Category Biology/Biotechnology

This custom-designed Android app displays test results on a smartphone screen. Credit: David Baillot/UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering

Engineers at the UCSD have developed a smartphone case and app that could make it easier for patients to record and track their blood glucose readings, whether they’re at home or on the go. Currently, checking blood sugar levels can be a hassle for people with diabetes, especially when they have to pack their glucose monitoring kits around with them every time they leave the house.

“Integrating blood glucose sensing into a smartphone would eliminate the need for patients to carry a separate device,” said Patrick Mercier, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UC San Diego...

Researchers can attach sensors to the organ models to give surgeons real-time feedback on how much force they can use during surgery without damaging the tissue. Credit: McAlpine Research Group

Organ models could improve surgical outcomes in thousands of patients worldwide. A team of researchers led by the University of Minnesota has 3D printed lifelike artificial organ models that mimic the exact anatomical structure, mechanical properties, and look and feel of real organs. These patient-specific organ models, which include integrated soft sensors, can be used for practice surgeries to improve surgical outcomes in thousands of patients worldwide.

“We are developing next-generation organ models for pre-operative practice...

UV light creates damaging links between atoms in the DNA building block thymine. An enzyme called photolyase, which is triggered by a different wavelength of light, cuts them out and repairs the damage. Credit: Colored illustration by Dave Goodsell/PDB-101

A SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory team is using the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) to study an enzyme found in plants, bacteria and some animals that repairs DNA damage caused by the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) light rays...

Biofilms composed of Streptococcus mutans–a common cause of tooth decay–were much easier to remove when grown on a newly developed dental material (right image), which has an antimicrobial agent within it, compared to a control material.

Dentists rely on composite materials to perform restorative procedures, eg. filling cavities. Yet these materials, like tooth enamel, can be vulnerable to the growth of plaque, the sticky biofilm that leads to tooth decay. Researchers have evaluated a new dental material tethered with an antimicrobial compound that can not only kill bacteria but can also resist biofilm growth...