H&T Presspart and Cohero Health said today that the companies have launched a connected metered-dose inhaler designed to improve adherence and optimize care for patients with asthma and COPD. It is the 1st connected inhaler integrated with Cohero Health’s BreatheSmart comprehensive respiratory disease management platform. The 2 companies developed the metered-dose inhaler over the course of a multi-year agreement. Improving patient adherence is vital, the companies said, as less than half...

It's surprisingly hard to design a watch band that's perfect for everyone. Leather watchbands might feel good against the skin, but since they close like a belt, they can be hard to cinch just right. More sophisticated watches, like a Milanese loop, might use a magnetic clasping mechanism to get a just-right fit, but these clasps can pull at hairs, or even pinch skin. Designed by Benjamin Hubert at Layer, Labb is made of a stylish new material that could also make belts, jewelry, and purses e...

How cells set the stage for the visual world Researchers reveal the crucial first step that forms the different layers of the retina The retina consists of different layers of neurons. Emerging neurons have to migrate to find the right position in the appropriate layer. However, how these migration events are executed and orchestrated is poorly understood. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) in Dresden now studied how the first layer of neur...

They say diamonds are forever, but diamonds in fact are a metastable form of carbon that will slowly but eventually transform into graphite, another form of carbon. Being able to design and synthesize other long-lived, thermodynamically metastable materials could be a potential gold mine for materials designers, but until now, scientists lacked a rational understanding of them. Now researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have published a ...

Michigan State University engineering researchers have created a new way to harvest energy from human motion, using a film-like device that actually can be folded to create more power. The research, funded by the National Science Foundation, suggests "we're on the path toward wearable devices powered by human motion," said Nelson Sepulveda, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and lead investigator of the project. The completed device is called a biocompatible ferroel...

Astronauts used a remote-controlled robotic arm to attach a nearly 17,000-pound payload to the side of the International Space Station. That payload was the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, or AMS-02, an international experiment sponsored by the US Department of Energy and NASA. AMS was designed to detect cosmic rays, highly energetic particles and nuclei that bombard the Earth from space. Since its installation, AMS has collected data from more than 90 billion cosmic ray events, experiment lead ...

Newly discovered protein converts multiple signal inputs into appropriate cellular outputs Study finds molecule that functions as cellular “logic board” Researchers at the University of Tokyo found that a protein called parafibromin acts like a computer logic board within the cell by integrating and converting multiple disparate signals from the outside into appropriate responses. This finding paves the way for the development of innovative therapeutics and preventive measures against cancer...

E-mobility challenges the tradition of stationary energy metering and billing. At present, charging stations are not available in all of the locations users need to recharge their vehicles. Additionally, until now, creating an adequate charging infrastructure for electric cars has been very costly and utilities have had few incentives to install charging stations. ubitricity allowed the Iserlohn public utility to introduce a new electric power product: the Sauerland PowerMobil. It compris...

The Mint Automatic Floor Cleaner from Evolution Robotics is designed exclusively for sweeping and mopping hard surface floors for you. Using dry and pre-moistened cleaning cloths, Mint picks up the dust, dirt and pet hair that constantly accumulate on floors. Mint's compact design gets into tight spaces, under furniture and into other areas that are hard to reach with traditional mops and sweepers. Evolution Robotics 'Mint' is a floor cleaning robot with mopping (wet) and sweeping (dry) modes...

Dobot M1 is a Professional SCARA based robotic arm with interchangeable heads for small business, educators and Innovators. You can program the arm to do various automated function in a manufacturing plant, it can enhance your efficiency in production line with picking and placing feature, visual system and more.   Innovators can use it for 3d printing, double color 3d print, 3d print on rail, laser engrave on wood, plastic, paper, leather, soldering, drawing, painting, picking...

'LittleBits' is a platform for large and small inventions for kids. The kit includes electronic building blocks that snap-on with magnet and allow kids to build projects in minutes. We spend more than eleven hours a day with technology, but most people don’t know how it works, and spend the majority of their time consuming media. We believe people are born creative, and our electronic building blocks help to unleash the inventor within by engaging them in an incredibly powerful, exhilarating ...

The BIQ House in Hamburg, Germany, is the first building in the world with a dynamic, algae-based, bio-reactive façade. With 200 square meters of integrated photo-bioreactors (PBRs), this passive-energy house generates high-value biomass and solar thermal heat as renewable energy resources. At the same time, the innovative façade system also integrates additional functionalities, such as adaptive shading and noise reduction. In total, 129 SolarLeaf bioreactors have been installed on the southwes...

New technology unlocks the ability to analyse and understand the secrets of our skin Today’s imaging and sensing technology can reveal important information about our bodies – from our bone structure to our brain activity. But what about tapping into the health and wellness information hidden within our skin? Product design and development firm Cambridge Consultants has harnessed this possibility with a multispectral imaging technology demonstrator called Skintuition. It offers a non-invas...

While the romantic poets' idea of memories being akin to spirits may have poetic merit, the scientists' perspective is that memories are concrete, physical entities that can be visualized within various regions of the brain. Sathyanarayanan V. Puthanveettil is an associate professor on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute. (Photo by James McEntee.) Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have now for the first time identified a sub-region...

Bacterial resistance does not come just through adaptation to antibiotics, sometimes the bacteria simply go to sleep. An international team of researchers is looking at compounds that attack bacteria's ability to go dormant and have found the first oxygen-sensitive toxin antitoxin system. "Antibiotics can only kill bacteria when they are actively growing and dividing," said Thomas K. Wood, professor of chemical engineering and holder of the Biotechnology Endowed Chair, Penn State. "But, envir...

Having trouble hearing? Over 35 million children and adults in the United States have some degree of hearing loss. Hearing loss can have a negative effect on communication, relationships, school/work performance, and emotional well-being. However, hearing loss doesn't have to restrict your daily activities. Properly fitted hearing aids and aural rehabilitation (techniques used to identify and diagnose hearing loss, and implement therapies for patients who are hard of hearing, including using amp...

Proportional EMG Control of Ankle Plantar Flexion in a Powered Transtibial Prosthesis The human calf muscle generates 80% of the mechanical work to walk throughout stance-phase, powered plantar flexion. Powered plantar flexion is not only important for walking energetics, but also to minimize the impact on the leading leg at heel-strike. For unilateral transtibial amputees, it has recently been shown that knee load on the leading, intact limb decreases as powered plantar flexion in the traili...

Scientists have mapped the reorganization of genetic material that takes place when a stem cell matures into a nerve cell. Detailed 3-D visualizations show an unexpected connectivity in the genetic material in a cell’s nucleus, and provide a new understanding of a cell’s evolving architecture. These unique 3-D reconstructions of mouse olfactory cells, which govern the sense of smell, were obtained using X-ray imaging tools at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (B...

Tiny, glowing crystals designed to detect and capture heavy-metal toxins such as lead and mercury could prove to be a powerful new tool in locating and cleaning up contaminated water sources. Motivated by publicized cases in which high levels of heavy metals were found in drinking water in Flint, Mich., and Newark, N.J., a science team led by researchers at Rutgers University used intense X-rays at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) to probe the structure of the crystals the...

Blippar is the leading are app using the most advanced mobile augmented reality and artificial intelligence technology used for marketing and visual search. Everything in the world has a story, DiscoverMore with Blippar app by pointing Blippar camera at flowers, pets, food, and many everyday objects. Blippar uses the power of Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision and Augmented Reality. Get inspired and let your curiosity take you on the most unexpected journeys. The app allows users to ...

Watson has identified cases of heat disease previously undiagnosed by human inspection of ultra-sonic imaging, clinical tests and case notes, according to IBM at the Conference on Medical Image Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI). As a result, IBM is offering five new Watson modules to doctors aimed at improving the accuracy of diagnoses for stroke, mammography, radiology and cancer. IBM Watson is a cognitive system (computer) enabling a new partnership between people and computers. It tu...

A research team from Autodesk and Dartmouth College has developed a new interactive design tool called "Printone," which provides users with the ability to create functional 3-D printed wind instruments in any shape or form using interactive sound simulation feedback. The team designed 16 free-form wind instruments to play different melodies, including: a star that can play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," a bunny that can play "Little Peter Rabbit;" a snowman that can play "Jingle Bells;" and a...

A group of University of Tokyo researchers and their collaborators embedded a male sex gene into the genome of female silkworms and found that they developed male reproductive glands and started producing sperm, as well as displaying other male characteristics. This finding may eventually lead to the development of pesticides targeting the Masc gene, considered the determinant of maleness in silkworms, and help pave the way for controlling agricultural pests through the sterilization of moths. ...

NaviPack has announced the release of a LiDAR navigation module for autonomous control of drones, robots, and other devices. The NaviPack system is being introduced via its Indiegogo page. The NaviPack module features a built-in Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) algorithm chip. By integrating the control chip and LiDAR together, NaviPack becomes a true plug-and-play LiDAR solution that instantly powers drones and robots with 360 degree sensing capabilities, reducing integration tim...

As part of an effort to develop drought-resistant food and bioenergy crops, scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have uncovered the genetic and metabolic mechanisms that allow certain plants to conserve water and thrive in semi-arid climates. Semi-arid plants such as agave have adapted to survive in areas with little rainfall by developing a specialized mode of photosynthesis called crassulacean acid metabolism, or CAM. Unlike plants in wetter environments, C...

You wake up and someone makes you breakfast. You attend a lecture, eat lunch and enjoy a book club meeting, then eat dinner with friends, and finish the night with a movie before heading to bed. While this lifestyle sounds convenient and relaxing, it may be what is killing older adults in assisted living communities. The Good and the Bad of Assisted Living More than 735,000 older adults nationwide live in assisted living communities. These communities promote a hassle-free and accessible liv...