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] 

Printing Computers with Chiplets

Tiny chiplets the size of a grain of sand could lead to 3D printers able to print the circuitry for devices such as flexible smartphones and smart bandages.

In contrast to today’s chips, which are made on large wafers cut into individual dies and reassembled on circuit boards, the tiny chips could be printed directly on a surface in precisely the correct location and orientation. The chiplets are able to function as microprocessors, computer memory and other necessary circuits, and could be used to create complete computers.

The researchers believe the chips could be used as part of a 3D printing system able to print objects with computing power embedded in them.

More info:

[GIZMODO.COM] 

[NEW YORK TIMES]

Artificial Leaf Improved, Creates Energy from Dirty Water

The ‘artificial leaf’ of 2011 has been improved, and is now able to self-heal as it produces energy from dirty water.

The leaf is made up of a simple silicon water coated in a catalyst that, when submerged in water and exposed to sunlight, causes the water to break down into hydrogen and oxygen which can then be collected and used to produce electricity in fuel cells. However, because bacteria can accumulate on the leaf’s surface and interfere with the process, the device could only be used with pure water.

The new leaf features a catalyst that has been altered so that part of it falls apart, which denies the bacteria the smooth surface they need to create a biofilm. Once the bacteria have been dispersed, the catalyst can re-assemble, healing itself. The artificial leaf also uses cheaper materials than similar devices and is made with a simple ‘buried junction’ wiring design that helps to reduce manufacturing costs.

More info:

[GIZMAG.COM] 

[AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY] 

LiddUp Cooler Shines a Light on its Contents

Just in time for summer night parties, the LiddUp Cooler features an illuminated interior to let you see which beverage you’re choosing.

The cooler can provide more than 40 hours of continuous light from its single 9-volt battery and features a patented LED lighting system that provides enough light to see the contents regardless of how full the cooler is. The lights turn off automatically when the cooler is closed, and the developers claim the system is completely shock resistant and waterproof, even able to survive being tossed from a truck moving at 80 mph.

Besides helping party-goers differentiate between beverages, the cool could also be useful during camping (saving flashlight batteries) and emergency effort where an illuminating cooler would be practical.

More info:
[GIZMAG.COM]
[LIDDUP]

Crowdsourcing Project Results in Hover Car Concept

A levitating car concept, submitted as part of the “People’s Car” project, uses electromagnetic road networks to float above the road.

The People’s Car project, sponsored by Volkswagen, invited residents of China to submit their ideas about the cars of the future. More than 119,000 ideas were submitted, with the Hover Car emerging as one of the top three. The Hover Car is envisioned as a pod-like, two-seater vehicle able to float above the ground using electromagnetic levitation. It would float on its grid above the regular road, and its joystick control would allow it to move side to side or spin on its axis. Also emissions-free, the car would address China’s rising pollution while also being easy to park and maneuver on China’s crowded roads.

According to Volkswagen Director of Marketing Luca de Meo, the crowdsourcing project marks the beginning on an era. “We are no longer just building cars for, but also with customers and at the same time initiating a national dialog which gives us a deep insight into the design preferences, needs and requirements of Chinese customers.”

More info:
[CBSNEWS.COM]
[HUFFINGTON POST]

Tiny Chip Sequences DNA in One Hour

Credit: diginfo.tv

A new chip about half the size of a business card is able to automate all the stages of DNA testing, and could help make personalized treatments more widespread.

To being the DNA testing process, a drop of blood is mixed with a chemical substrate and then dropped onto the chip. The rest of the process is automatic, as the DNA is extracted from the solution and the regions containing the SNPs are cut out and amplified by a technology called PCR. The PCR process, which varies the temperature to cut out the desired sections, takes place in about nine minutes, significantly less time than the previous wait of two hours, and the patient’s SNPs are identified within about an hour instead of three to four days.

Detecting SNPs is an important step in determining the existence of genetically transferred diseases and helps to identify genes related to illnesses.

More info:
[DVICE.COM]
[GIZMODO]

About this new blog

Hello everyone, my name is Danny and this is my new blog. I created this blog to share about the latest technologies in our world. I know that I'm a newbie in the blogger world, but I'll try my best to make my blog as updated as I can. Thanks for the understanding and have a good day.