Category Biology/Biotechnology

Drawing Inspiration from Plants: A Metal-Air Paper Battery for Wearable Devices

Drawing inspiration from plants: A metal–air paper battery for wearable devices
Photographs and a circuit diagram of a SpO2 sensor without cover. On the front side, control IC chip and battery connector were equipped. On the back side, the LED and detector for measuring pulse and O2 saturation were equipped. Credit: RSC Applied Interfaces (2024). DOI: 10.1039/D4LF00039K

For more than two millennia, paper has been a staple of human civilization. But these days, the use of paper is not limited to writing. It is also playing a pivotal role in ushering in a greener future.

Lightweight and thin paper-based devices help reduce dependence on metal or plastic materials, while at the same time being easier to dispose of...

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Universal Brain-Computer Interface lets People Play Games with just their Thoughts

Texas Engineering student wearing electrode cap at computer desk
Hussein Alawieh, a graduate student in Dr. José del R. Millán’s lab, wears a cap packed with electrodes that is hooked up to a computer. The electrodes gather data by measuring electrical signals from the brain, and the decoder interprets that information and translates it into game action.

Engineers have created a brain-computer interface that doesn’t require calibration for each user, paving the way for widespread clinical applicability.

Imagine playing a racing game like Mario Kart, using only your brain to execute the complex series of turns in a lap.

This is not a video game fantasy, but a real program that engineers at The University of Texas at Austin have created as part of research into brain-computer interfaces to help improve the lives of people with motor disabiliti...

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COVID-19 Research: Study reveals New Details about Potentially Deadly Inflammation

COVID-19 research: New details about potentially deadly inflammation revealed in USC study
SARS-CoV-2 NSP14 facilitates the activation of NF-κB signaling and inflammatory response. a, HEK293T cells were transfected with the plasmids of 27 SARS-CoV-2 proteins, along with MyD88 and a reporter plasmid carrying the NF-κB promoter (NF-κB-Luc) and the cells were analyzed for NF-κB activity by reporter gene assay. The horizontal dashed line indicates the activation level of the positive control (EV+MyD88) group. b, Expression of the proinflammatory genes TNFA, IL1B, IL6 and IL8 in human MDMs transfected with NSP14-specific or scramble control (Ctrl) siRNA, followed with SARS-CoV-2 infection at MOI = 1 for 48 h. c, Expression of the proinflammatory genes from b in Dox-inducible SARS-CoV-2 NSP14-expressing THP-1 cells, measured after treatment with Dox (1 μg ml...
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Mechanism found to Determine Which Memories Last

CREDIT: GETTY/ANDRIY ONUFRIYENKO

Neuroscientists have established in recent decades the idea that some of each day’s experiences are converted by the brain into permanent memories during sleep the same night. Now, a new study proposes a mechanism that determines which memories are tagged as Important enough to linger in the brain until sleep makes them permanent.

Led by researchers from NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the study revolves around brain cells called neurons that “fire” – or bring about swings in the balance of their positive and negative charges — to transmit electrical signals that encode memories...

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