3D-Printed Brain Helps Scientists Study Cancer and Test Drugs
Scientists use 3D printed brain tissue and cancer to quickly test drug efficacy. Continue reading 3D-Printed Brain Helps Scientists Study Cancer and Test Drugs
Tag: Materials Science
It’s Alive!: A Living Smart Material
Bioengineers from the University of Texas at Dallas have developed a new form of composite material by incorporating yeast into a gel. They demonstrated that the composite can change size depending on the nutrients present around the gel and that different shapes can be formed by genetically manipulating the yeast. Continue reading It’s Alive!: A Living Smart Material
Creating Carbon Cages
Materials scientists have predicted and synthesized a new type of crystal made from the elements carbon and boron forming a diamond-strong, electrically conductive cage around other guest atoms. Continue reading Creating Carbon Cages
A Smarter Contact Lens
Researchers from Korea have described the fabrication and function of a new type of smart contact lens which is capable of being charged wirelessly, allowing for long-term continuous use that conventional smart contact lenses have been incapable of permitting. Continue reading A Smarter Contact Lens
‘Double-sided tape’ could replace surgical stitches
Sutures are commonly used to close wounds in the skin or other tissues. Similar to sewing fabric, the doctors will use a needle attached to a thread to penetrate the tissue and close the edges of the wound together, facilitating quick healing. Although surgical sutures have been used for thousands of years, they still have some limitations: 1) the needles cause some damage to the … Continue reading ‘Double-sided tape’ could replace surgical stitches
Magnetic field-controlled drug delivery to the brain
Researchers have developed a minimally-invasive and precise brain drug delivery system that is controlled by an external magnetic field. Read Anqi Zhang’s article to learn more about neuron modulation by drug delivery! Continue reading Magnetic field-controlled drug delivery to the brain
Back in Black: The New Blackest Material
Engineers at MIT have developed the blackest material to date by growing carbon nanotubes on an aluminum surface. The treated aluminum structure additionally has improved electrical properties and the synthesis process can be easily scaled for a number of applications. Continue reading Back in Black: The New Blackest Material
Slow and Steady Drug Delivery Keeps Biomedical Devices Kicking
Researchers from MIT have developed a novel method to locally deliver drugs and prevent immune activity around implanted biomedical devices over several months. The method is based on the formation of crystals of immunosuppressive drugs, which can be included in devices and slowly dissolve over the course of months. While this method substantially increases the length of time tested devices can function, difficulty of crystallizing certain drugs or introducing them into specific devices may prove to be a challenge in adapting this method to other systems. Even so, for many cases, this method will likely substantially reduce the difficulty of maintaining device stability for extended periods of time. Continue reading Slow and Steady Drug Delivery Keeps Biomedical Devices Kicking
So what color was that dinosaur, actually?
Tyrannosaurus Rex, Triceratops, Saber-toothed Tiger…as kids, we probably imagined these creatures using a variety of crayon colors. But what if we could figure out what color these creatures actually were? A scientific technique developed by Roy Wogelius involving the Interdisciplinary Centre for Ancient Life at the University of Manchester may paint the ancient world in its truest form. Paleontologists use information contained in fossils to try … Continue reading So what color was that dinosaur, actually?
Conductors vs. Insulators: A Quantum Perspective
Electricity is created by electrons flowing through materials. Materials that allow electrons to travel through, like copper wires, are called conductors, whereas materials that inhibit electron flow, like rubber, are called insulators. However, the models behind our understanding have been incomplete. To understand which materials permit electron movement, scientists have investigated the patterns of electron motion in materials. Electrons do not behave like macroscopic objects. … Continue reading Conductors vs. Insulators: A Quantum Perspective