New Graphene breakthrough reverses paralysis
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Proven in the labs Texas-PEG has already restored motor function in injured lab rats. It isn’t the first time that we’re read about new breakthroughs that have repaired, and reversed serious paralysis but now Graphene, the super material that seems to have almost limitless...
The future of jobs in a Machine World
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF We are all aware that technology is capable of replacing particular categories of jobs, but often those jobs “belong to someone else” and the impact on our own jobs is minimal. Today though new classes of emerging technologies, from artificial intelligence to machine vision are...
New medical breakthrough restarts hearts with light
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Researchers have jump started hearts with light paving the way to get rid of electrical defibrillators for good. Current treatments for arrhythmia, a dangerous irregular heartbeat, involve administering an intense burst of electricity from a defibrillator in times of cardiac arrest, but these pulses...
Researchers cut HIV genes out of living cells using CRISPR
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF One day researchers hope they can do the same in Humans. In a world first, scientists led by Kamel Khalili, director of the Comprehensive NeuroAIDS Center at Temple University, report in the journal Gene Therapy that they have for the first time successfully eliminated...
New brain scanning technologies can pull secrets from your brain waves
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF New brain wave monitoring devices are making it easier than ever for companies, governments and institutions to pull your darkest secrets from your head. In a world where biometric security is often seen as the de-facto consumer and enterprise security technology, and where Touchless...
Babies from artificial eggs, researchers herald the end of mum and dad
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Researchers have shown for the first time that future generations won’t need a mum or dad. Depending on the circles you travel in it’s always been touted that men need women in order to have children but that women don’t necessarily need men, but...
Monkeys write 12 words a minute to help the paralysed communicate
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Researchers are moving closer to helping fully paralysed people communicate just by thought alone. “To be or not to be. That is the question.” That also happens to be the text that Monkey “J” typed out using a brain implant that he was using...
World first as surgeons use a robot to operate inside the eye
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The world’s first robot assisted eye surgery paves the way for surgeries that were previously impossible. British surgeons have successfully performed the world’s first robotic operation inside the eye, potentially revolutionising the way such conditions are treated. The procedure was carried out at John...
An AI upgrade for your brain, Elon Musk teases the Neural Lace
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Worried that AI’s one day could make us their pets Elon Musk is teasing a new brain-hacking tech. There’s no doubting that Elon Musk is one busy guy. Whether he’s trying to land on Mars with SpaceX, running Tesla, buying SolarCity, investing in the future of...
New breakthrough helps drug addicts forget they were addicted
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Scientists have found a new chemical that could help drug addicts forget they were ever addicted. In the cult-classic “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” Jim Carrey’s character tries to overcome a painful breakup by erasing his memory and eleven years after the science fiction...
Nerve zapping dust sized electrical implants could be the future of medicine
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Hundreds of millions of people suffer every day from chronic disease, pain and illness but now a new class of medicine is on the horizon Imagine a world where we can treat diabetes, chronic pain and autoimmune disorders with a small zap of electricity delivered by...
Researchers find evidence that ancestors memories are passed down in DNA
Researchers have shown for the first time that our ancestors memories can be passed down in DNA
New regenerative bandage heals wounds four times faster
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Bandages that not just cover a wound but that help the damaged tissue regenerate faster will help improve peoples lives and get them back to functioning normally faster. At some point in their lives, 15 percent of people with diabetes will develop a painful and...
3D printed ovaries help infertile mice give birth
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF 3D printing could give infertile couples new hope. Northwestern University scientists have created a prosthetic ovary using a 3D printer – an implant that allowed mice that had their ovaries surgically removed to bear live young and the results will be presented at the Endocrine Society’s...
Geneticists are creating a new form of life that is resistant to all known viruses
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Geneticists are now capable of creating new forms of life that are completely resistant to all known viruses. Geneticists have made a step forward in ‘recoding’ the genome as we know it, replacing 62,214 DNA base pairs in a synthetic E. coli genome and...
Scientists use swarms of nanobots to precisely target cancer
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Being able to deliver drugs in situ within the human body precisely to the areas where they can do the most good will help doctors treat patients better and patients recover faster. Researchers from Polytechnique Montréal, Université de Montréal and McGill University have just...
Zipline drones take to the skies to save lives
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Drone company Zipline takes to the skies to deliver medical care packages. San Francisco based startup, Zipline, is about to begin testing its drone delivery system intended to deliver medical supplies to remote areas of the US, and then eventually to the rest of the world...
Science meets technology at Team USA’s training camp
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Everything inside Team USA’s olympic training camp screams technology. Outside it was a beautiful spring day with Pikes Peak looming majestically to the west, but as Desiree Linden pounded out miles on a treadmill in a hermetically sealed room at the Olympic Training Center...
The world’s first telepathic interface is getting better
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Imagine a new form of communication, one that transcends phones and virtual reality. Imagine telepathy. I know what you’re thinking… literally. Only kidding – for now anyway. Imagine being able to read another persons mind then imagine a question and answer game played by two people...
Rio 2016 introduces tests to hunt for genetically modified athletes
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF In the not so distant future drugs cheats will give way to gene cheats, and WADA plans on catching them all – eventually. Mention Erythropoietin to most people on the street and they won’t have any idea what you’re talking about. It took over...
