Implantable Electronics Fight Disease, then Dissolve

Implantable electronics able to dissolve over time could lead to a new generation of pain-relief methods as well as an easier way to monitor water quality.

The devices, called transient electronics, are not new, but researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have recently made some significant advancements in their functioning. The new devices are wrapped in alternating layers that dissolve completely after a specific period of time, leaving behind no residue. In tests, the research team implanted the devices in mice at risk for infection. The devices created localized heat, preventing the infection, and then dissolved.

In applications beyond medicine, the dissolvable electronics could also be distributed to monitor water quality, and then allowed to dissolve after completing the task.

More info:

[DISCOVERY.COM] 

[NEWS WISE] 

Most Efficient Warm-Light LED

By combining a series of colored filters, researchers at Phillips have created the world’s most efficient warm light LED.

The TLED, tube-shaped, prototype lamp is the first to attain 200lm/W while still maintaining a high quality of light. To create the warm light, researchers combined one red LED with two blue, then applied a green filter that converted one of the blue LEDs to green. This process resulted in a warm light with more than twice the lumens per-watt of conventional LED bulbs.

Green Ray LED also announced their new LED at the same time as Phillips, with the claim that, at 173 lumens per watt, it is the most efficient LED light currently available. Its light, however, is a bit cool. 

More info:
[GIZMAG.COM]
[PHILLIPS]

Retroreflectors Detect Bio-Attacks

The safety reflectors found on posts, bikes and sneakers could play an important new role in detecting bioterrorism attacks as well as everyday infectious diseases.

Retroreflectors are one of the most visually detectable man-made devices, able to reflect light back to its source with extreme brightness. By creating retroreflectors small enough for 200 of them to fit inside the dot over an ‘i’, the research team was able to incorporate them into a microfluidic device. When a fluid sample free of bacteria or virus flows through the channels, the retroreflectors shine brightly. However, bacteria-laden samples will cause areas of the reflectors to go dark, providing a quick, visual cue easily detected with simple optical devices.

Currently, the device is able to test for seven pathogens at once, but the team has plans to increase that capacity.

More info:

[DISCOVERY.COM] 

[AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY] 

Creating a Transparent Brain

The CLARITY process turns brains transparent, allowing doctors to carry out postmortem examinations without needing to slice the brain itself.

The technique, developed by researchers at Stanford University, involves chemically removing the opaque lipids from the brain and replacing them with a clear hydrogel. To complete the process, the intact brain in immersed in a hydrogel solution, allowing the hydrogel monomers to infuse the brain tissue. When the brain is heated, the monomers congeal into a mesh that holds everything in the brain together—except the lipids, which are then extracted using an electric field.

According to Thomas Insel, MD, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, "This feat of chemical engineering promises to transform the way we study the brain's anatomy and how disease changes it. No longer will the in-depth study of our most important three-dimensional organ be constrained by two-dimensional methods."

More info:

[MEDGADGET.COM] 

[NATURE] 

Sterilizing Food with Nuclear Waste

By harnessing the gamma rays of nuclear waste, a masters student has developed a way to use the material to sterilize food and equipment.

Russell Goff, a masters student in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Oregon State University, has created a patent-pending tube able to contain the dangerous radiation of spent nuclear fuel while allowing the gamma rays to escape. Gamma rays have already been safely used to sterilize a variety of materials, including bandages, syringes and meats, but they usually come from Cobalt-70, which is limited in supply and relatively expensive.

Through his company, G-Demption LLC, Goff hopes to eventually offer a facility where materials could be dropped off to be safely irradiated and then returned, making use of the spent fuel from the more than 100 nuclear power plants in operation in the US.

More info:

[FASTCOEXIST.COM] 

[G-DEMPTION] 

Chill Puck Keeps Cans Cooler Longer

Attach your cooler to your can with the Chill Puck, a beverage cooling device that keeps cans cold from the bottom up.

According to the developer, the Chill Puck features “NASA-designed equipment” originally used to chill nuclear reactors inside satellites. The puck was designed to maximize the surface contact with the can, and the accompanying Chill Band uses suction to attach the puck to the can. The puck also has four small legs on the bottom, which allow it to function as a coaster as well.

The Chill Puck is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter.

More info:

[GIZMAG.COM] 

[CHILL PUCK] 

3D Printed Skeleton from a Live Animal

Scientists have successfully printed a 3D model of a skeleton from a live animal, an achievement that could have applications in both human and veterinary medicine.

The highly-accurate, plastic skeleton was created from a CT scan of an anesthetized rat that was then sent to a commercial MakerBot 3D printer for printing. Evan Doney, an engineer at the biological imaging lab at Notre Dame, first came up with the idea, and used several freeware programs to in order to convert the CT scan for use in the 3D printer. The program also allows the team to clean up the image and repair breaks before printing.

The ability to print a 3D model of a living creature’s skeleton or organs could be used to create less expensive learning models for anatomy students, and could also be used to help surgeons prepare for particularly tricky operations.

More info:

[INHABITAT.COM] 

[NOTRE DAME]