Category Physics

A new device provides immediate results and will be used for diagnosis of diabetes within low-income populations. What makes this development unique is that it is adaptable to the cell phone and gives results in a few seconds, avoiding the annoying use of needles.

In other words, it is a cartridge adaptable to the mobile phone that will record whether a compound is present in saliva, which becomes visible if the patient has diabetes. The project is planned to be completed in 2 years, “We wanted a device which could identify a biomarker in a sample of saliva, and it had to emit fluorescent light so a cell phone camera could records it,” explains Rite Palomares.

The multidisciplinary team united scientific experts to work in enzyme technology to make visible this marker and use an anal...

Developed by UW-Madison electrical engineers, this unique phototransistor is flexible, yet faster and more responsive than any similar phototransistor in the world. Credit: Jung-Hun Seo

Inspired by mammals’ eyes, the fastest, most responsive flexible silicon phototransistor ever made. It could improve the performance of myriad products—ranging from digital cameras, night-vision goggles and smoke detectors to surveillance systems and satellites—that rely on electronic light sensors. Integrated into a digital camera lens, for example, it could reduce bulkiness and boost both speed and quality of video or still photos.

The high-performance phototransistor far and away exceeds all previous flexible phototransistor parameters, including sensitivity and response time...

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have invented a way to produce hair-like strands, fibers and bristles using a common, low-cost 3-D printer. Credit: Carnegie Mellon University

3D printers typically produce hard plastic objects, but researchers have found a way to produce hair-like strands, fibers and bristles using a common, low-cost printer. The technique for producing 3D printed hair is similar to, and inspired by the way that gossamer plastic strands are extruded when a person uses a hot glue gun.

“You just squirt a little bit of material and pull away,” said Gierad Laput. The plastic hair is produced strand by strand, so the process isn’t fast – it takes about 20-25 minutes to generate hair on 10 square millimeters...

Scientists have developed a new optical detector from graphene which reacts very rapidly to incident light of all different wavelengths and even works at room temperature. It is the first time that a single detector has been able to monitor the spectral range from visible light to infrared radiation and right through to terahertz radiation. The HZDR scientists are already using the new graphene detector for the exact synchronization of laser systems.

A tiny flake of graphene on silicon carbide and a futuristic-looking antenna, and there it is – the new graphene detector. Like no other single detector system which has gone before, this comparatively simple and inexpensive construct can cover the enormous spectral range from visible light all the way to terahertz radiation...