Topic

Finger pricking may be a means to an end for diabetics who need to track their blood glucose levels, but it's a pain — both literally and figuratively speaking. They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and the necessity for a better alternative to the finger-pricking method is...

This week's Question: Driven by a $30 million prize put up by Google, more  than two dozen teams have signed up for a competition to become the first  private venture to land on the Moon. That means spacecrafts could be heading out within a few years, and many entrepreneurs are developing possible ideas that could...

Some of today's mobile applications are becoming so sophisticated that they stand to transform mobile devices into medical devices — and should be regulated accordingly. Hoping to clarify which mobile applications are expected to adhere to regulations like any other medical device, the FDA has just...

While Congress failed to repeal light bulb efficiency standards last week, many had been debating the importance of LED bulbs and compact fluorescents. Supporters of incandescents say that the light source is cheap compared to alternatives, and its quality is fairly good. Others argue that the...

Advances in prosthetics technology are usually more applicable to the developed world than a country like Afghanistan, even though it has one of the highest amputation rates. With this in mind, U.S. Army Task Force Spartan soldiers have produced a simple and easily reproduced prototype prosthetic leg...

North Carolina State University researchers have developed a memory device that is soft, functions well in wet environments, and features “the physical properties of Jell-O,” according to Dr. Michael Dickey, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at NC...

An article from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society calls attention to a recent study published in Ergonomics in Design, "Using Storytelling to Elicit Design Guidance for Medical Devices." In the study, human factors/ergonomics researchers evaluated the use of storytelling as a qualitative research...

Last week, Toshiba unveiled a glasses-free 3D laptop, the Qosmio F750. The screen displays 2D and 3D simultaneously in separate windows. The display uses a lenticular lens sheet, capable of sending slightly different images to the left and right eye separately, thus giving the user a sense of image depth. The computer has...

MIT researchers are developing a simple device that can clip onto an ordinary smartphone (or smart device such as an iPod) that can diagnose cataracts within minutes. The standard test for cataracts in an ophthalmologist's office assigns a score on a scale of 1 to 4 — from no cataracts to completely blocked vision....