Harvard University

Genome Editing with Precision

Prime editing system offers wide range of versatility in human cells, correcting disease-causing genetic variations

RxFunction walk2Wellness Study Expansion with Hebrew SeniorLife

RxFunction, the medical device company that created Walkasins®, is announcing expansion of its walk2Wellness study to include researchers at Hebrew SeniorLife, with enrollment of its first participant completed earlier this month.

CRISPR Enzyme Programmed to Kill Viruses in Human Cells

Many of the world's most common or most deadly human pathogens are RNA-based viruses — Ebola, Zika, and flu, for example — and most have no FDA-approved treatments. A team led by researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has now turned a CRISPR RNA-cutting enzyme into an antiviral agent that can be programmed to detect and destroy RNA-based viruses in human cells.

Next-gen solar cells mimic photosynthesis with biological material

Next-generation solar cells that mimic photosynthesis with biological material may give new meaning to the term "green technology."

Six degrees of nuclear separation

Scientists look to 3D printing to ease separation anxiety, which paves the way to recycle more nuclear material.

Tunabot: First robotic fish to keep pace with tuna

Mechanical engineers have created the first robotic fish proven to mimic the speed and movements of live yellowfin tuna.

A swifter way towards 3D-printed organs

Sacrificial ink-writing technique allows 3D printing of large, vascularized human organ building blocks.

Using CRISPR to program gels with new functions

The CRISPR genome-editing system is best-known for its potential to correct disease-causing mutations and add new genes into living cells. Now, researchers have deployed CRISPR for a completely different purpose: creating novel materials, such as gels, that can change their properties when they encounter specific DNA sequences.

EarlySense

IDTechEx spoke to Courtney Obecny, Director of Marketing and Business Partnerships at EarlySense. This company develops technology for contract-free, continuous vital sign monitoring and early detection of patient deterioration.

Self-folding "Rollbot" paves the way for fully untethered soft robots

The majority of soft robots today rely on external power and control, keeping them tethered to off-board systems or rigged with hard components. Now, researchers have developed soft robotic systems, inspired by origami, that can move and change shape in response to external stimuli, paving the way for fully untethered soft robots.

Exosuit shows potential for wearable robots

Researchers have previously developed robotic devices for rehabilitation and other areas of life that can either assist walking or running, but no untethered portable device could efficiently do both.

Electronic paper patient and room information displays

The e-paper displays offer hospitals enhanced communication with staff and patients by replacing handwritten whiteboards with low power, highly readable E Ink based displays that pull essential information from the Electronic Health Record to clinical staff and patients areas, ensuring accurate communication and information exchange.

Noninvasive neuromodulation to treat obesity

Novel approaches that have been tested to treat obesity include noninvasive neuromodulation techniques such as transcranial direct current stimulation. Studies performed to date have suggested that this method does in fact help reduce appetite, food intake and body weight, but only in some subjects.

Machine learning tries to crack disputed Beatles authorship

Researchers at Harvard University and Canada's Dalhousie University used machine learning to ascertain the authorship of disputed Beatles songs.

Soft robots for all

Each year, soft robots gain new abilities. They've learned to jump, squirm, and grip. And, unlike hard robots, they can handle tomatoes without bruising the fruit, resurface unscathed after being run over by a car, and journey through radiation, disaster zones, and outer-space with few scars. For people and animals, they have a "cooperative function": a soft touch.

AI detects signs of schizophrenia

A machine-learning method discovered a hidden clue in people's language predictive of the later emergence of psychosis -- the frequent use of words associated with sound.

Editing genes at the source

Breakthrough research shows that stem cell genes can be edited in living systems.

Using AI to predict breast cancer and personalize care

Researchers have created a new deep-learning model that can predict from a mammogram if a patient is likely to develop breast cancer as much as five years in the future. Trained on mammograms and known outcomes from over 60,000 MGH patients, the model learned the subtle patterns in breast tissue that are precursors to malignant tumors.

Technique unlocks graphene for semiconductors

To truly be useful, graphene would need to carry an electric current that switches on and off, as silicon does in the form of billions of transistors on a computer chip.

Machine learning could make antibiotics more effective

Most antibiotics work by interfering with critical functions such as DNA replication or construction of the bacterial cell wall. However, these mechanisms represent only part of the full picture of how antibiotics act.