Cybernetics News
A specially-designed tracheal splint, made from a biopolymer using 3D printing, was created and used at the University of Michigan to save a baby from life-threatening tracheobronchomalacia.
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 | Future teams of subterranean search and rescue robots may owe their success to the lowly fire ant, a much-despised insect whose painful bites and extensive networks of underground tunnels are all-too-familiar to people living in the southern United States. ...> Full Article |
A humanoid robot can receive an object handed to it by a person with something approaching natural, human-like motion thanks to a new method developed by scientists at Disney Research, Pittsburgh in a project partially funded by the International Center for Advanced Communication Technologies at Carnegie Mellon University and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
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The type of sensors that pick up the rhythm of a beating heart in implanted cardiac defibrillators and pacemakers are vulnerable to tampering, according to a new study conducted in controlled laboratory conditions.
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A team of Tel Aviv University researchers, led by Dr. Shimon Rochkind and Prof. Zvi Nevo, has invented a method for repairing damaged peripheral nerves using a biodegradable implant along with a newly-developed gel that increases nerve growth and healing, ultimately restoring function to a torn or damaged nerve. The therapy is only a few years away from clinical use, say the researchers.
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Viruses that infect and kill bacteria -- used to treat infections in the pre-antibiotic era a century ago and in the former Soviet Union today -- may have a new role in preventing formation of the sticky "biofilms" of bacteria responsible for infections on implanted medical devices. That's the topic of a report in the ACS journal Biomacromolecules.
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 | For nearly a decade, doctors have used implanted electronic stimulators to treat severe depression in people who don't respond to standard antidepressant treatments. Now, preliminary brain scan studies conducted by School of Medicine researchers are revealing that vagus nerve stimulation brings about changes in brain metabolism weeks or even months before patients begin to feel better. ...> Full Article |
 | A robot can struggle to discover objects in its surroundings when it relies on computer vision alone. But by taking advantage of all of the information available to it -- an object's location, size, shape and even whether it can be lifted -- a robot can continually discover and refine its understanding of objects, say researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute. ...> Full Article |
 | Metal elements and molecules interact in the body, but visualizing them together has always been a challenge. Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies in Japan have developed a new molecular imaging technology that enables them to visualize bio-metals and bio-molecules simultaneously in a live mouse. ...> Full Article |
 | Scientists at Princeton University used off-the-shelf printing tools to create a functional ear that can "hear" radio frequencies far beyond the range of normal human capability. The researchers' primary purpose was to explore an efficient and versatile means to merge electronics with tissue. The scientists used 3-D printing of cells and nanoparticles followed by cell culture to combine a small coil antenna with cartilage, creating what they term a bionic ear. ...> Full Article |
 | An insect-inspired device uses hemispherical, compound optics to capture wide, undistorted fields of view. ...> Full Article |
Normal vision is essentially a spatial sense that often relies upon touch and movement during and after development. Training with haptic, touch, technology could improve outcomes for the blind children and older people fitted with visual prosthetic devices.
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 | Stents can be lifesavers, propping open blood vessels to allow for healthy blood flow. But the longer a stent is in the body, the greater the risk of side effects such as inflammation and clotting. Designing a stent that will dissolve harmlessly after the artery has healed has been a challenge. Now scientists at Michigan Technological University is experimenting with a novel material that may lead to a new generation of bioabsorbable stents: zinc. ...> Full Article |
 | A team of bioengineers at Brigham and Women's Hospital is the first to report creating artificial heart tissue that closely mimics the functions of natural heart tissue through the use of human-based materials. Their work will advance how clinicians treat the damaging effects caused by heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. ...> Full Article |
A sea turtle-inspired robot has been created by a group of researchers in the US to help understand the mechanics of walking and crawling on complex surfaces.
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New quantitative analysis for open source software projects
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Keep moving and have fun
New strategy for fingerprint visualization developed at Hebrew University
Children's bicycle helmets shown to be effective in impact and crush tests
How Usain Bolt can run faster -- effortlessly
Enhancing cognition in older adults also changes personality
Principles of locomotion in confined spaces could help robot teams work underground
Nerve stimulation for severe depression changes brain function
More than a good eye: Carnegie Mellon robot uses arms, location and more to discover objects
New imaging technique to visualize bio-metals and molecules simultaneously
Printable 'bionic' ear melds electronics and biology
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Zinc: The Goldilocks metal for bioabsorbable stents?
Patterned hearts