Science Daily March 5, 2019 A typical resonator in an electronic device responds to one signal with one corresponding frequency. An international team of researchers (USA – Argonne National Laboratory, Michigan State University, Florida Institute of Technology, Israel, Sweden) has developed and demonstrated a nonlinear micromechanical resonator which vibrates with a spectrum consisting of multiple frequencies evenly spaced due to the nonlinear mode coupling, in spite of the fact that it is driven by a single frequency. The novel behavior results from a saddle node on an invariant circle (SNIC) bifurcation. The resonator is an ideal test bed to study […]
Tag Archives: Biotechnology
New shapes of laser beam ‘sneak’ through opaque media
Phys.org March 4, 2019 A team of researchers in the US (Yale University, Missouri University of Science & Technology) used a spatial light modulator (SLM) and a CCD camera to analyze an opaque material that is made of a layer of white paint, biological tissue, fog, paper, and milk. The SLM tailors the laser beam incident on the front surface of the material, and the CCD camera records the intensity profiles behind it. The resulting beam was more concentrated, with more light per volume inside and behind the opaque material. The method works for any opaque medium that does not […]
Material that shields beetle from being burned by its own weapons, holds promise
Science Daily February 25, 2019 The pygidial glands in Carabid beetles manufacture, store and propel toxic chemicals to ward off insect, amphibian and even small mammalian predators. A team of researchers in the US (Pennsylvania State University, University of New Hampshire) found that the tissues in the glandular system transporting the defensive chemicals to be rich in soft, rubbery resilin, a compound found in many insects and other arthropods. Resilin is a compound that is likely to be used in future bioengineering and biomedical applications due to its unusual properties. It has many similarities with elastin, a protein found in […]
VitalTag to give vital information in mass casualty incidents
Phys.org November 27, 2018 VitalTag, developed by researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is a low-cost suite of sensors that detects, monitors and wirelessly transmits vital signs, including blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate and other metrics such as blood oxygen levels, shock index and data from a single-lead electrocardiogram. It adheres to a patient’s sternum and connects seamlessly via Wi-Fi to securely transmit patient data to a mobile device or laptop in real time. This comprehensive view could enable emergency medical technicians and paramedics to tend to more patients faster, armed with more detail than ever before. The VitalTag […]
Detecting dengue, Zika, and chikangunya within minutes
MIT News November 21, 2018 Researchers at MIT have developed a paper-based diagnostic test to detect Zika, dengue, chikungunya and other related viruses within minutes. The test can quickly and accurately identify Zika, dengue 1-4, and chikungunya at the point of care at an affordable cost. They have commercialized the technique to change the way mosquito-borne illnesses are diagnosed and enable governments to effectively prevent and respond to an outbreak from turning into a public health crisis, especially in high-risk, resource-poor areas across the world…read more.
RNA microchips
Phys.org November 6, 2018 An international team of researchers (Austria, Canada) has developed a new synthetic approach that allows RNA to be chemically synthesized about a million times more efficiently than previously possible. They adapted the photolithographic fabrication technology from the semiconductor chip industry for the chemical synthesis of RNA. Biological photolithography makes it possible to produce RNA chips with a density of up to one million sequences per square centimeter. Instead of using far ultraviolet light, which is used in the production of computer chips silicon etching and doping, the researchers use UV-A light. The combination of high-synthesis yield and […]
Bridging the Gap Between Electronics and Biology
IEEE Spectrum September 25, 2018 Scientists have struggled to navigate the technology gap between microelectronics and the biological world. By engineering cells with synthetic biology components, a team of researchers in the US (University of Maryland, University of Nebraska, Army Research Laboratory) has experimentally demonstrated a proof-of-concept device enabling robust and reliable information exchanges between electrical and biological (molecular) domains. They are working to develop a novel biological memory device that can be written to and read from via either biological and/or electronic means. Such a device would function like a thumb drive or SD card, using molecular signals to […]
Graphene forms electrically charged crinkles
Science Daily June 27, 2018 Researcher at Brown University have discovered a new, curvature-localizing, subcritical buckling mode that produces shallow-kink corrugation in multi-layer graphene. Density functional theory analysis reveals the curvature that connects two regions of uniformly but oppositely sheared stacks of flat atomic sheets. The high polarization concentration, predicted by the model, can be controlled by macroscopic deformation and is expected to be useful in studies of selective graphene-surface functionalization for various applications… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
3D-printed smart gel that walks underwater, moves objects
Science Daily May 18, 2018 During the printing a walker, an international team of researchers (USA – Rutgers University, South Korea) projected light on a light-sensitive solution that becomes a gel. The hydrogel was placed in an electrolyte. Two thin wires applied electricity to trigger motion – walking forward, reversing course and grabbing and moving objects. The speed of the smart gel’s movement is controlled by changing its dimensions (thin is faster than thick), and the gel bends or changes shape depending on the strength of the salty water solution and electric field. It has applications in biomedical engineering and […]
E. coli tailored to convert plants into renewable chemicals
Science Daily May 18, 2018 Economically and efficiently converting tough plant matter, called lignin, has long been a stumbling block for wider use of the plant energy source and making it cost competitive. Piecing together mechanisms from other known lignin degraders, a team of researchers in the US (Sandia National Laboratory, Joint BioEnergy Institute, University of Minnesota, UC Berkeley) has engineered E. coli into an efficient and productive bioconversion cell factory… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE