Category Health/Medical

The sea slug Tritonia in mid-escape, forms a memory of the attack it just experienced from the seastar below. Credit: William Frost, PhD

Neuroscientists have discovered a novel mechanism for memory formation. Voltage-sensitive dye imaging of the swim motor program of the sea slug Tritonia reveals that some neurons possess characteristics that predispose them to join neural networks in which learning is taking place. The findings represent a shift from the field’s long-term focus on synaptic plasticity.

“In a prior study, we discovered neurons, whose participation in networks varies on a moment-to-moment basis, displaying a surprising ambivalence about their commitment to the network’s function,” said Prof William Frost...

A newly identified compound is the first that is soluble enough to potentially form the basis of a practical eye-drop medication for cataracts. Credit: © BillionPhotos.com / Fotolia

Cataracts affect >20 million people worldwide. The affected proteins are crystallins, the major component of fiber cells, which form the eyes’ lenses, and they are susceptible to damage.”Shortly after you’re born, all the fiber cells in the eye lose the ability to make new proteins, or to discard old proteins,” said Gestwicki, who has continued his work on cataracts at UCSF, where he joined the faculty about two years ago. “So the crystallins you have in your eye as an adult are the same as those you’re born with.”

Thus your finite reservoir of crystallins must maintain both the transparency of fiber cells and...

This is a UHFSine photo of the layers created by Sine waves. Credit: Brian Patchett/Utah Valley University

Physicists are literally applying rocket science to the field of medical diagnostics. With a few key changes, the researchers used a noninvasive ultrasonic technique originally developed to detect microscopic flaws in solid fuel rockets to successfully detect cell stiffness changes associated with certain cancers and other diseases. The method uses sound waves to manipulate and probe cells.

The method combines a low-frequency ultrasonic wave to levitate the cells and confine them to a single layer within a fluid and a high-frequency ultrasonic wave to measure the cell’s stiffness. “An acoustic wave is a pressure wave so it travels as a wave of high and low pressure...

VTT Smart fabric provides “air conditioning” for the wearer – adjustable 

VTT, Finland has developed a new high-volume production method for hot embossing microscopic channel structures onto large areas of plastic film at a low cost for use, eg, in wearable technology and cosmetic applications. One of VTT’s goals is to engineer a smart fabric adjustable with a mobile app for controlling the wearer’s temperature. With the high-volume method, microchannels can be produced on large areas of plastic film in a short time. Pumping cold or hot liquid through a network of microchannels enables the temperature control of functional clothes.

So far, the utilisation of microscopic channels for other than diagnostic purposes has been limited by relatively high production costs and the small siz...