Category Biology/Biotechnology

If you’ve delved into the worlds of “Star Trek,” “The Terminator” or William Gibson’s cyberpunk novel “Neuromancer,” you’ll know that enhanced electronic vision is a staple of science fiction. Now, what was once futuristic fiction is becoming a reality.

Researchers have developed bionic eyes that can restore some lost vision. These devices’ capabilities are currently basic, but they have been steadily improving in recent years.

One day, they might even offer features that transcend the limits of natural human eyesight—for instance, by manipulating images in a way the human eye cannot or by seeing beyond the spectrum of visible light.

To date, implants have focused on combating problems with the retina, the light-sensing layer of cells insid...

An international collaboration led by a neurologist and experts in advanced genomics at Vanderbilt Health has coaxed one of the secrets of extreme longevity from a 194-year-old giant tortoise named Jonathan.

Jonathan’s secret involves entropy, the tendency of biological systems to become disordered over time.

One of the hallmarks of aging is mitochondrial dysfunction. It results from increasing entropy, or disorder, in “promoters,” the genetic on-and-off switches that regulate the efficiency of mitochondria, the energy-producing organelles in most animal cells. A reliable supply of cellular energy is essential for many biological processes.

Despite his many years, Jonathan somehow had avoide...

Oxidized lipids—fats structurally altered by enzymes, oxygen or free radicals—are double-edged swords that can both quell and ignite systemic inflammation, according to a new comprehensive review aimed at sharpening the overall understanding of an intricate class of highly reactive molecules.

Dr. Marco Di Gioia and Dr. Ivan Zanoni, two medical investigators from the divisions of immunology and gastroenterology at Harvard Medical School, explored this complex molecular universe by focusing on a class of compounds called oxidized phospholipids—oxPLs.

In their article published in Science Immunology, they explored why sharp differences in oxPL activity can have favorable or unfavorable biological outcomes...

Over the past few decades, electronics engineers have developed increasingly sophisticated implantable medical devices. Reliably powering some of these devices, however, can be challenging, particularly when they are based on stretchable materials that move along with the body.

Researchers at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul National University and other institutions in South Korea recently developed a new wireless power system that could provide energy to soft implantable devices, even when they are stretching or moving. The new system, introduced in a paper published in Nature Electronics, was initially used to develop a cardiac pacemaker, a medical device that uses electrical pulses to control heartbeats.

“This wor...