Collaborate Disseminate
A newfound understanding around the intricate architecture of lobster underbellies has provided MIT engineers with a model for a tough and stretchy new hydrogel. The material mimics the spiraling structure of the creature’s under-armor that affords it … Continue reading Lobster underbellies inspire spiraling material for artificial tendons
As anyone with arthritis will know, cartilage plays a vital role in allowing our joints to move freely. Scientists have now replicated its qualities in a synthetic self-lubricating material, that only needs occasional infusions of water.Continue Readin… Continue reading Cartilage-inspired material may find use in self-lubricating bearings
In many parts of the world there may not be much precipitation, but there is a fair amount of water vapor in the air – particularly at night. An experimental new device draws in that vapor, then uses it to irrigate edible plants.Continue ReadingCategor… Continue reading Self-contained SmartFarm grows plants using water drawn from the air
Once it’s been injured, the protective cartilage in our knees and other joints heals very slowly – if at all. A new injectable gel, however, could both reinforce the tissue after it’s been damaged, and encourage new cartilage to grow over top of it.Con… Continue reading Injectable gel found to help reinforce and resurface joint cartilage
Loading anti-cancer medicines into drug delivery vessels that can carry them to the site of the tumor before releasing them could offer new highly effective forms of treatment, and scientists in Japan have developed a promising new technology for these… Continue reading Hydrogel releases cancer drugs in response to temperature and acidity
Over the past few years we’ve seen some interesting examples of how injectable hydrogels can boost the recovery of damaged muscles and tendons, whether by flooding them with stem cells or acting as supporting scaffolds. Scientists in Spain have now dev… Continue reading Boron-loaded hydrogel halves the recovery time for injured muscles
While the risk of cancer recurrence depends on many factors such as cancer type and how progressed it is, the fear of the disease returning is a serious and long-lasting concern for survivors. Scientists in Japan have come up with a new tool to study t… Continue reading Hydrogel mimics body tissue to turn cancer cells back into stem cells
Although not a huge seller everywhere, durian fruit is consumed in great quantities in countries like Singapore. Scientists there have now developed a method of using its otherwise-discarded husks to create cheap, eco-friendly, antibacterial hydrogel b… Continue reading Germ-killing, wound-healing, low-cost bandage made from durian husks
Ordinarily, if you want to build a device that’s highly electrically conductive, you have to use rigid metals. Now, however, scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have created a soft and flexible material that fits the bill.Continue ReadingCategory:… Continue reading Conductive hydrogel could find use in soft robotics and more
Stanford scientists have developed a new hydrogel with a Velcro-like molecular structure that allows it to stay intact for longer at body temperature. The hope is that it could be injected into a patient and deliver drugs over weeks or months as it slo… Continue reading Injectable hydrogel uses “molecular Velcro” structure to resist body heat