Category Biology/Biotechnology

Integrating eye tracker into a regular pair of glasses, the system relies on NIR lights and photodiodes for eye tracking and is powered by two thin solar cells on the arms of the glasses.
Credit: Photo courtesy of DartNets Lab

Battery-free eye-tracking glasses developed at Dartmouth College could create an even more realistic experience for augmented reality enthusiasts. The new technology improves player controls for gaming and allows for more accurate image displays.

High power consumption and cost have kept eye trackers out of current augmented reality systems. By using near-infrared lights and photodiodes, Dartmouth’s DartNets Lab has created an energy-efficient, wearable system that tracks rapid eye movements and allows hands-free input of system commands.

The glasses, which can also h...

“Having a better understanding of the father’s biological role will be obviously important for the offspring, but also potentially for the mother.”

A decade of data documenting live births in the United States links babies of older fathers with a variety of increased risks at birth, including low birth weight and seizures, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The data even suggest that the age of the father can sway the health of the mother during pregnancy, specifically her risk for developing diabetes...

STIMO study participant David Mzee is now able to take a few steps of his own. He was totally paraplegic after a sports accident.
Credit: EPFL / Jean-Baptiste Mignardot

Targeted neurotechnology restores walking in humans with spinal cord injury. Three paraplegics who sustained cervical spinal cord injuries many years ago are now able to walk with the aid of crutches or a walker thanks to new rehabilitation protocols that combine targeted electrical stimulation of the lumbar spinal cord and weight-assisted therapy.

This latest study, called STIMO (STImulation Movement Overground), establishes a new therapeutic framework to improve recovery from spinal cord injury. All patients involved in the study recovered voluntary control of leg muscles that had been paralyzed for many years...

Aggregated alpha-synuclein in the neurons of the appendix.
Credit: Courtesy of Viviane Labrie | Van Andel Research Institute

Appendix acts as a reservoir for disease-associated proteins; appendectomy lowers the risk of developing Parkinson’s. Removing the appendix early in life reduces the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by 19 to 25%, according to the largest and most comprehensive study of its kind, published today in Science Translational Medicine.

The findings also solidify the role of the gut and immune system in the genesis of the disease, and reveal that the appendix acts as a major reservoir for abnormally folded alpha-synuclein proteins, which are closely linked to Parkinson’s onset and progression.

“Our results point to the appendix as a site of origin for Parkinson’s and pr...