, in the first study of its kind, Cheryl Nickerson, lead author Jennifer Barrila and their colleagues describe the infection of by the intestinal pathogen Salmonella Typhimurium during . They show how the microgravity environment of spaceflight changes the molecular profile of human intestinal and how these expression patterns are further changed in response to infection. In another first, the researchers were also able to detect in the bacterial pathogen while inside the infected host cells.

The results offer fresh insights into the infection process and may lead to novel methods for combatting invasive pathogens during spaceflight and under less exotic conditions here on earth.

This is the year that CRISPR moves from lab to clinic

While these tools will enable our society to reopen (and stay open) by improving detection of the virus, CRISPR will also have an important effect on the way we treat other diseases. In 2021, we will see increased use of CRISPR-Cas enzymes to underpin a new generation of cost-effective, individualised therapies. With CRISPR enzymes, we can cut DNA at precise locations, using specifically designed proteins, and insert or delete pieces of DNA to correct mutations.

As we deepen our understanding of the human genome and genetic disorders, patients with previously intractable diseases, such as sickle-cell disease and cancer, will benefit more widely from CRISPR-based therapies that are rapidly moving from the lab to the clinic. In 2019, sickle-cell patient Victoria Gray, for example, became one of the first patients in the world to receive CRISPR therapy for her genetic disease. She has already seen significant improvements to her health, including reduced pain and less frequent need for blood transfusions.

CRISPR will also allow us to act more boldly in the face of other important, interconnected issues such as food security, environmental sustainability and social inequality. The technology will help us grow more nutritious and robust crops, establish “gene drives” to control the spread of other infectious diseases such as Zika, and develop cleaner energy sources such as algae-based biofuels.

A design to improve the resilience and electrical performance thin metal film based electrodes

Flexible electrodes, electronic components that conduct electricity, are of key importance for the development of numerous wearable technologies, including smartwatches, fitness trackers and health monitoring devices. Ideally, electrodes inside wearable devices should retain their electrical conductance when they are stretched or deformed.

Many flexible electrodes developed so far are made of placed on elastic substrates. While some of these electrodes are flexible and well, sometimes, the metal are fractured, which can result in sudden electricity disconnection.

Researchers at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have recently introduced a new design that could enable the development of strain-resilient flexible electrodes that conduct electricity well, even when they are stretched or deformed. This design, outlined in a paper published in Nature Electronics, involves the introduction of a thin, two-dimensional (2-D) interlayer, which reduces the risk of fractures and retains electrical connections of metal films.

A California Experiment Gave People $500 A Month For Two Years. Here’s What Happened

A study of a guaranteed income program in Stockton, California, found that after receiving an extra $500 in cash each month for a year, recipients had better job prospects and improved mental health.

As part of the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) pilot program, 125 people in the California city received $500 per month for 24 months starting in February 2019. The program, initiated by former Mayor Michael Tubbs, chose recipients in neighborhoods at or below the city’s median household income of $46033. The money, in prepaid debit cards, was unconditional, meaning people could spend it as they chose.

A study released Wednesday based on the first year of the project, from February 2019 to February 2020, found that beneficiaries got full-time jobs at over twice the rate of non-recipients, were less anxious and depressed over time, and reported improvements in emotional health, well-being and fatigue.

Stamp-Sized Patch Can Check Your Sugar, Caffeine, Alcohol, and Blood Pressure Levels

Researchers at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) have developed a wearable health monitor that may bring us one step closer to the dream of Star Trek’s famous tricorder.

The monitor, a stretchy skin patch, can do it all: measuring blood pressure and heart rate, your glucose levels, as well as one of alcohol, caffeine, or lactate levels.

According to UCSD’s press release, the patch is the first device to demonstrate measuring multiple biochemical and cardiovascular signals at the same time.

World’s first space HOTEL to begin construction in Earth orbit in 2025

Work is due to start on the world’s first ‘space hotel’ in low Earth orbit in 2025 — and it will come equipped with restaurants, a cinema, spa and…

Developed by the Orbital Assembly Corporation (OAC), the Voyager Station could be operational as early as 2027, with the infrastructure built in orbit around the Earth.

The space station will be a large circle and rotate to generate artificial gravity that will be set at a similar level to the gravity found on the surface of the Moon.

Voyager Station’s hotel will include many of the features you might expect from a cruise ship, including themed restaurants, a health spa and a cinema.

Employment rose among those in free money experiment, study shows

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — After getting $500 per month for two years without rules on how to spend it, 125 people in California paid off debt, got full-time jobs and had “statistically significant improvements” in emotional health, according to a study released Wednesday.

The program was the nation’s highest-profile experiment in decades of universal basic income, an idea that was revived as a major part of Andrew Yang’s 2020 campaign for president.

The idea is to bring people out of poverty with a guaranteed monthly income. Supporters say it gives people needed financial security to find good jobs and avoid debt. But critics have argued free money would eliminate the incentive to work, creating a society dependent on the state.

Seven scientific sectors to get extra funds as China pushes for global standing

Integrated circuits, brain sciences, genetics and biotechnology, clinical medicine and health care, and deep Earth, sea, space and polar exploration were named as the other five sectors that will be given priority in terms of funding and resources, according to a draft of the government’s 14th five-year plan for 2021–25, and its vision through 2035.

‘Basic research is the wellspring of scientific and technological innovation, so we’ll boost spending in this area by a considerable sum,’ Premier Li Keqiang says.

Dr. Ellen de Brabander — SVP, R&D, PepsiCo — The Future Of Food And Beverage Innovation

The Future Of Food And Beverage Innovation And Venturing — Dr. Ellen De Brabander, Ph.D. — Senior Vice President, R&D, PepsiCo

Dr. Ellen de Brabander, is Senior Vice President, Research and Development, at PepsiCo, the American multinational food, snack, and beverage company.

Dr. de Brabander has broad set of responsibilities at Pepsico and currently leads their global R&D functions including the Food Safety, Quality, Strategy & Portfolio Management, and their Sensory and Regulatory Affairs teams. She also leads their R&D Digital Transformation initiatives to transform the innovation process to bring new, innovative products to the market.

Dr. de Brabander is also a member of the board of governors at the New York Academy of Sciences and has served as Treasurer and board member International Life Science Institute of North America, an organization that brings together scientists from government, academia and industry to uphold the scientific integrity and objectivity of nutrition and food safety science in order to ethically improve food systems for the betterment of public health.

Additionally, Dr. de Brabander has also served as the interim and founding CEO of EIT Food (part of the EU’s European Institute of Innovation and Technology), which is a unique $1.5 Billion Euro innovation consortium with more than 50 partners from industry and academia, focused on transforming the food sector by designing and delivering unique and high impact research, innovation, business creation and education programs.

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