Tag: #6

Little things can have a big impact. This is especially true of our gut, home to some ten billion bacteria, about a kilogram in total, already helping with our health. Now, using mice, a research team at University of North Carolina has made what could be a pioneering development in the field of cancer treatment. Two specific compounds produced...

Whether you’re talking Velcro or plane wings, nature is a constant source of inspiration when it comes to human invention. Now, with its 40,000 muscles, an elephant’s trunk has served as the driving force for the development of a microhydraulic robot. It can grasp, pick up and release objects of different sizes and weights. A highly sensitive force sensor...

Most things these days require a degree of dexterity. Take image editing on your smartphone. You need to choose your background, zoom in or out, add text... And while some devices can already be controlled through gesture, how does a person who has lost the use of a limb operate a tablet, smart TV or other digital device? Three...

Plants need nutrients, but how to make farming sustainable? By going to the toilet... Human urine is the most nutrient-rich part of wastewater, accounting for 80% of its nitrogen and 50% of its phosphorus. Exactly the two things that plants need. Now, a team of agricultural scientists has succeeded in converting the nutrients from human urine into solid fertilizer....

Globally it might affect around 1 in 400 children – but what does having Type 1 Diabetes actually mean? Inspired by the question of how information about the disorder can be made more readily available, a games company has combined forces with a research facility to create a new game in a virtual world which can be enjoyed by...

In muesli, as a milkshake or healthy snack – bananas are everywhere. The tropical plant grows in 129 countries and feeds millions of people, but doesn’t have good defenses against disease. Now researchers from various countries have jointly developed a platform including an app that is free for farmers. It helps them identify infected banana crops. All in the...