Archive for the ‘Research’ Category

Prosthetic Retina Could Restore Sight to Blind Patients

Friday, May 18th, 2012

[caption id="attachment_27945" align="alignleft" width="144" caption="A prosthetic retina made of thin silicone"][/caption] A new type of prosthetic retina could restore vision to patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of blindness in the developed world, according to a press release from University of Strathclyde. The device is wireless and ...

TU Delft, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics Collaborate on Development of Next-Generation Bone Fixation Devices

Wednesday, May 16th, 2012

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between TU Delft in the Netherlands and the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics (SIC), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), was recently renewed for five years. Scientists from both universities will collaboratively pursue research on the development of composite materials for biodegradable and bioactive orthopaedic devices, a ...

Humans Think Robots Have Consciousness and Moral Accountability, Studies Find

Friday, May 4th, 2012

As robots become more common in healthcare and beyond, researchers are increasingly focusing on studying the relationship between them and us. In the future, robots will become more and more visible in our everyday lives. The closest relationship humans will have with robots will most likely take place in healthcare. ...

Nerve Guide Scaffolds Could Result in New Treatment for Spinal Cord Injury

Tuesday, May 1st, 2012

Engineers at the University of Sheffield and Laser Zentrum Hannover have developed a new method of making nerve guidance conduits (NGCs), devices that help nerves regrow after trauma. Traumatic nerve damage results in loss of sensation and movement. Although damage in the peripheral nervous system can typically be repaired by reconstructive ...

Atom-Based Magnetic Sensor Measures Human Brain Activity

Tuesday, April 24th, 2012

[caption id="attachment_27708" align="alignleft" width="250" caption="Atom-based magnetic sensor developed at US NIST"][/caption] A miniature atom-based magnetic sensor developed at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been used to measure human brain activity. The scientists used the sensor to measure alpha waves in the brain. The measurements were compared with ...

Wellcome Trust to Establish Open-Access Journal

Friday, April 13th, 2012

Wellcome Trust, one of the largest research charities in the world, has announced its plan to launch a free open-access academic journal. The organisation will also more strictly enforce its requirements that scientists it funds allow open access to the published study within six months after publication. The move is ...

Nanohealth Programme Links UK and Irish Academic Institutions with Companies

Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

An EU-funded programme pools the resources of four Irish universities and Swansea University in the United Kingdom to help businesses explore opportunities in nanohealth. The Celtic Alliance for NanoHealth (CAN) combines the resources at University College Dublin’s Centre for BioNano Interactions, Trinity College Dublin’s Institute of Molecular Medicines and Centre ...

German Researchers Develop 3-D Printing Method for Nanoscale Applications

Thursday, April 5th, 2012

A new 3-D printing method developed at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany could enable 3-D printing on the nanoscale, reports an article on the Engineer's website. The method is a variation of another 3-D additive manufacturing technique, two-photon polymerisation (2PP), which can create features in nanometer resolutions, ...

Project Could Enable People to Design and Print Customised Robots in Less than a Day

Wednesday, April 4th, 2012

[caption id="attachment_27509" align="alignleft" width="267" caption="Robot designed using the new process "][/caption] Robotics is a growing field in electronic research, but progress is hampered by the time and money it takes to develop a robot and its hardware and software components. And why should scientists have all the fun? A project lead ...

Technique Combines CAT Scanning and Gamma Camera to Create 3-D Images of Lungs

Monday, April 2nd, 2012

[caption id="attachment_27494" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="An image of the lungs from a gamma camera"][/caption] A 3-D imaging system developed at University of Southampton combines CAT scanning and a gamma camera for the study of lung conditions, according to a university press release. The system maps lung diseases such as chronic bronchitis, cystic ...

Medtech Week Recap: EU Project to Investigate Risks of Nanomaterials

Monday, April 2nd, 2012

Researchers from the University of Limerick in Ireland have joined the Sanowork research project, a nanomaterial project funded by the European Commission. The project is a collaboration between eight academic and public research institutions and five nanomaterial manufacturers. It will look at the environmental and health risks of nanomaterials. On the ...

EU-Funded Research Project Focuses on Enhancing Arterial Regeneration

Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

The European Union has awarded a Framework Programme 7 grant of €5.3 million to a research program on novel therapeutics for patients suffering from heart disease. The program will focus on using biotechnology such as biodegradable polymers and alloys, as well as new methods, to enhance arterial regeneration. The project ...