‘Bottlebrush’ Electroactive Polymers tagged posts

Parkinson’s disease and Parkinson’s disease medications have distinct signatures of the gut microbiome. Movement Disorders, 2017; DOI: 10.1002/mds.26942

A new study from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham shows that Parkinson’s disease, and medications to treat Parkinson’s, have distinct effects on the composition of the trillions of bacteria that make up the gut microbiome. At this point, researchers do not know which comes first. Does having Parkinson’s cause changes in an individual’s gut microbiome, or are changes in the microbiome a predictor or early warning sign of Parkinson’s? What is known is that the first signs of Parkinson’s often arise as gastrointestinal symptoms such as inflammation or constipation.

“The human gut hosts tens of trillions of microorganisms...

Electrical response of a circular diaphragm composed of a pure bottlebrush elastomer upon electroactuation with increasing voltage and without any external pre-strain. The numbers indicate the electric field-induced area expansion under constant-volume conditions at room temperature. Credit: Image courtesy of North Carolina State University

A multi-institutional team has developed a new electroactive polymer material that can change shape and size when exposed to a relatively small electric field. The advance overcomes two longstanding challenges regarding the use of electroactive polymers to develop new devices, opening the door to a suite of applications ranging from microrobotics to designer haptic, optic, microfluidic and wearable technologies.

“Dielectric elastomers are the most respo...