Electrical Wound Care…

New research from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, and the University of Freiburg, Germany, shows that wounds on cultured skin cells heal three times faster when stimulated with electric current. The project was recently granted more funding so the research can get one step closer to the market and the benefit of patients. Credit: ScienceContinue reading “Electrical Wound Care…”

Caveat Modifier…

The Biofire Smart Gun. Photographer: James Stukenberg for Bloomberg Businessweek Topics: Biometrics, Biotechnology, Computer Science, Democracy, Materials Science, Semiconductor Technology Tech Target (Alyssa Provazza, Editorial Director): “A smartphone is a cellular telephone with an integrated computer and other features not originally associated with telephones, such as an operating system, web browsing, and the ability to runContinue reading “Caveat Modifier…”

LNPs…

Cancer cells are one of the main targets for expanded mRNA-LNP use. Credit: Iliescu Catalin / Alamy Topics: Biology, Biotechnology, Cancer, COVID-19, Nanotechnology Note: This is an advertisement on Nature Portfolio discussing that there may be a silver lining in the pandemic we’ve all experienced. Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) transport small molecules into the body. TheContinue reading “LNPs…”

Like Mushrooms for Plastics…

Credit: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Topics: Biology, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering A research group from VTT Technical Research Center of Finland has unlocked the secret behind the extraordinary mechanical properties and ultra-light weight of certain fungi. The complex architectural design of mushrooms could be mimicked and used to create new materialsContinue reading “Like Mushrooms for Plastics…”

Nanowires and Climate Change…

Image Credit: Down to the wire (IMAGE), Yale University Topics: Biotechnology, Civilization, Climate Change, Nanotechnology Accelerated climate change is a major and acute threat to life on Earth. Rising temperatures are caused by atmospheric methane, which is 30 times more potent than CO2 at trapping heat. Microbes are responsible for generating half of this methane. Elevated temperatures are also acceleratingContinue reading “Nanowires and Climate Change…”

Wonderful…

Image Source: MedPage Today Topics: Biology, Biotechnology, Civilization, COVID-19, DNA, Epidemiology Currently authorized bivalent COVID-19 boosters demonstrated similar protection against symptomatic illness from the XBB/XBB.1.5 Omicron subvariants as from BA.5-related subvariants, according to a CDC study. From December 2022 to January 2023, the bivalent boosters’ vaccine effectiveness (VE) against symptomatic infection was a similar 48%Continue reading “Wonderful…”

Syncing Fireflies…

Topics: Biology, Biomimetics, Biotechnology, Computer Modeling, Mathematics In Japanese folk traditions, they symbolize departing souls or silent, ardent love. Some Indigenous cultures in the Peruvian Andes view them as the eyes of ghosts. And across various Western cultures, fireflies, glow-worms, and other bioluminescent beetles have been linked to a dazzling and at times contradictory arrayContinue reading “Syncing Fireflies…”

Cellulose Shoes…

Topics: Additive Manufacturing, Biology, Biotechnology, Environment, Genetics, Nanotechnology For Hermes, the Greek god of speed, these bacterial sneakers would have been just the ticket. Modern Synthesis co-founders Jen Keane, CEO, and Ben Reeve, CTO, are now setting out to make them available to mere mortals, raising a $4.1 million investment to scale up production. Keane, a graduateContinue reading “Cellulose Shoes…”

Soap-Like Properties…

Topics: Biology, Biotechnology, DNA, Molecules DNA molecules are not fixed objects – they are constantly getting broken up and glued back together to adopt new shapes. Davide Michieletto explains how this process can be harnessed to create a new generation of “topologically active” materials. Call me naive, but until a few years ago I had never realizedContinue reading “Soap-Like Properties…”

RNA and Covid-19…

Topics: Biology, Biotechnology, COVID-19, Diversity in Science, NIST, Research, Women in Science Scientists track and monitor the circulation of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, using methods based on a laboratory technique called polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Also used as the “gold standard” test to diagnose COVID-19 in individuals, PCR amplifies pieces of DNA byContinue reading “RNA and Covid-19…”