Forgetfulness is natural, but as we get older, we tend to struggle more to remember things. Researchers from Boston University report that daily electrical brain stimulation for 20 minutes on four consecutive days shows memory improvements in seniors for at least one month. This noninvasive procedure was found to have benefits for both working memory […]
Over the past few decades, human-machine interface (HMI) technologies, especially driven by the demands of wearables, have progressed rapidly—into smaller, lighter, more efficient, more robust forms. Today, we also have various self-powered HMIs, using piezoelectricity and triboelectricity, for example, for power generation. Despite these advances, most wearable HMIs still remain relatively defenseless to moisture, such […]
Conventional neuroprosthetic devices that aim to help patients bypass nerve damage are often rigid and power-hungry. Now scientists have developed stretchable artificial nerves that helped paralyzed mice run on a treadmill and kick a ball while consuming less than one-hundredth of the power of a typical microprocessor. The scientists suggest these artificial nerves may one […]
Human languages have much in common with proteins, at least in terms of computational modeling. This has led research teams to apply novel methods from natural-language processing (NLP) to protein design. One of these—Birte Höcker’s protein design lab at Bayreuth University, in Germany—describes ProtGPT2, a language model based on OpenAI’s GPT-2, to generate novel protein […]
This article is part of our exclusive IEEE Journal Watch series in partnership with IEEE Xplore. When a disaster strikes and buildings collapse, it’s important to locate survivors as quickly as possible. A wide range of tech solutions are being explored to help make the search-and-rescue process quicker and more efficient—one example being mobile robots […]
A wearable ultrasound sticker roughly the size of a postage stamp could help enable continuous medical imaging of internal organs for patients on the move, a new study finds. Ultrasound imaging is one of the most common medical tools for scanning inside the body in a safe, noninvasive manner. Currently, to image with ultrasound, first […]
This article is part of our exclusive IEEE Journal Watch series in partnership with IEEE Xplore. Diabetes is a very common condition affecting roughly 10 percent of the U.S. population—and, according to the World Health Organization, there are 422 million people living with diabetes around the world. To manage the disease, people must test their […]
Soft, miniature implantable cooling devices designed to wrap around nerves can help relieve pain on demand without drugs, a new study finds. Although the researchers do not envision their invention completely replacing painkilling drugs, they suggest it could offer pain relief in a number of key scenarios, such as after surgeries. Acute pain afflicts one […]
Nelson Sepúlveda was sitting in the stands at Spartan Stadium, watching his hometown Michigan State players bash heads with their cross-state football rivals from the University of Michigan, when he had a scientific epiphany. Perhaps the nanotechnologies he had been working on for years—paper-thin devices known as ferroelectret nanogenerators that convert mechanical energy into electrical […]
When someone is faced with mobility challenges, the risk of falls and injuries increases. This is the case for people living with Parkinson’s disease, a brain disorder that results in uncontrollable movements, such as shaking and impaired balance and coordination. Ya Wang, an associate professor at Texas A&M University, and her colleagues have been exploring […]