UV Sense, wearable technology that sticks to the finger nail, measures UV exposure and sends safety information to an app. Credit: Northwestern University

A Northwestern University professor, working in conjunction with the global beauty company L’Oréal, has developed the smallest wearable device in the world. The wafer-thin, feather-light sensor can fit on a fingernail and precisely measures a person’s exposure to UV light from the sun.

The device, as light as a raindrop and smaller in circumference than an M&M, is powered by the sun and contains the world’s most sophisticated and accurate UV dosimeter. It was unveiled Sunday, Jan. 7, at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and will be called UV Sense...

NUS Engineering researchers developed a novel air cooling technology that could redefine the future of air-conditioning.

All-weather friendly cooling technology works without mechanical compressors or chemical refrigerants, and generates drinking water. A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has pioneered a new water-based air-conditioning system that cools air to as low as 18C without the use of energy-intensive compressors and environmentally harmful refrigerants. This game-changing technology could potentially replace the century-old air-cooling principle that is still being used in our modern-day air-conditioners. Suitable for both indoor and outdoor use, the novel system is portable and it can also be customised for all types of weather conditions.

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2 non-biological cycles—HKG cycle and malonate cycle—could have come together to kick-start a crude version of the citric acid cycle. Image courtesy Greg Springsteen and Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy.

TSRI chemists have developed a fascinating new theory for how life on Earth may have begun. Their experiments demonstrate that key chemical reactions that support life today could have been carried out with ingredients likely present on Earth 4 billion years ago. “This was a black box for us,” said Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy, PhD, associate professor of chemistry at TSRI and senior author of the new study. “But if you focus on the chemistry, the questions of origins of life become less daunting.”

For the new study, Krishnamurthy and this team focused on the citric acid cycle...

Swallowable Sensors reveal mysteries of Human Gut Health

First human trials of gas-sensing capsule reveal potential new immune system. The new technology and discoveries offer a game-changer for the 1-in-5 people worldwide who will suffer from a gastrointestinal disorder in their lifetime. They could also lead to fewer invasive procedures like colonoscopies. The ingestible capsule (the size of a vitamin pill) detects and measures gut gases – H2, CO2 and O2 – in real time. This data can be sent to a mobile phone. Professor Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh, study lead and capsule co-inventor, said the trials showed that the human stomach uses an oxidiser to fight foreign bodies in the gut.

“We found that the stomach releases oxidising chemicals to break down and beat foreign compounds that are staying...