Category Health/Medical

McGill University researchers have made a breakthrough in diagnostic technology, inventing a ‘lab on a chip’ that can be 3D-printed in just 30 minutes. The chip has the potential to make on-the-spot testing widely accessible.

As part of a recent study, the results of which were published in the journal Advanced Materials, the McGill team developed capillaric chips that act as miniature laboratories.

Unlike other computer microprocessors, these chips are single-use and require no external power source — a simple paper strip suffices.

They function through capillary action — the very phenomena by which a spilled liquid on the kitchen table spontaneously wicks into the paper towel used to wipe it up.

“Traditional diagnostics require peripherals, while ours can circumvent them...

Researchers at The Park Center for Mental Health, Australia, have added to the growing body of evidence that cat ownership is a major risk factor for schizophrenia and quantified the risk at more than double. In a paper, “Cat Ownership and Schizophrenia-Related Disorders and Psychotic-Like Experiences: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” published in Schizophrenia Bulletin, the team details the connections between youth cat ownership and later-in-life schizophrenia-related diagnosis.

The researchers conducted an extensive study search across various databases and gray literature from January 1, 1980, to May 30, 2023, without geographical or language limitations...

In a world-first, researchers from the GrapheneX-UTS Human-centric Artificial Intelligence Centre at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) have developed a portable, non-invasive system that can decode silent thoughts and turn them into text.

The technology could aid communication for people who are unable to speak due to illness or injury, including stroke or paralysis. It could also enable seamless communication between humans and machines, such as the operation of a bionic arm or robot.

The study has been selected as the spotlight paper at the NeurIPS conference, an annual meeting that showcases world-leading research on artificial intelligence and machine learning, held in New Orleans on 12 De...