News by Subject Technology & Engineering

In an article published in the peer-reviewed SPIE publication Neurophotonics, 'High density functional diffuse optical tomography based on frequency domain measurements improves image quality and spatial resolution,' researchers demonstrate critical improvements to functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS)-based optical imaging in the brain.

An international team led by NTU Singapore has grown 'miniature kidneys' in the laboratory that could be used to better understand how kidney diseases develop in individual patients. These kidney organoids were grown outside the body from skin cells derived from a single patient who has polycystic kidney disease. This method has paved the way for tailoring treatment plans specific to each patient, which could be extended to a range of kidney diseases.

Pluripotent cells can give rise to all cells of the body, a power that researchers are eager to control because it opens the door to regenerative medicine and organ culture for transplants. But pluripotency is still a black box for science, controlled by unknown genetic and epigenetic signals. CNIO researchers now uncovers one of those epigenetic signals, after a detective quest that started almost a decade ago.

The effectiveness of current anti-clotting medication can be limited due to the risk of complications. This is driving a need for alternatives that can both prevent the formation of blood clots and reduce the risk of excessive and life-threatening bleeding. A new biocompatible lab-on-a-chip could help accelerate the discovery and development of new anti-clotting therapies, with automated processes that can achieve in a few minutes what could take days in a full-sized lab.

Harvard researchers have developed a new DNA-nanotechnology-based approach called Immuno-SABER, that combines the protein targeting specificity of commonly available antibodies with a DNA-based signal-amplification strategy that enables the highly multiplexed visualization of many proteins in the same sample with pre-programmable and tunable fluorescence signals at each target site.

EPFL scientists are investigating new ways to provide visual signals to the blind by directly stimulating the optic nerve. Their preliminary study uses a new type of neural electrode and provides distinct signals.