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Cognitive neuroscientists testing potential benefits of brain training tools

The draw is huge: Play video games and get smarter. For the past decade, various groups have claimed that their cognitive training programs do everything from staving off neurodegenerative disease to enhancing education and improving daily functioning. Absent from many of these claims has been neuroscientific evidence. Cognitive neuroscientists are now rigorously testing the potential benefits of such "brain training" tools.

6 Apr 2016

Retina Implant receives CE approval for latest Alpha AMS device

Retina Implant AG, the leading developer of subretinal implants for patients blinded by retinitis pigmentosa (RP), today announced it received CE approval of its Alpha AMS device for marketing in the European economic area.

30 Mar 2016

UC Berkeley biologists discover potential target for unisex contraceptives

UC Berkeley biologists have discovered the switch that triggers the power kick sperm use to penetrate and fertilize a human egg, uncovering a possible source of male infertility but also a potential target for contraceptives that work in both men and women.

26 Mar 2016

ORNL-NIST researchers reveal nondestructive way to observe nanoscale objects and processes

When lots of energy hits an atom, it can knock off electrons, making the atom extremely chemically reactive and initiating further destruction. That's why radiation is so dangerous. It's also why high-resolution imaging techniques that use energetic electron beams and X-rays can alter, even obliterate, the samples they explore. For example, monitoring battery dynamics using electron microscopy can introduce artifacts that interfere with electrochemical processes.

22 Mar 2016

University of Copenhagen researchers discover Achilles heel of bacteria

Drug resistant bacteria are fast becoming one of the big worries of the 21 century. Now researchers at the University of Copenhagen have discovered a previously unknown weakness; an "Achilles heel", of bacteria. Their discovery, a crucial step in bacteria's energy metabolism, may be the first step in developing an entirely novel form of antibiotics

22 Mar 2016

St. Luke’s surgeon first in world to implant Medtronic’s new, MRI-compatible neurostimulator system

Steven Falowski, MD, Chief of Functional Neurosurgery at St. Luke’s University Health Network in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania today was the first surgeon in the world to implant Medtronic’s brand new, full-body, MRI-compatible paddle electrode leads for the Restore neurostimulator system.

21 Mar 2016

Aesculap plans to develop neurostimulators for lowering high blood pressure

The Tuttlingen medical technology company Aesculap AG has founded the Freiburg startup neuroloop GmbH in cooperation with the University of Freiburg and the Freiburg University Medical Center. Building on research work from a team led by Prof. Dr. Thomas Stieglitz at the university's Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK) and a research group at the university medical center, the company plans to develop neurostimulators that will be capable among other things of lowering high blood pressure.

18 Mar 2016

Mexican doctor develops prosthesis that provides sensations like natural hand

Thanks to the electrodes system a stable signal is obtained, which allows precise control like handling an egg without breaking. It also provides sensations as if it were a real hand.

16 Mar 2016

Humanoid robot can be used as a tool in therapy for improvement of children with autism

Children with autism have special difficulty in expressing emotions, usually have no social skills and face major problems when communicating. In order to help children with this problem learn to recognize facial expressions in themselves and in others, a group of researchers at the Tec de Monterrey, in Mexico, created a robot using artificial intelligence.

15 Mar 2016

Fish's retina inspired autofocus contact lens could benefit presbyopia patients

Making the most of the low light in the muddy rivers where it swims, the elephant nose fish survives by being able to spot predators amongst the muck with a uniquely shaped retina, the part of the eye that captures light. In a new study, researchers looked to the fish's retinal structure to inform the design of a contact lens that can adjust its focus.

15 Mar 2016

New microfluidic biosensor can identify white blood cells quickly for AIDS diagnosis

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a highly sensitive biosensor based on a differential immuno-capture technology that can detect sub-populations of white blood cells. As part of a small, disposable biochip, the microfluidic biosensor can count CD4+/CD8+ T cells quickly and accurately for AIDS diagnosis in the field.

14 Mar 2016

Heart rate variability may increase epilepsy risk

Doctors have long characterized epilepsy as a brain disorder, but researchers at Case Western Reserve University have found that part of the autonomic nervous system functions differently in epilepsy during the absence of seizures.This connection to the involuntary division of the nervous system may have implications for diagnosing and treating the disease and understanding sudden unexpected death in epilepsy

10 Mar 2016

Combination of two innovative rehabilitation approaches may enhance movement function after stroke

Used in combination, two innovative rehabilitation approaches can promote better long-term recovery of arm and hand movement function in stroke survivors, suggests a paper in the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, the official journal of the Association of Academic Physiatrists. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

8 Mar 2016

Amputee feels texture in real-time with artificial fingertip

An amputee was able to feel smoothness and roughness in real-time with an artificial fingertip that was surgically connected to nerves in his upper arm. Moreover, the nerves of non-amputees can also be stimulated to feel roughness, without the need of surgery, meaning that prosthetic touch for amputees can now be developed and safely tested on intact individuals.

8 Mar 2016

UT Southwestern teams up with seven universities to develop new technologies to improve memory function

UT Southwestern Medical Center has joined a consortium of seven leading universities to develop new technologies to improve memory in people with traumatic brain injury, mild cognitive impairment, epilepsy, and Alzheimer's disease.

3 Mar 2016

Kansas State University engineers developing technology to help children with special needs

A Kansas State University engineering team is developing a technology collection that can make a big difference in the lives of children with developmental disabilities.

26 Feb 2016

Boston Scientific gets FDA approval for ACUITY X4 Quadripolar Left Ventricular leads

Boston Scientific has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the ACUITY X4 Quadripolar Left Ventricular (LV) leads. The FDA approval of the quadripolar leads, the wires that connect cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices to the heart, marks the first time the company will offer a full X4 CRT system – both the device and the leads – to the U.S. market.

23 Feb 2016