Skin biopsies are no fun: doctors carve away small lumps of tissue for laboratory testing, leaving patients with painful wounds that can take weeks to heal. Researchers at Stevens Institute of Technology are now developing a low-cost handheld device that could cut the rate of unnecessary biopsies in half.

The biotech company Nuclera has raised 42.5-million-dollars at the first close of its Series B financing for its desktop protein printer - eProtein desktop bioprinter. The rapid protein prototyping and discovery platform helps one to print proteins in 24 hours and will initially screen and print proteins for research and drug discovery customers.

Low-cost jelly-like materials, developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, can sense strain, temperature and humidity. And unlike earlier self-healing robots, they can also partially repair themselves at room temperature.

New insights into how fluids transform from order to disorder.

By providing new insight into how an amoeba called Naegleria divides, an international team of researchers, led by University of Massachusetts Amherst, adds to fundamental knowledge of evolution and diversity of life.

Using high-speed cameras, researchers have revealed how robber flies balance between avoiding obstacles while chasing down their prey. They believe that their work may one day inspire the future design of miniature aerial drones, which also face the challenge of moving towards a target while avoiding obstacles.

A new technology developed at the University of Minnesota could open the door to ubiquitous, more easily fabricated electronic screens.

Researchers have come up with a voxelated approach to advance the field of 3D bioprinting. In this new technique, small spherical bio-ink particles i.e. voxels are used as the basic unit to create 3D structures that mimic the geometry, texture, and function of human tissues and organs. Also, as voxels are zero-dimensional as compared to filaments; they offer greater versatility, thus, opening new possibilities for biomedical engineering.

Inspired by the micro-hook structure of the leaves on the catchweed plant, researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology have come up with the first ever prototype of biodegradable velcro which can be used in devices for monitoring and safeguarding the environment.

With the aid of artificial stem cells, it will soon be possible to establish new treatments for previously incurable diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. At the Fraunhofer Project Center for Stem Cell Process Engineering SPT, a process for the mass production of these so called induced pluripotent stem cells is being developed.