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Simple chip powered by quantum dots allows standard microscopes to visualize difficult-to-image biological organisms. (Felice Frankel)
USA: Dark-Field Images

Affordable Dark-Field Microscopy on the Go

Engineers at MIT have developed a small, mirrored chip that helps to produce dark-field images, without dedicated expensive components. The chip is slightly larger than a postage stamp and as thin as a credit card. When placed on a microscope’s stage, the chip emits a hollow cone of light that can be used to generate detailed dark-field images of algae, bacteria, and similarly translucent tiny objects.

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​Chalmers researchers have developed a new material that could be suitable for various medical applications. The 3D printed ‘nose’ above, for example, shows how the material could act as a possible replacement for cartilage.​  (​Chalmers)
Sweden: Medical Implants

Special Rubber to Replace Human Tissue

Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have created a new, rubber-like material with a unique set of properties, which could act as a replacement for human tissue in medical procedures. The material has the potential to make a big difference to many people's lives. The research was recently published in the highly regarded scientific journal ACS Nano.

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The dye combination for the new solar cells was designed specifically to absorb light at visible wavelengths.   (Marina Freitag )
Sweden: Photovoltaics

Indoor Solar Cells to Power IoT Devices

In a future where most things in our everyday life are connected through the internet, devices and sensors will need to run without wires or batteries. In a new article in Chemical Science, researchers from Uppsala University present a new type of dye-sensitised solar cells that harvest light from indoor lamps.

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