An international team of engineers from Penn state University, University Park, PA, and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia, have discovered that saliva-powered micro-sized microbial fuel cells can produce minute amounts of energy—enough to run on-chip applications, they say. This...

A team of researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, has developed two inexpensive adapters that enable a smartphone to capture high-quality images of the front and back of the eye. The adapters can allow anyone with minimal training to take a picture of the eye and share it securely...

Using an inexpensive 3D printer, biomedical engineers at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, say that they have developed a custom-fitted, implantable device with embedded sensors that could treat cardiac disorders.

A team of physics researchers at the University of Adelaide, Australia, say that they have developed a new type of laser that will enable advances in areas as diverse as breath analysis for disease diagnosis and remote sensing of critical greenhouse gases.

Hot on the heels of the Super Bowl, comes new research from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, on concussions and head hits in football players and how the head reacts to impacts. Using crash test dummies wearing helmets and a laboratory drop tower, the researchers approximated the force of...

When rhinos charge each other, their heavy skulls protect them from serious damage. But football players must rely on helmets that may not prevent concussion or other serious head injuries that may occur. To improve the odds of a safer helmet, researchers at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg,...

First-of-its-kind research being done at the Innovation Institute at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI, shows promise for developing a method of clearly identifying cancerous tissue during surgery on glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a tumor that attacks tissue around nerve cells in the brain.

Researchers at the University of Delaware, Newark, have developed a “smart” hydrogel that can deliver medicine on demand, in response to mechanical force. What’s new about their material, is its ability to release medicine in response to force, a major challenge for people with osteoarthritis, which...

Administering health care in space demands innovative biomedical solutions. Small companies developing products that can be modified for use in space may be eligible for a unique funding opportunity offered through the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI).

Researchers at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, a leading technology university, say they have developed electronic components that are so thin and flexible they can even be wrapped around a single hair without damaging the electronics. This may open up new possibilities for ultra-thin, transparent...

A study conducted by the Scripps Translational Science Institute, San Diego, has found that a small adhesive wireless device worn on the chest for up to two weeks does a better job detecting abnormal and potentially dangerous heart rhythms than the traditional Holter monitor,...

A team of scientists from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, and the University of Kansas Medical Center have restored behavior using a neural prosthesis in a rat model of brain injury. Ultimately, the team hopes to develop a device that rapidly and substantially improves function...

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed prototype calibration tools for an experimental medical imaging technique that offers new advantages in diagnosing and monitoring of certain cancers and possibly other medical conditions.

A team of researchers at Kansas State University, Manhattan, are developing improvements for astronauts' outerwear. The team, which includes electrical and computer engineering professors and more than a dozen students, envisions a future spacesuit that could monitor astronauts'...

Multiple sclerosis (MS) involves an immune system attack against the central nervous system and causes progressive paralysis by destroying nerve cells and the spinal cord. It interrupts vision, balance, and even thinking. Although there is still no cure, there are some medications and alternative treatments that may...

A study by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), New York, NY, researchers suggests that narrow-spectrum ultraviolet (UV) light could dramatically reduce surgical infections without damaging human tissue.