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Preventing pollution with bioinspired solutions

Jessica Leff — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 21:14:47 +0000

By Lindsay Brownell In honor of Pollution Prevention Week, we’re highlighting three Wyss projects that are taking on the formidable problems of PFAS and plastic – persistent and toxic pollutants that threaten the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or “forever chemicals,” are toxic substances that increase the risk of many health…

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The Wyss Institute’s 2024-2025 Validation Projects

Jessica Leff — Wed, 29 May 2024 14:55:23 +0000

Every year the Wyss Institute names a class of Validation Projects whose teams receive dedicated funding, business development support, and other resources to advance their promising technologies towards commercialization. They also collaborate with key opinion leaders, investors, and potential customers to de-risk their innovations and speed their progress to the market. This year…

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Catalytic Materials: Cheaper, Better Air Purification for a Healthier World

Mariel Schoen — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 20:22:04 +0000

Catalytic converters are the most widely used kind of air pollution control device, and are installed in many smokestacks and car tailpipes. However, standard catalytic converters are very expensive because the catalysts used in them are precious metals like platinum, meaning they are not always replaced as often as they should be, and are the target of theft in lower-income areas.

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eRapid: Multiplexed Electrochemical Sensors for Fast, Accurate, Portable Diagnostics

admin — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 19:58:09 +0000

Handheld electrochemical sensors have revolutionized at-home medical testing for diabetics, but they have not yet been successfully applied to diagnosing other conditions. These sensors are based on the activity of an enzyme, and there are only a limited number of enzymes that can be used to detect biomarkers of human disease. An alternative, much more broadly applicable sensing strategy based on…

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Repairing patients’ dura more durably

Jessica Leff — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 17:55:14 +0000

By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — The dural membrane (dura) is the outermost of three meningeal layers that line the central nervous system (CNS), which includes the brain and spinal cord. Together, the meninges function as a shock-absorber to protect the CNS against trauma, circulate nutrients throughout the CNS, as well as remove waste. The dura also is a critical biological barrier that…

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A new glue, potentially also for you

Jessica Leff — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 15:50:09 +0000

By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Hydrogels are versatile biomaterials conquering an increasing number of biomedical areas. Consisting of water-swollen molecular networks that can be tailored to mimic the mechanical and chemical features of various organs and tissues, they can interface within the body and on its outer surfaces without causing any damage to even the most delicate parts of the…

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Advancing precision diagnostics at the patient point-of-care

Jessica Leff — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 15:55:59 +0000

By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Aging populations and the tendency to lead a more sedentary lifestyle in many parts of the world is thought to dramatically increase the numbers of people living with multiple, chronic conditions. Moreover, climate change, as well as shifting patterns in land-use and travel, keep increasing the risk of infectious diseases that can emerge and spread locally and…

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Staying dry for months underwater

Mariel Schoen — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 17:18:22 +0000

By Leah Burrows/SEAS Communications (CAMBRIDGE) — A species of spider lives its entire life underwater, despite having lungs that can only breathe atmospheric oxygen. How does it do it? This spider, known as the Argyroneta aquatica, has millions of rough, water-repellent hairs that trap air around its body, creating an oxygen reservoir and acting as a barrier between the spider’s lungs and the…

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Sustainable cooling technology heats up

Mariel Schoen — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 21:01:23 +0000

As average global temperatures continue to climb, the market for air conditioning is too: it’s estimated that worldwide demand for air conditioning will triple by 2050. If all those extra A/C units will use today’s standard, decades-old vapor compression technology, it could spell disaster for the planet. Not only does vapor compression consume massive amounts of electricity (increasing the…

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Vesma – Refrigerant-Free, Eco-Friendly Cooling for All Climates

Jessica Leff — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 18:45:27 +0000

An interdisciplinary team from the Wyss Institute, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Harvard Graduate School of Design is continuing to advance global climate solutions for building cooling. By combining the evaporative cooling technology, cSNAP, and vacuum membrane dehumidification, the team has developed a refrigerant-free, eco-friendly cooling solution suitable for all…

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