Technology Spotlight

An archive of past Life Sciences Technology Spotlight articles.

Better Analytical Tools for Genome Researchers

Researchers are developing big data techniques for large-scale DNA analysis. Next-Generation-Sequencing (NGS) techniques are revolutionizing the sequencing of DNA, greatly increasing the speed and decreasing the cost. But the mountains of data produced by sequencers can swamp current computing platforms. Researchers at Iowa State University, in Ames, Iowa, have received a grant to develop software libraries to support DNA data analysis on High Performance Computers (HPCs).
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Path Found to a Combined MRI and CT Scanner

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, NY, are developing a combined scanning technology, using simultaneous MRI and CT scans, which they believe could benefit research and personalized medicine, for instance letting physicians get a better view of biological processes in action. But would the cost be prohibitive?
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Electronic Implants That Disappear

Implants that dissolve in the body after they've done their work could solve biocompatibility problem.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Tufts University say they have invented functional electronic implants that can dissolve after programmable time periods. To demonstrate the system, which could aid in healing during the first few crucial days after an operation, they implanted one in a rat. It created a temporary temperature increase to sterilize a wound, and then it dissolved after 15 days. Follow the link to the article on the IEEE Spectrum.
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Check Your Vitals on Your Smartphone

Scanadu, a 2-year-old San Francisco startup aiming to develop a handheld medical scanner for home use, similar to the Star Trek tricorder, has unveiled the SCOUT, set for release by the end of 2013. The NASA Ames Research Center-based company says that customers simply hold the small, lightweight device to the patient's temple and it will return five vital sign results with 99 percent accuracy in less than 10 seconds. Read the story, and see a trailer of Scanadu's vision for the SCOUT, and several other devices. Follow the link below to the article on the IEEE Spectrum.
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Does the Brain Work Logarithmically?

In a new IEEE Spectrum "Techwise Conversations" video presentation, Steven Cherry interviews Dr. Lav Varshnev of IBM, who points out that new research has found a neurobiological basis for understanding logarithmic compression in the brain. The concept has been around for over 100 years (in the Weber-Fechner law describing perceived sensitivity to stimuli), but now is being used in a variety of new ways.
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A Robot Ankle for Amputees

The BiOM, one of the world's most advanced ankles, comes from the cutting-edge prosthetics company iWalk. The company was founded by MIT professor Hugh Herr, who directs the biomechatronics group at the MIT Media Lab. IEEE Spectrum visited iWalk's headquarters in Bedford, Mass., to see its BiOM ankle in action and to learn more about how it works.
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DARPA Funds Human-On-A-Chip project

The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University today announced that it has entered into a Cooperative Agreement worth up to $37 million with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop an automated instrument that integrates 10 human organs-on-chips to study complex human physiology outside the body. This effort builds on the Institute's past breakthroughs in which Institute researchers engineered microchips that recapitulate the microarchitecture and functions of living organs, such as the lung, heart, and intestine. News releases from two Boston area research centers report that each has received multi-million dollar funding over the next ten years to develop multi-chip simulations of human functions.
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Scientists Build Vascular Network Using Sugar and a 3-D Printer

Bioengineers have long dreamed of creating living tissue that can be molded into everything from replacement human livers to lab-grown steaks. But a major obstacle has been keeping engineered tissues alive. Cells need a constant supply of nutrients and oxygen, and engineering a blood vessel system to deliver those nutrients and remove waste has remained elusive. Researchers at University of Pennsylvania say they may have found a way to create vasculatures using sugar and a 3-D printer.
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Middle Ear MEMS Microphone Could Restore Hearing

Researchers at the University of Utah have developed a MEMS microphone that can be implanted in the middle ear to restore hearing and requires no clunky external electronics.
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Algorithms Replace Spinal Cord

New Approach to Neural Prosthetics.
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Researchers Build Gut-on-a-Chip

Bioengineers at Havard say they've mimicked the essential functions of the human intestine on a chip about the size of your thumb.
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Bone Transplantation without Rejection

How a 3-D-printed titanium jawbone was transplanted into an 83-year-old patient.
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How Would You Like Your Bionic Vision?

Two companies are offering technology to restore vision to the blind.
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Electronic Eye Glasses and Contact Lens for Those Needing Vision Help or the Latest Tweets

Stories from the News about seeing - with a plus!
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Using Smiles (and Frowns) to Teach Robots
How to Behave

Videos show robots learning to respond to facial expressions
of emotion.
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Patients in ICUs Do Better With Telemedicine

By Marisa Plumb

According to doctors at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, intensive care units backed up by off-site doctors and nurses, who could remotely monitor critically ill patients and direct the ICU's on-site staff, had fewer patient deaths and shorter ICU stays.
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Concentric Tube Robots

A new robot technology that promises to revolutionize minimally invasive surgery.
Concentric tube robots are designed to balance the objectives of force application and steerability. Composed of telescoping curved metal tubes, they possess cross sections and stiffnesses comparable to needles.
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DNA transistor

Rapid and low-cost sequencing of a complete genome The DNA transistor is a striking illustration of the convergence of semiconductor technology and molecular biology.
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Solar-Powered Eye Sensor

A cornea-implanted computer can monitor the eyeball's pressure. In the future, that twinkle in your loved one's eye might be an implanted solar-powered pressure monitor.
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