Tag: physical sciences
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ReWalk, Wyss Institute Developing Soft Exoskeleton Robot
17 May 2016. A robotics company is licensing technology from a bioengineering lab at Harvard University to develop systems for people needing help with mobility, such as those with multiple sclerosis or suffering a stroke. Financial aspects of the deal between ReWalk Robotics Ltd. in Yokneam Ilit, Israel and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired…
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Smartphone App Helps Deal with Negative Moods
13 May 2016. A smartphone app created at two university psychology departments in the U.K. was shown to reduce the intensity of negative moods among its users. The team from University of Liverpool and University of Manchester reported its findings in the May 2016 issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry Open. The app, called…
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Ingestible Robot Designed for Stomach Objects, Wounds
13 May 2016. An engineering team at Massachusetts Institute of Technology designed a tiny robotic device for swallowing into the stomach to remove foreign objects and repair wounds. Researchers that include team members at University of Sheffield and University of York in the U.K., as well as Tokyo Institute of Technology, will describe the device…
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Portable Genome Device to Combat Wildlife Trafficking
12 May 2016. A handheld device for analyzing DNA can be used on the scene to identify products with endangered wildlife, to help stop poachers and smugglers of those species. A team from University of Leicester in the U.K. that devised this solution is the recipient of a $10,000 prize in the Wildlife Crime Tech…
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MIT Spin-Off Develops Material Mimicking Human Skin
9 May 2016. A substance that emulates properties of youthful human skin was shown in pilot tests with human subjects to outperform other materials used for wound dressings. The new polymer material, based on research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and commercialized by Olivo Laboratories, a start-up enterprise, is described in today’s issue of the…
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Genomics, Data Tools Track MRSA Outbreaks in Europe
6 May 2016. A combination of whole-genome sequencing and data visualization tools now makes it possible to track the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in European health facilities. A Europe-wide team led by Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and Imperial College London described their software and service yesterday in the journal mBio. The authors call the spread…
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Autonomous Robot Shown Better at Soft-Tissue Surgery
5 May 2016. A robotic arm, programmed to work autonomously under direction of a surgeon, was shown superior at soft-tissue surgery with pigs than human surgeons and robot-assisted surgery. Results of these tests, conducted by a team from Children’s National Health System in Washington, D.C., appear in yesterday’s (4 May) issue of the journal Science…
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Lung Function App Service Expanded to Any Phone
3 May 2016. A computer science lab extended the abilities of its smartphone app that measures lung function to a call-in service for any phone in the world. The team led by engineering and computer science professor Shwetak Patel at University of Washington will discuss the new service at the ACM Computer-Human Interaction (CHI) 2016…
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Collaboration Explores Humanitarian Satellite Applications
28 April 2016. A start-up satellite imaging provider and agency of the United Nations are partnering on new ways to use satellite imaging to further the UN’s humanitarian, peace-keeping, and climate change mitigation missions. Financial terms between BlackSky Global LLC in Seattle and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, or Unitar, were not…
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Software Detects DNA Mutations in Single Cells
19 April 2016. A new computer program detects genetic variations in individual cells, rather than current methods that require analyzing DNA in millions of cells. The program, named Monovar, is described by geneticists and bioinformatics specialists at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in the 18 April issue of the journal Nature Methods (paid subscription required). Monovar…