Tag: biodesign
-
Using mycelium to create a self-healing wearable leather-like material
A pair of biotechnologists at Newcastle University, working with a colleague from Northumbria University, all in the U.K., have developed a way to use mycelium to create a self-healing wearable material. In their paper published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, Elise Elsacker, Martyn Dade-Robertson and Meng Zhang, describe their process and how well it…
-
New wearable device turns the body into a battery
Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have developed a new, low-cost wearable device that transforms the human body into a biological battery. The device, described today in the journal Science Advances, is stretchy enough that you can wear it like a ring, a bracelet or any other accessory that touches your skin. It also…
-
Surgical device inspired by parasitic wasps
A surgical device inspired by parasitic wasps could make it easier and less painful to remove certain tumours and blood clots. Parasitic wasps inject their eggs through a long, thin, tubular organ called an ovipositor into living hosts, such as spiders and caterpillars. The organ’s blade-like valves, which run the full length of the tube,…
-
The first tendril-like soft robot able to climb
Researchers at IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia created the first soft robot mimicking plant tendrils. It is able to curl and climb using the same physical principles determining water transport in plants. In the future, this tendril-like soft robot could inspire the development of wearable devices such as soft braces that actively morph their shape.
-
Living Building Blocks: A New Vision for Future Homes
The project works toward this visionary and high-risk technology using a unique mixture of biotechnology, computing and architectural design. The innovative building blocks consist of a bioreactor able to convert chemical energy produced by a pool of metabolising microorganisms into electricity, known as microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology.
-
A transformable material with a cellular structure
kinetiX is a transformable material featuring a design that resembles a cellular structure. It consists of rigid plates or rods and elastic hinges. These modular elements can be combined in a wide variety of ways and assembled into multifarious forms. This project describes a group of auxetic-inspired material structures that can transform into various shapes…