University of Rochester researchers have developed microbial fuel cell (MFC) with electrode made from paper, and will enable certain bacteria to produce electricity from waste

Posted on February 15, 2017 by

A microbial fuel cell (MFC), or biological fuel cell, is a bio-electrochemical system that drives an electric current by using bacteria and mimicking bacterial interactions found in nature. MFCs can be grouped into two general categories: mediated and unmediated. The first MFCs, demonstrated in the early 20th century, used a mediator: a chemical that transfers electrons from the bacteria in the cell to the anode. Unmediated MFCs emerged in the 1970s; in this type of MFC the bacteria typically...

Stanford engineers create a low-cost battery made with urea

Posted on February 14, 2017 by

Stanford University researchers created an aluminum-ion battery that uses an electrolyte material made of urea, the main component of urine (after water). A battery made with urea, commonly found in fertilizers and mammal urine, could provide a low-cost way of storing energy produced through solar power or other forms of renewable energy for consumption during off hours. A battery developed in Stanford Professor Hongjie Dai’s lab could provide low-cost storage for solar energy. (Image credit...

Multiple research studies suggest cocoa solids are one of the richest sources of flavanol antioxidants and carry health benefits, protecting against everything from heart disease to stroke to dementia.

Posted on February 14, 2017 by

Cocoa solids are a mixture of many substances remaining after cocoa butter is extracted from cacao beans. When sold as an end product, it may also be called cocoa powder or cocoa. In contrast, the fatty component of chocolate is cocoa butter. Cocoa butter is 50% to 57% of the weight of cocoa beans and gives chocolate its characteristic melting properties. Cocoa liquor or cocoa mass is a paste of roasted cocoa beans with cocoa butter and solids in their natural proportions. Chocolate requires the...

UC Davis Cancer Center research suggests cancer affects different people differently

Posted on February 14, 2017February 14, 2017 by

Researchers and clinicians in UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Population Sciences and Health Disparities Program are dedicated to understanding why Cancer affects different people differently, and are working in different ways to eliminate disparities and improve outcomes for everyone. At UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, researchers are working to understand the biological mechanisms that may be at work in certain cancers that disproportionately affect different populations. They...

University of Melbourne has developed matchstick-sized device called a ‘stentrode’ that will allow paralyzed patients to walk with the power of thought by controlling the exoskeleton

Posted on February 13, 2017 by

A group of paralysed patients will soon undergo a revolutionary procedure that could allow them to walk with the power of thought.The key to returning mobility is a tiny, matchstick-sized device called a stentrode. It will be implanted into a blood vessel next to the motor cortex, the brain’s control centre – bypassing the need for complex brain surgery. From there it will pick up brain signals and allow patients to move a robotic exoskeleton attached to their limbs simply by thinking about i...

Study Conducted by professor Kirsi Pietiläinen of University of Helsinki Finland suggests, mitochondrial dysfunction likely results in excess weight that is difficult to lose

Posted on February 13, 2017 by

Professor Kirsi Pietiläinen has located the impact of obesity in the mitochondria of fat tissue. Mitochondrial dysfunction likely results in excess weight that is difficult to lose. Kirsi Pietiläinen, a recently appointed professor at the Faculty of Medicine, has studied obesity since the early 90s. Professor Jaakko Kaprio’s extensive twin study data is central to her research. After studying the genetics and epidemiology of obesity as well as conducting extensive surveys, she is now study...

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam research suggests happiness and depression might be partially genetic

Posted on February 12, 2017February 12, 2017 by

For the first time in history, researchers have isolated the parts of the human genome that could explain the differences in how humans experience happiness. These are the findings of a large-scale international study in over 298,000 people, conducted by VU Amsterdam professors Meike Bartels (Genetics and Wellbeing) and Philipp Koellinger (Genoeconomics). The researchers found three genetic variants for happiness, two variants that can account for differences in symptoms of depression, and eleve...

University of Michigan has developed two legged robot and in future it’s possible that an autonomous delivery van may pull up in front of your house and a bipedal robot will then step out, and carry a package to your front door.

Posted on February 11, 2017 by

A new two-legged robot is coming to the University of Michigan—the third generation biped in the lab of Professor Jessy Grizzle, whose previous bots have been programmed to walk unassisted over rough terrain and jog a nine-minute mile. "Cassie" is the first offering from new startup Agility Robotics, spun out of the lab of Oregon State University's Jonathan Hurst, who is a longtime collaborator of Grizzle's. It is loosely modeled on the cassowary, a flightless bird similar to an ostrich—legs ...

MIT researchers have developed ingestible electronic devices that can harness stomach acid to power it and could monitor physiological conditions or deliver drugs

Posted on February 11, 2017February 11, 2017 by

Researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have designed and demonstrated a small voltaic cell that is sustained by the acidic fluids in the stomach. The system can generate enough power to run small sensors or drug delivery devices that can reside in the gastrointestinal tract for extended periods of time. This type of power could offer a safer and lower-cost alternative to the traditional batteries now used to power such devices, the researchers say. “We need to come up with ways to...

Northwestern research suggest too much time indoors may trigger myopia

Posted on February 10, 2017 by

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered a cell in the retina that may cause myopia when it dysfunctions. The dysfunction may be linked to the amount of time a child spends indoors and away from natural light. Near-sightedness, also known as short-sightedness and myopia, is a condition of the eye where light focuses in front of, instead of on, the retina. This causes distant objects to be blurry while close objects appear normal. Other symptoms may include headaches and eye strain. S...

Harvard scientists create ‘Metallic Hydrogen’ which could be a super conductor of the future

Posted on February 8, 2017February 8, 2017 by

Metallic hydrogen is a kind of degenerate matter, a phase of hydrogen in which it behaves like an electrical conductor. This phase was predicted in 1935 on theoretical grounds by Eugene Wigner and Hillard Bell Huntington. At high pressure and temperatures, metallic hydrogen might exist as a liquid rather than a solid, and researchers think it is present in large amounts in the gravitationally compressed interiors of Jupiter, Saturn, and in some extrasolar planets Atomic metallic hydrogen, ...

KTH Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm, Sweden research shows that in principle any protein raw material could be used to make the artificial silk.

Posted on February 8, 2017February 8, 2017 by

KTH Royal Institute of Technology research shows that in principle any protein raw material could be used to make the artificial silk. Silk from milk? New method binds proteins into threads By all appearances, cows have little in common with spiders. Yet despite the two species’ obvious differences, new research shows that ordinary milk can be used to spin artificial silk – a breakthrough that could open new doors for alternative plastics and regenerative medicine. Researchers from Sweden...

People with heart disease have a lower risk of heart attack and strokes if they eat a Mediterranean-style diet

Posted on February 8, 2017 by

Mediterranean dietary pattern has been associated with lower cardiovascular (CV) mortality. People with heart disease have a lower risk of heart attack and strokes if they eat a Mediterranean-style diet. After recruiting more than 15,000 people with heart disease from 39 countries, researchers scored their diets for Mediterranean elements such as eating plenty of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish, some alcohol, and some meat. They also scored diets for Western diet elements, suc...

Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering in Geneva Switzerland has developed a brain-computer interface device that can decipher the thoughts of people who are unable to communicate

Posted on February 6, 2017 by

A brain-computer interface that can decipher the thoughts of people who are unable to communicate could revolutionize the lives of those living with complete locked-in syndrome according to a new paper published in PLOS Biology. Counter to expectations, the participants in the study reported being “happy” despite their condition. In the trial, people with complete locked-in syndrome, who were incapable of even moving their eyes to communicate, were able to respond “yes” or “no” via though...

Engineers At Caltech and ETH Zurich have Created Artificial Skin That “Feels” Temperature Changes

Posted on February 6, 2017February 6, 2017 by

A team of engineers and scientists at Caltech and ETH Zurich have developed an artificial skin capable of detecting temperature changes using a mechanism similar to the one used by the organ that allows pit vipers to sense their prey. The material could be grafted onto prosthetic limbs to restore temperature sensing in amputees. It could also be applied to first-aid bandages to alert health professionals of a temperature increase—a sign of infection—in wounds. A paper about the new materia...

Citizen science is the involvement of the public in scientific research – whether community-driven research or global investigations

Posted on February 6, 2017 by

Citizen science is the involvement of the public in scientific research – whether community-driven research or global investigations. The Citizen Science Association unites expertise from educators, scientists, data managers, and others to power citizen science. Join us, and help speed innovation by sharing insights across disciplines. https://youtu.be/UVuEsuk9Dgc Whether through grassroots action or technology-mediated crowdsourcing, there has been a rapid increase in public par...

Theoretical Physicists and Astrophysicists research suggest entire universe may be an illusion and reality is a 2D hologram

Posted on February 5, 2017 by

The holographic principle is a principle of string theories and a supposed property of quantum gravity that states that the description of a volume of space can be thought of as encoded on a lower-dimensional boundary to the region—preferably a light-like boundary like a gravitational horizon. This could be thought of as rather like watching a 3D film in a movie theater. We see the pictures as having height, width, and depth—when in fact it all originates from a flat 2D screen. ...

UC San Diego Jacobs school of engineering has created nanoparticle-based device that can absorb infrared light upto 98%

Posted on February 5, 2017 by

Transparent window coatings that keep buildings and cars cool on sunny days. Devices that could more than triple solar cell efficiency. Thin, lightweight shields that block thermal detection. These are potential applications for a thin, flexible, light-absorbing material developed by engineers at the University of California San Diego. The material, called a near-perfect broadband absorber, absorbs more than 87 percent of near-infrared light (1,200 to 2,200 nanometer wavelengths), with 98 per...

Keio University Japan and Washington University are researching anti ageing drug ‘nicotinamide mono nucleotide’ (NMN)

Posted on February 4, 2017 by

Much of human health hinges on how well the body manufactures and uses energy. For reasons that remain unclear, cells’ ability to produce energy declines with age, prompting scientists to suspect that the steady loss of efficiency in the body’s energy supply chain is a key driver of the aging process. Now, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that supplementing healthy mice with a natural compound called NMN can compensate for this loss of energy prod...

NASA Research Reveals Biological Clock Misalignment Effects on Sleep for Astronauts

Posted on February 4, 2017 by

Since the beginning of the space program, astronauts have dealt with the realities of spaceflight from microgravity in weak muscles and space radiation, to sleep deprivation and disorientation. Both before and during astronauts’ flights, changes in biological clocks, or circadian rhythms, contribute to sleep deficiency and increase the use of sleep-promoting medications. For most people, the circadian rhythm is a little longer than 24 hours. On Earth, our daily exposure to light from the sun ...

Scientists at MIT have developed a new material that can temporarily protect and tighten skin, and smooth wrinkles.

Posted on February 4, 2017 by

Scientists at MIT, Massachusetts General Hospital, Living Proof, and Olivo Labs have developed a new material that can temporarily protect and tighten skin, and smooth wrinkles. With further development, it could also be used to deliver drugs to help treat skin conditions such as eczema and other types of dermatitis. The material, a silicone-based polymer that could be applied on the skin as a thin, imperceptible coating, mimics the mechanical and elastic properties of healthy, youthful skin....

Fadel Adib and his team at ‘MIT Signal Kinetics’ research group is working to build smart environments to monitor our vital signs remotely, without instrumenting our bodies.

Posted on February 1, 2017 by

Today’s health sensors (which monitor breathing, heartbeats, steps, etc.) require their users to wear them on their bodies. In contrast, our technologies can monitor human health without requiring the user to wear any device on his/her body. To do so, MIT Signal Kinetics research group captured and analyzed wireless signals reflected off the human body; then use these reflected signals to extract breathing and heartbeats without any physical contact with the human body. Team is currently explori...

‘Wyss Center’ is in process of developing a bionic implant that will bypass damaged optical cells and restore lost vision by directly stimulating the optic nerve.

Posted on February 1, 2017 by

Most forms of blindness, including macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, result from the degeneration of light sensing receptor cells at the back of the eye. The neural pathways that convey information from the eye to the brain however, often remain intact. The Wyss Center is supporting development of a bionic implant that will bypass damaged optical cells and restore lost vision by directly stimulating the optic nerve. Led by Professor Diego Ghezzi, in collaboration with Professo...

‘UC Davis Health’ research suggests, firearm owners with prior DUI have a high future probability of violence

Posted on February 1, 2017February 1, 2017 by

Prior DUIs predict future criminal activity among firearm owners Among individuals who legally purchased handguns in California, prior convictions for driving under the influence (DUI) and other alcohol-related crimes were associated with a substantial increase in risk for subsequent violent or firearm-related crime, according to a study published Jan. 30 in Injury Prevention by the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program. Firearm violence frequently involves alcohol, but there are n...

University of Borås Sweden has built smart textiles that work as an artificial muscle

Posted on January 31, 2017January 31, 2017 by

Researchers have coated normal fabric with an electroactive material, and in this way given it the ability to actuate in the same way as muscle fibres. The technology opens new opportunities to design “textile muscles” that could, for example, be incorporated into clothes, making it easier for people with disabilities to move. The study, which has been carried out by researchers at Linköping University and the University of Borås in Sweden, has been published in Science Advances. Developm...

Researchers at the University of Tokyo are making artificial cells behave like soap bubbles

Posted on January 30, 2017 by

Researchers at the University of Tokyo used MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) technology to produce spherical vesicles (asymmetric giant lipid vesicles/liposomes) surrounded by a membrane that, like the membrane of our cells, has an inner and outer layer composed of different phospholipids. In contrast to conventional methods of creating vesicles, this new method leaves little trace of organic solvents inside the vesicle and is an important contribution as a fundamental technique for devel...

Ohio State University research suggests, anti-inflammatory diet could reduce risk of bone loss in women

Posted on January 30, 2017 by

With age, people tend to lose bone mass, and postmenopausal women in particular are at a higher risk of osteoporosis and bone fracture. However, there are things we can do to prevent this. A new study suggests that a diet rich in anti-inflammatory nutrients may reduce bone loss in some women. Study also found diet linked to fewer hip fractures in younger white women Anti-inflammatory diets – which tend to be high in vegetables, fruits, fish and whole grains – could boost bone health and preven...

Ugandan engineers have created a “smart jacket” that can diagnose pneumonia faster than a doctor by measuring breathing patterns, temperature and breathing rate simultaneously.

Posted on January 30, 2017 by

Ugandan engineers have created a “smart jacket” that can diagnose pneumonia faster than a doctor by measuring breathing patterns, temperature and breathing rate simultaneously, then sending the information to a mobile app. The Mama-Ope (Mother’s Hope) kit was born when Olivia Koburongo, 26, had the idea after her grandmother was transferred from hospital to hospital until she was finally diagnosed with pneumonia. By the time of diagnosis, it was too late to save her. Koburongo thought the dia...

Yale-led research on how cancer cells spread has found that a melanoma cell and a white blood cell can fuse to form a hybrid with the ability to metastasize.

Posted on January 28, 2017 by

In a second human case, a Yale-led research team has found that a melanoma cell and a white blood cell can fuse to form a hybrid with the ability to metastasize. The finding provides further insight into how melanoma and other cancers spread from solid tumors with implications for future treatment. The study was published on Jan. 27 in the journal PLOS ONE. Cancer turns deadly when malignant cells spread from a primary tumor to other organs and tissues. Building on a theory first proposed ...

UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI FINLAND Study Suggests, Mitochondrial dysfunction is the root cause of many diseases bewildering in their variety and complexity

Posted on January 28, 2017 by

Mitochondrial dysfunction is the root cause of many diseases bewildering in their variety and complexity. They include rare genetic disorders in children, some forms of heart disease, and most likely many cases of Parkinson’s disease. Research on mitochondria started already in the late 19th century, but there are still many unsolved issues concerning their composition, their function and their relevance to health and disease. Director Howy Jacobs and his research group at the Institute of ...