Biotech

Sometimes a concept is simple but the tech behind it is not. This is the case with a new approach to identifying new viruses, which could ultimately lead to screening patients for viruses that haven't even been identified. (Think of the one currently rearing its deadly head in the Middle East.)

Researchers at Saint Louis University are using the next-gen sequencing approach transcriptome subtraction, and it really does employ basic arithmetic -- with very fancy tools. They take a human blood sample. Then they subtract the entire human genetic sequence from the genetic material in the sample. Then they … Read more

I don't generally consider gaming to be a relaxing activity. If I'm taking out zombies in Resident Evil, I'm on the edge of my seat. But it doesn't have to be that way. The PIP biosensor on Kickstarter wants gaming to be the road to relaxation.

There are two parts to this system. The first is the bionsensor that you hold between your thumb and forefinger. It communicates via Bluetooth to your Android or iOS device. A suite of game apps is available that works with the bionsensor.

Relax & Race, for example, lets you control … Read more

How does our top layer of skin -- the thin stratum corneum -- manage to keep water inside our bodies and microbes out, all while maintaining strength and elasticity, at just a fraction of the thickness of a sheet of paper?

In the first tests of its kind, scientists at the University of Bath are using a tiny "microneedle" with atomic force microscopy to probe the surface of the top layer of human skin and solve some of these mysteries.

Until now, researchers were able to use this form of microscopy only to analyze the surface of corneocytes, the cells that form the outer layer of the epidermis. Now, by adding a nanoneedle to the end of the probe, they can delve below the surface and shine a light on the cell structure within.… Read more

Ladies and gentlemen, may I now present your deep thought of the day: People who play video games are better at playing video games than people who don't play video games.

OK, new findings out of Duke may be a bit more complex than that, but there's not much of a spoiler alert to this one. Hours spent at a gaming console seem to translate directly to a test, taken at a computer, of how the brain tracks visual stimuli, according to a new study at the Duke School of Medicine.… Read more

When scientists at the University of Washington recently drilled into the skulls of seven people with severe epilepsy and placed thin sheets of electrodes directly onto their brains, they were surprised by the brain activity they observed.

While physicians were studying neuro activity to investigate seizure signals, a separate team of bioengineers was simultaneously on the lookout for exactly how the brains of the seven volunteers behaved as they learned to move a cursor using their thoughts alone. It turns out that, in as few as 10 minutes, activity went from being centered on the prefrontal cortex, which is associated with learning new skills, to areas seen during more automatic functions, such as waving one's hand or kicking a ball.

In other words, in just a matter of minutes these brains behaved as if they had already mastered these Jedi mind tricks.… Read more

Nowadays breathalyzers are being used to detect far more than just how much alcohol one has imbibed. Researchers in Sweden are working on one that can spot marijuana and cocaine. Scientists in Germany are exploring one that can sniff out heart failure. And researchers in the U.S. are hard at work on one that can detect diseases such as diabetes.

And now, a group of chemists at the University of Pittsburgh is unveiling new sensor technology that could lead to a breathalyzer for not just the detection of diabetes, but the ongoing monitoring of it as well.… Read more

Do you need an app to help you think straight? How about a dorky bit of wearable tech that promises to improve your life?

Melon is an electroencephalography (EEG) headband that supposedly helps you focus your thoughts. If you usually need caffeine for that, it could be worth a look.

The subject of a successful Kickstarter campaign that has more than doubled its $100,000 goal, this wireless headband and app "was built to be worn while engaging in a variety of activities -- from working, to studying, playing sports, dancing, practicing an instrument, programming, painting, or doing yoga." … Read more

The emerging field of soft robotics, which involves mimicking the squishiness and stickiness of such creatures as octopuses, starfish, and squid, may be taking its next cue from a different source: plants.

Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley describe in the journal Nano Letters a new hydrogel that, inspired by phototropism (the phenomenon of plants moving toward light), can actually expand and shrink in a very controlled fashion via light.

"Shape-changing gels such as ours could have applications for drug delivery and tissue engineering," principal investigator Seung-Wuk Lee, associated professor of bioengineering, said in a school … Read more

Scientists have been investigating the structure of the HIV capsid for years; the protein shell protects the virus' genetic material, helps debilitate the infected person's immune system, and is the target for the development of new antiretroviral drugs. Research teams have turned to a wide range of futuristic-sounding techniques to crack the code, from cryo-electron microscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to cryo-EM tomography and X-ray crystallography.

Now, thanks to a little help from the supercomputer Blue Waters, the mystery finally has been unraveled, according to a research team reporting this week in the journal Nature.… Read more