Browse Topic: Biological sciences

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DEVCOM CBC Innovates and Integrates through Autonomous TechnologiesTBMG-5212912/01/2024
The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC) is paving the way and helping the Army transform into a multi-domain force through its modernization and priority research efforts that are linked to the National Defense Strategy and nation’s goals. CBC continues to lead in the development of innovative defense technology, including autonomous chem-bio defense solutions designed to enhance accuracy and safety to the warfighter.
Biohybrid Robotic Hand Research PlatformTBMG-5215912/01/2024
Brain-machine interfaces enable direct communication between a brain’s electrical activity and an external device such as a computer or a robotic limb that allows people to control machines using their thoughts. Researchers have developed a novel biohybrid neuroprosthetic research platform comprised of a dexterous artificial hand electrically interfaced with biological neural networks.
Bioelectronic Device Offers New Hope in the Fight Against Bacterial InfectionsTBMG-5216912/01/2024
University of California – San Diego San Diego, CA
Researchers Develop Rapid Lab-on-a-Chip for Cancer, COVID DiagnosticsTBMG-4646209/01/2022
A research center based at the University of Kansas that develops rapid next-generation tests for a host of human ailments like cancer, stroke, and COVID-19 recently earned $6.6 million in continued funding over the next five years from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) as a National Biotechnology Resource (P41) Center.
Thin, Stretchable Biosensors Could Make Surgery SaferTBMG-4649309/01/2022
A research team developed bio-inks for biosensors that could help localize critical regions in tissues and organs during surgical operations. The ink is biocompatible and provides a user-friendly design with workable time frames of more than one day. Simultaneous recording and imaging could be useful during heart surgery in localizing critical regions and guiding surgical interventions such as a procedure for restoring normal heart rhythms.
An Effective Design of Micro Tesla Valve as a Passive Mixer in Microfluidics Channels 2022-26-117805/26/2022
Mixing fluids is one of the major challenges in microfluidics. Normally, the mixing process is done by diffusion rather than turbulence, which makes it very slow due to low Reynolds number (Re) flow in the range of 0.1 to1. Owing to this behaviour, ineffective mixing occurs when two miscible liquids are mixed purely by diffusion which requires longer striation lengths and therefore longer microfluidic channels along with lengthy mixing time. Homogeneous mixing of solute and solvent is important for providing consistent chemical and biological reactions in µTAS.In this study, we develop a passive mixer that provides efficient mixing using micro tesla valves which allows the flow of liquids in the forward and reverse directions to analyse the formed vortices, turbulent intense areas, Reynolds number, and pressure using Ansys fluent workbench. An optimum design has been arrived by varying the number of cells from 1 to 5 in series and realization is done by excimer laser micromachining.
Singh, Deepak, Sankar PhD, Ravi
Effect of Circadian Interior Automobile Lighting on commuters2021-26-013209/22/2021
Chronobiological studies elaborate the working of a biological clock, “the built-in timing device” in an organism and similarly define the creation of circadian rhythm of a human being. The Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN) in the hypothalamus of a human brain detects changes in the surrounding environment through the eyes and tends to affect this circadian rhythm which in turn affects human behavior, hormonal cycles, sleep deprivation and even driving or daily commute. Melatonin released due to the photopic and scotopic signals received by the brain controls the amount of “alertness” or “sleepiness” in commuters which can assist in improved efficiency and prevent accidents while driving. Since inadequate lighting scenarios can not only affect the optical activity and visual orientations it does also affect the non-visual sensory activities by inadvertently disorienting the circadian rhythm. Advanced research in melatonin induced driving suggests increased sleepiness and low concentration
Biswas, Akash, Joshi PhD, Madhusudan, Singh, Mahendar Pal
Centimeter-Long Snail Robot Powered with LightTBMG-3980309/01/2021
Crawling by traveling deformation of a soft body is a widespread mode of locomotion — from microscopic nematodes, to earthworms, to gastropods. Animals across scales use it to move around different, often challenging environments. Snails, in particular, use mucus — a slippery, aqueous secretion — to control the interaction between their ventral foot and the surface. Their adhesive locomotion has a unique property: it can be used on different surfaces including wood, metal, glass, Teflon (PTFE), or sand in various configurations such as crawling upside-down.
BioPod Takes One Step Closer to Life on MarsTBMG-3978209/01/2021
Dassault Systèmes Velizy-Villacoublay, France
Soft Robotic Gripper Based on Twining PlantsTBMG-3959208/01/2021
Scientists often look to nature for cues when designing robots — some robots mimic human hands while others simulate the actions of octopus arms or inchworms. Now, researchers have designed a soft robotic gripper that draws inspiration from an unusual source: pole beans. While pole beans and other twining plants use their touch-sensitive shoots to wrap themselves around supports like ropes and rods to grow upward, the new robot is designed to firmly but gently grasp objects as small as 1 millimeter in diameter.
2021: Technology Trends and the Future of Medical DevicesTBMG-3854902/01/2021
While the far-reaching effects of COVID-19 have introduced the world to a “new normal,” the greatest impact has been in healthcare. In the long term, it has forever shaped the future of healthcare delivery, while its immediate effect has been on medical technology — with a focus on digital devices and a shift toward a more collaborative product development process.
Spiderwebs Inspire 3D PhotodectorsTBMG-3855702/01/2021
Researchers used some architectural features from spiderwebs to develop 3D photodetectors for biomedical imaging. Spiderwebs typically provide excellent mechanical adaptability and damage-tolerance against various mechanical loads such as storms. The technology uses the structural architecture of a spiderweb that exhibits a repeating pattern.
Contact Lenses for Diagnostic and Therapeutic UseTBMG-3832301/01/2021
The ability to collect tears in an effective way and to measure their pH and levels of biomarkers in real time is highly desirable. One approach that is actively being explored is the idea of contact lens biosensors. Such contact lenses could be designed to include tiny channels on their surfaces for guiding the flow of tears into tiny reservoirs for collection and monitoring.
2020 Create the Future Design Contest Grand Prize Winner: RepelWrap — A Nature-inspired Surface Technology for Repelling ContaminationTBMG-3819912/01/2020
Leyla Soleymani and Tohid Didar McMaster University Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Collision Detector Mimics Locust SwarmsTBMG-3813612/01/2020
Plagues of locusts, containing millions of insects, fly across the sky to attack crops but the individual insects do not collide with each other within these massive swarms. A team of engineers is creating a low-power collision detector that mimics the locust avoidance response to help robots, drones, and even self-driving cars avoid collisions.
Creating the Future: Implantable ICD Eliminates Wires & Offers Painless DefibrillationTBMG-3816412/01/2020
Plant-Based Thermotherapy PatchTBMG-3815212/01/2020
A biodegradable, transparent, flexible and fast-acting thermo-therapy patch from plant leaves is compatible with flexible electronic applications. Plant material was used to reduce the amount of electronic waste.
Diamond-Studded Silk Wound Dressing Detects Infection and Improves HealingTBMG-3815912/01/2020
RMIT University Melbourne, Australia
Pot of Gold Engineered to Help with Early Disease DetectionTBMG-3807011/01/2020
The University of Queensland Brisbane St. Lucia, Australia
Method Turns Fruit Peels into New BatteriesTBMG-3797411/01/2020
Scientists have developed a novel method of using fruit peel waste to extract and reuse metals from spent lithium-ion batteries in order to create new batteries. The team demonstrated the concept using orange peel, which efficiently recovered precious metals from battery waste. They then made functional batteries from these recovered metals, creating minimal waste in the process.
Patches Detect When a Viral Disease Is About to Get WorseTBMG-3807811/01/2020
Just before a viral illness such as the flu or COVID-19 worsens, bodies start producing more inflammatory biomarkers, and the concentrations of these biomarkers in bodily fluids increases. Therefore by continuously monitoring these biomarker concentrations on our skin’s surface, doctors can spot such turns for the worse and act immediately, preventing complications and saving lives.
Octopus-Inspired Soft Robotic ArmTBMG-3800311/01/2020
Two-thirds of an octopus’s neurons are in its arms, meaning each arm literally has a mind of its own. Octopus arms can untie knots, open childproof bottles, and wrap around prey of any shape or size. The hundreds of suckers that cover their arms can form strong seals, even on rough surfaces underwater.
Single-Use Applications Maximize Biomanufacturing AgilityTBMG-3806611/01/2020
Biopharmaceutical manufacturing is changing. With the rise of biologics and personalized medicine, the industry is appreciating the single-use manufacturing style. Instead of large-scale production processes, manufacturers are finding it pays to be agile — which is why many are increasingly adopting single-use technologies to turn over new products and batches quickly and efficiently. Single-use technologies utilize disposable bioprocessing equipment in place of traditional stainless steel. By eliminating the time-consuming clean-in-place (CIP) and steam-in-place (SIP) processes between batches, single-use technologies cut down on the costs of labor, materials, and utilities — all while shortening time to market.
Sensing Eye Mask Captures Pulse, Sleep SignalsTBMG-3785410/01/2020
A new, lightweight eye mask can unobtrusively capture pulse, eye movement, and sleep signals, for example, when worn in an everyday environment.
Electronics Mimic the Human Brain in Biological LearningTBMG-3782810/01/2020
Researchers have discovered, while investigating protein nanowires, how to use these biological, electricity-conducting filaments to make a neuromorphic memristor or “memory transistor” device. It runs extremely efficiently on very low power, as brains do, to carry signals between neurons.
Electronic “Skin” Brings Sense of Touch and Pain to Prosthetic HandsTBMG-3762409/01/2020
Amputees often experience the sensation of a “phantom limb” — a feeling that a missing body part is still there. Pain, while unpleasant, is an essential, protective sense of touch that is lacking in the prostheses that are currently available to amputees. Advances in prosthesis designs and control mechanisms can aid an amputee’s ability to regain lost function, but they often lack meaningful, tactile feedback or perception.
5 Ws of the Sign-to-Speech Translation GloveTBMG-3762709/01/2020
People who use sign language could communicate directly with non-signers without needing someone else to translate for them.
4D Printing Creates Microneedles to Replace HypodermicsTBMG-3765209/01/2020
Painful hypodermic needles may not be needed in the future to give shots, inject drugs, and get blood samples. With 4D printing, engineers have created tiny needles that mimic parasites that attach to skin and could replace hypodermic needles.
Soft Robotic Insect Survives Being Flattened by a FlyswatterTBMG-3763109/01/2020
Researchers have developed a soft robotic insect propelled at 3 cm per second by artificial muscles.
Low Latency Manufacturing for Biophotonics and Medical Device PackagingTBMG-3768009/01/2020
The medical device market is expected to significantly diversify and almost double in value to $90 billion by 2025, but vendors face significant cost and packaging challenges if they are to successfully exploit these opportunities. Increasingly there is a growing range of technical, commercial and regulatory demands. As a result, the imperative to find a focused, strategic, commercially cognizant process — with specific-field experts and proven partners to cut through these shifting parameters — is more important than ever.
Bacteria-Based Hydrogel Beads Clean Up Contaminated GroundwaterTBMG-3745108/01/2020
Hydrogel beads with the consistency of gummy candy are made with an ingredient used in processed foods to clean up groundwater contaminated with dangerous and widely used volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Among the contaminants addressed by the method are 1,1,1-trichloroethane, cis-1,2-dichloroethene, and 1,4-dioxane — degreasers commonly used by industry and the military. The chemicals can infiltrate groundwater through leaky underground storage tanks or runoff, or by simply being dumped on the ground.
Nanosensors for Real-Time Plant Health MonitoringTBMG-3745008/01/2020
Researchers have developed a way to study and track the internal communication of living plants using carbon nanotube sensors that can be embedded in plant leaves. The sensors can report on plants’ signaling waves to reveal how they respond to stresses such as injury, infection, heat, and light damage, providing valuable real-time insights for engineering plants to maximize crop yield.
Active Material Created Out of Microscopic Spinning ParticlesTBMG-3746208/01/2020
At the atomic level, a glass of water and a spoonful of crystalline salt couldn’t be more different. Water atoms move around freely and randomly, while salt crystals are locked in place in a lattice. But some new materials show an intriguing propensity to sometimes behave like water and sometimes like salt, giving them interesting transport properties and holding potential promise for applications like mixing and delivery in the pharmaceutical industry.
Fabrication of Multilayer Ferritin ArraysTBMG-3719607/01/2020
NASA Langley Research Center has developed a method of depositing arrays of a ferritin protein on a substrate to create a thin-film electrode for a bio-nanobattery. The method is a spin self-assembly procedure by which a first ferritin layer is formed on the substrate, followed by building a second oppositely charged ferritin layer on the top of the first to form a bilayer structure. Oppositely charged ferritin layers are subsequently deposited on top of each other until a desired number of bilayer structures is produced. The result is an ordered, uniform, stable, and robust thin-film electrode material of enhanced packing density that provides optimal charge density for the bio-nanobattery.
Nature-Inspired Green Energy TechnologyTBMG-3722507/01/2020
Researchers around the world seek to use photosynthesis — the sunlight-driven chemical reaction that green plants and algae use to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into cellular fuel— to generate the kinds of fuel that can power homes and vehicles. If the necessary technology could be refined past theoretical models and lab-scale prototypes, this idea, known as artificial photosynthesis, has the potential to generate large sources of completely renewable energy using the surplus CO2 in the atmosphere.
Biohybrid Can Turn Carbon Dioxide into New ProductsTBMG-3721607/01/2020
To colonize Mars, settlers will need to manufacture on-planet a huge range of organic compounds, from fuels to drugs, that are too expensive to ship from Earth. Researchers have been working on a hybrid system combining bacteria and nanowires that can capture the energy of sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into building blocks for organic molecules. Nanowires are thin silicon wires about one-hundredth the width of a human hair, used as electronic components and as sensors and solar cells.
Insect Wings Hold Antimicrobial Clues for Improved Medical ImplantsTBMG-3712806/01/2020
Using a range of advanced imaging tools, functional assays, and proteomic analyses, a study has identified new ways in which nano-pillars can damage bacteria. These findings will aid the design of better antimicrobial surfaces for potential biomedical applications such as medical implants and devices that are not reliant on antibiotics.
Synthetic Material Could Help Heal Injured Tendons and LigamentsTBMG-3712006/01/2020
University of Sydney Sydney, Australia
Fabric Allows Wearers to Control Electronic Devices Through ClothingTBMG-3704506/01/2020
A new technique transforms existing cloth items or textiles into self-powered e-textiles containing sensors, music players, or illumination displays using simple embroidery without the need for expensive fabrication processes requiring complex steps or expensive equipment. The fabric also keeps the wearer safe from viruses and bacteria.
Essential Oils Inhibit Mold on WoodTBMG-3703506/01/2020
Moisture management remains the most important critical factor for controlling mold growth on wood and wood products during storage, construction, and in service. Potential health risks caused by mold growth in houses and non-residential wooden structures have been a major concern for homeowners, building contractors, and insurance companies.
Surfaces That Grip Like Gecko Feet Could Be Easily Mass-ProducedTBMG-3700706/01/2020
Researchers have developed a method of making gecko-inspired adhesive materials that is more cost-effective than current methods. It could enable mass production and the spread of the versatile gripping strips to manufacturing and homes.
Soft Tactile Logic Distributes Decision-Making Throughout Stretchable MaterialTBMG-3704706/01/2020
Soft tactile logic was developed that can make decisions at the material level where the sensor is receiving input, rather than relying on a centralized, semiconductor-based logic system. The resulting device is not quite a robot and not quite a computer but has characteristics of both.
Facility Focus: Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteTBMG-3702306/01/2020
Founded in 1824 and located in Troy, NY, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) is America’s first technological research university. RPI advances research in a wide range of fields, with an emphasis on biotechnology, nanotechnology, computational science and engineering, data science, and the media arts and technology. RPI has an established record of success in the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the marketplace, fulfilling its founding mission of applying science “to the common purposes of life.”
Handheld 3D Printers Treat Musculoskeletal InjuriesTBMG-3692705/01/2020
Researchers have developed a handheld 3D bioprinter that could revolutionize the way musculoskeletal surgical procedures are performed. The bioprinter enables surgeons to deposit scaffolds — or materials to help support cellular and tissue growth — directly into the defect sites within weakened skeletal muscles.
Biomaterial Enables 3D Printing of Tissue-Like Vascular StructuresTBMG-3692305/01/2020
Scientists have discovered a new material that can be 3D printed to create tissue-like vascular structures. They can 3D print graphene oxide with a protein, which can organize into tubular structures that replicate some properties of vascular tissue.
Device Tests Drugs on Tumor TissueTBMG-3682805/01/2020
Testing cancer treatments relies mostly on trial and error; patients may undergo multiple time-consuming and hard-to-tolerate therapies in pursuit of one that works. Recent innovations in pharmaceutical development involve growing artificial tumors to test drugs on specific cancer types. These models take weeks to grow and don’t account for an individual patient’s biological makeup, which can affect treatment efficacy.
Leaf-Inspired Surface Prevents Frost FormationTBMG-3685805/01/2020
Researchers have discovered a new way to significantly reduce frost formation on any surface. The finding could help decrease the amount of energy needed for defrosting and could potentially result in fewer canceled flights, which can be grounded by even the slightest layer of frost.
Bioengineers Develop Coin-Sized Smart Insulin PatchTBMG-3692405/01/2020
UCLA bioengineers and colleagues at the UNC School of Medicine and MIT have further developed a smart insulin-delivery patch that could one day monitor and manage glucose levels in people with diabetes and deliver the necessary insulin dosage. The adhesive patch, about the size of a quarter, is simple to manufacture and intended for once-a-day use.
3D Imaging the Biolocomotion of Fruit FliesTBMG-3687905/01/2020
The last thing you probably do when a fly buzzes toward you is marvel at its graceful wing and body kinematics. But that’s exactly what researchers at Cornell University’s Itai Cohen Group do on a daily basis.
Space Station Garden Shines Light on Earth-Based HorticultureTBMG-3685705/01/2020
Astronauts have been gardening on the International Space Station (ISS) for years to learn how plants grow in microgravity, with the idea that space crops will one day help sustain humans on long-duration missions such as to the Moon or Mars. Rather than resting in a soil garden bed, ISS plants grow in a pillow-like container that holds a ceramic growing medium with controlled-release fertilizer that provides nutrients over time. The pillow system is designed to be a passive watering apparatus but astronauts can also inject water directly as needed.
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