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Comparison of approaches to obtain fetal DNA in ongoing pregnancies, including amniocentesis, chorionic villous sampling (CVS), cell-free fetal DNA, and trophoblast retrieval isolation from the cervix (TRIC). Sources of fetal DNA throughout early pregnancy are illustrated according to their accessibility during gestation. Credit: Jain et al., Science Translational Medicine (2016)

The latest developments in prenatal technology conceived by scientists at the Wayne State University School of Medicine that make it possible to test for genetic disorders a little more than 1 month into pregnancy were revealed this week...

DanielSimon and Theresia Arbring Sjöström. Credit: Image courtesy of Linköping Universitet

With a microfabricated ion pump built from organic electronic components, ions can be sent to nerve or muscle cells at the speed of the nervous system and with a precision of a single cell. “Now we can start to develop components that speak the body’s own language,” says Daniel Simon, Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Linköping University. Certain substances, such as GABA, are important signal substances throughout the CNS. 18 months ago, researchers at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics demonstrated an ion pump which researchers at the Karolinska Institutet could use to reduce the sensation of pain in awake, freely-moving rats. The ion pump delivered GABA directly to the rat´s spinal cord.

Illustration of a KTN crystal operating under different phases. Credit: Penn State

A major technological advance in the field of high-speed beam-scanning devices has increased the speed of 2D and 3D printing by up to 1000 times, according to researchers in Penn State’s College of Engineering. Using a space-charge-controlled KTN beam deflector – a kind of crystal made of potassium tantalate and potassium niobate – with a large electro-optic effect, researchers have found that scanning at a much higher speed is possible.

“Basically, when the crystal materials are applied to an electric field, they generate uniform reflecting distributions, that can deflect an incoming light beam,” said Prof. Shizhuo Yin...