For the first time, scientists have been able to transform ordinary skin cells into stem cells that could be used to repair or regrow any part of the body. At the University of Helsinki and the Karolinska Institute, researchers found a way to simplify the process of using CRISPR gene-editing technology to harvest the skin cells without introducing foreign genes...

Swallow the smart capsule just developed by an MIT-led coalition of bioengineers and it can stay in your stomach for weeks, delivering drugs, diagnosing conditions, or monitoring treatment of infections, among other tasks. The device responds to commands from a smartphone app and reports its readings back to you or to your doctor’s computer. The capsule also can combine its...

More and more US companies see the changing climate as a threat to their brand images and bottom lines, according to a December 2018 report from CDP Worldwide. Formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project, CDP gathers environmental impact reports from businesses around the world. While some companies are explicitly highlighting the business risks that a shifting climate throws their way, other...

Sometimes wounds don’t heal – a particular risk for people with diabetes – risking infection, scarring, and protracted pain. Physicians have been using electric currents to speed the knitting of broken bones and the closing of wounds, but the required gear has been bulky and sometimes forced patients to be hospitalized to use it. But now a collaboration of scientists...

Researchers at the University of Waterloo have created a powder that plucks carbon gas out of waste streams from factories and power plants. The powder does the job far cheaper and twice as efficiently than any other method, the developers say. The scientists devised a process that uses salt and heat to reduce plant matter to a carbon powder. The...

A team of European scientists has used sound to move and position small objects without touching them. Sound waves exert a slight physical force. By generating the waves at frequencies above the range of human hearing, the researchers were able to create enough “sound force” to move tiny objects. The team then created a computer program that managed the distribution...

Petro-plastic is forever – or at least it is now, with billions of tons of it swirling through our oceans and taking over landfills. Researchers have developed biodegradable plastics made from plants instead of oil, but they require acreage and fresh water to grow the raw materials. Now a Tel Aviv University research team may have found a way to...