Mechanical Components

The natural mechanical properties of natural joints are considered unrivalled. Cartilage is coated with a special layer of lubrication that allows joints to move virtually friction-free, even under high pressure. Using simulations on supercomputers, scientists from Forschungszentrum Jülich in...

A team of engineers at The University of Texas at Austin say that they have built the smallest, fastest, and longest-running synthetic motor to date. This nanomotor, which could fit inside a human cell, is an important step toward developing miniature machines that could one day move through the body...

Physicians at the Medical College of Georgia and Georgia Regents University, Augusta, say that the intra-aortic balloon pump, one of the most frequently used mechanical circulatory assist devices in the world may have untapped potential. One of its many uses is helping ensure adequate...

While vanadium dioxide is already known for its ability to change size, shape, and physical identity, a team of researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory say that super strength can now be added to that list of attributes. They demonstrated a micro-sized robotic...

A new optical device about the size of a hand-held video camera, developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, can scan a patient’s entire retina in seconds and could aid primary care physicians in early detection of many retinal diseases, including diabetic...

Recent advances in robotics technology enables prosthetics that can dramatically improve the mobility of lower-limb amputees, allowing them to negotiate stairs and slopes and uneven ground, and significantly reducing their risk of falling, say a team of engineers at Vanderbilt University’s Center...

A comparative analysis was carried out between an emerging cryogenic grinding method and a conventional wetchemistry/ bead-beating endospore disruption approach. After extensive trial and error, it was determined that a regimen of three cryogenic grinding cycles of 2 minutes each...