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Pop-up books inspire new fabrication method for small and complex devices

By Damir Beciri
16 February 2012

pop-up-fabrication-of-the-harvard-monolithic-bee-mobeeEngineers at Harvard University developed a new technique inspired by pop-up books which enables rapid fabrication of a broad range of electromechanical devices through layering and folding process. The method is also useful for parallel fabrication of Monolithic Bee (also known as “Mobee”) microrobots which rely on PARITy drivetrain we described in one of our… »

Bionics| Tech»

Turning chitin into pharmaceuticals with fungi

By Damir Beciri
14 February 2012

chitin-medicine-2Most viral infections are treated with antiviral drugs which are often derived from N-Acetylneuraminic acid (NANA) – a material which costs around fifty times more than gold despite the fact it can be synthesized or obtained from natural sources. Researchers at the Vienna University of Technology found a new way to produce NANA from chitin… »

Bionics| Tech»

Secrets of spider web design

By Damir Beciri
One Comment11 February 2012

spider-webWhile many research groups investigate toughness of spider silk by investigating the material itself, researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Politecnico di Torino in Italy combined experimental observations of spider webs with complex computer simulations to discover that web durability relies on the overall web design which compensates for potential stress of… »

Bionics| Tech»

Arapaima fish scales inspire new materials

By Damir Beciri
9 February 2012

ucsd-arapaima-fish-scale-1Inspired by massive Arapaima fish which lives in is Brazil’s Amazon waters, a group of researchers from UC San Diego are developing new materials suitable for armor and panels. Biomimicry of Arapaima’s complex scales could lead to new ceramics that are both tough and flexible, making them ideal for use in soldier’s body armor, fuel… »

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More affordable LEDs manufactured on silicon

By Damir Beciri
4 Comments7 February 2012

led-emitting-light-on-a-6in-silicon-waferLight-emitting diodes, or LEDs, are envisioned as replacement for incandescent light bulbs, which are being phased out by the EU. Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a new technique that could lead to production of more affordable LED light bulbs. Aside making them more affordable, the researchers claim their discovery could have a… »

Bionics| Tech»

Humpback whales inspire new helicopter rotor blade design

By Damir Beciri
4 February 2012

humpback-whaleAfter observing humpback whales, a group of researchers at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) in Göttingen have discovered and flight-tested a way to increase maneuverability and speed of helicopters. The findings could also improve the passenger comfort by lowering the resulting vibration caused by the main rotor. Although helicopters… »

Bionics| Tech»

Silk from the tasar silkworm used as a scaffold for heart tissue

By Damir Beciri
One Comment30 January 2012

mpi-silkworm-disk-heartSince almost all of the body’s own regeneration mechanisms in the heart have become deactivated, a heart attack or other heart damage is serious for patients since the dead cardiac cells are irretrievably lost and scar tissue grows in place of the damaged muscle cells. Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad… »

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Biochip enables glucose level measurement from human saliva

By Damir Beciri
26 January 2012

brown-uni-plasmonicsIn order to check their glucose levels, diabetics usually have to draw blood. In order to eliminate the need for this invasive way of glucose level control, engineers at Brown University have designed a biological device that can measure glucose concentrations in human saliva. The technique takes advantage of a convergence of nanotechnology and surface… »