Tennis-ball-sized robot tackles surgical tasks on the micro-scale

Robots have come to play an important role in surgery, expanding the playbook of doctors and enabling them to carry out procedures with new levels of precision and control. A new tennis-ball-sized machine developed at Harvard University could open up e… Continue reading Tennis-ball-sized robot tackles surgical tasks on the micro-scale

New Harvard vaccine technique coats red blood cells in nanoparticles

Researchers at Harvard have developed a new platform for producing vaccines – and the secret ingredient is blood. The technique involves loading red blood cells with antigens that they can then use to generate a specific immune response, and tests in m… Continue reading New Harvard vaccine technique coats red blood cells in nanoparticles

Soft exosuit improves walking speed and endurance for stroke survivors

In 2017, researchers from Harvard’s Wyss Institute, the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science and Boston University demonstrated a soft robotic exosuit designed to help stroke patients improve their mobility. Now an untethered versi… Continue reading Soft exosuit improves walking speed and endurance for stroke survivors

“Backpacks” for key immune cells hold them in a cancer-killing state

The human body has a variety of weapons it can deploy to fight off cancer, but being the crafty foe that it is, the disease has plenty of evasive tactics it can use to survive and thrive. Scientists at Harvard have come up with a new way to supercharge… Continue reading “Backpacks” for key immune cells hold them in a cancer-killing state

Harvard hydrogel made by bacteria helps heal internal wounds

Slapping on a Band-Aid is the easiest way to help a cut on your skin heal, but things aren’t so simple for internal wounds. For one, it’s obviously much harder to reach that surface to put a dressing on it, but even when its open, say during … Continue reading Harvard hydrogel made by bacteria helps heal internal wounds

Coating cells in hydrogel help protect implanted tissue from the immune system

Bone marrow transplants are a common treatment for certain conditions related to the blood, but the patient’s immune system can often react badly to the foreign cells and attack them. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) may help, but they too ca… Continue reading Coating cells in hydrogel help protect implanted tissue from the immune system

Robot Moth Is Learning to Fly Like A Real Moth

Harvard University has had the flying robot insect market covered for a long time. However, their robot bee, while cool, was starting to bum them out. They wanted to put the battery and brain on the robocritter and have it fly around without a tether. Technology just wasn’t moving fast enough for them, so they’ve picked a different bug, this time a moth.

The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University is known for its Flying Winged Micro Air Vehicles or FWMAV. Which is a pretty good example of what happens when you let engineers name things. This …read more

Continue reading Robot Moth Is Learning to Fly Like A Real Moth