Science and Technology News

Dedicated to the wonder of discovery

high

Robot performs laparoscopic surgery without guiding hand of a human

by Leave a Comment

By Catherine Graham, Johns Hopkins University

In four experiments on pig tissues, the robot excelled at suturing two ends of intestine – one of the most intricate and delicate tasks in abdominal surgery

A robot has performed laparoscopic surgery on the soft tissue of a pig without the guiding hand of a human – a significant step toward fully automated surgery on humans.

Designed by a team of Johns Hopkins University researchers, the Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot, or STAR, is described today in Science Robotics.

Senior author Axel Krieger, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins’ Whiting School of Engineering, says: “Our findings show that we can automate one of the most intricate and delicate tasks in surgery: the reconnection of two ends of an intestine. [Read more…] about Robot performs laparoscopic surgery without guiding hand of a human

Related Posts

  • Robot-assisted surgery: Putting the reality in virtual reality
    35
    Robot-assisted surgery: Putting the reality in virtual realityCardiac surgeons may be able to better plan operations and improve their surgical field view with the help of a robot. Controlled through a virtual reality parallel system as a digital twin, the robot can accurately image a patient through ultrasound without the hand cramping or radiation exposure that hinder…
    Tags: robot, system, surgical, plan, surgery, team, result, robots, author, human
  • A helping hand for working robots
    31
    A helping hand for working robotsUntil now, competing types of robotic hand designs offered a trade-off between strength and durability. One commonly used design, employing a rigid pin joint that mimics the mechanism in human finger joints, can lift heavy payloads, but is easily damaged in collisions, particularly if hit from the side. Meanwhile, fully…
    Tags: hand, robots, robotic, robot, team, human, humans, engineering, news
  • ‘World’s first’ magnetic robotic-assisted surgeries performed with Levita Magnetics’ newest platform
    31
    ‘World’s first’ magnetic robotic-assisted surgeries performed with Levita Magnetics’ newest platformLevita Magnetics, a company with a mission to improve access to better surgery for more patients, says “the first ever” robotic-assisted surgical procedures have been performed using the company’s newest system in development, the Levita Robotic Platform. The first case was a reduced-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) completed by Dr…
    Tags: robotic, surgical, surgery, surgeon, system, performed, news, health
  • Versius receives ‘indication’ extended into thoracic surgery
    30
    Versius receives ‘indication’ extended into thoracic surgeryCMR Surgical says its Versius Surgical Robotic System has been “indicated” for thoracics to support surgeons providing minimally invasive surgery to patients undergoing operations in the lungs, thymus and oesophagus. In medicine, an “indication” is a valid reason to use a certain test, medication, procedure, or surgery. Following a gradual…
    Tags: surgery, hospital, surgical, system, robotic, health, news

World-first facility ‘will change the way we design and construct major infrastructure’

by Leave a Comment

High performance shaking tables and deep soil pit will cut financial and environmental costs whilst ensuring resilience of high-value infrastructure

The new UKCRIC Soil-Foundation-Structure Interaction (SoFSI) facility is a one-of-a-kind facility that promises to deliver major cost savings and reduce the carbon cost of high-value infrastructure projects such as High Speed 2 (HS2), bridges and offshore wind farms.

The centre, located at Bristol University, western England, officially opens tomorrow, Thursday 27 January.

The University of Bristol received £12 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for the construction of the SoFSI Laboratory at its Langford Campus to enable large, close to prototype scale experiments for use by both academics and industry. [Read more…] about World-first facility ‘will change the way we design and construct major infrastructure’

Desolination: Unique energy and water project combines solar power and desalination

by

A unique, €10 million European “Desolination” project, involving 19 partners and 12 countries, aims to develop a first-of-its-kind efficient coupling of concentrated solar power and desalination techniques.

The Horizon 2020 Desolination project started in June, this year and will last 48 months until May 2025.

During this time, innovative technologies related to both concentrated solar power and desalination will be designed to improve the efficiency of existing concepts. [Read more…] about Desolination: Unique energy and water project combines solar power and desalination

Russian researchers present ultra-precise brain imaging tool

by

A joint team from the Russian Quantum Center, Skoltech, and the Higher School of Economics has presented a novel supersensitive solid-state magnetometer operating at room temperature. The researchers for the first time used it to detect and record brain electrical activity with a technique called magnetoencephalography, which could become dozens of times cheaper with the new device. The paper was published in Human Brain Mapping.

High accuracy is a key advantage of magnetoencephalography (MEG) over other similar techniques used for studying the electrical activity of the brain. Biological tissues are transparent for magnetic fields. However, only a very limited number of laboratories around the world have MEG equipment, which uses either extremely cold liquid helium or high-temperature gas and is very expensive and difficult to manufacture.

A team from the Russian Quantum Center (RQC) developed a new sensor using yttrium-iron garnet films. This is the first solid-state supersensitive room-temperature magnetometer in the world. It is based on a quantum sensor and is capable of registering very weak or deep electrical sources in the brain. Owing to its wide dynamic range, the device requires less magnetic shielding, which means a lower cost of both the hardware and the entire research infrastructure. [Read more…] about Russian researchers present ultra-precise brain imaging tool

New study shows Transcendental Meditation reduces emotional stress and improves academics

by

Students who participated in a meditation-based Quiet Time program utilizing the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique for four months had significant improvements in overall emotional stress symptoms, quality of sleep, and English Language Arts (ELA) academic achievement according to a new randomized controlled trial published last month in Education.

The study was conducted by researchers from the Center for Wellness and Achievement in Education and Stanford University. This was the first randomized control trial to investigate the effects of TM on standardized academic tests.

“Students have been experiencing increased levels of stress and it’s impacting their academic performance,” said Laurent Valosek, lead author of the study and Executive Director of the Center for Wellness and Achievement in Education. [Read more…] about New study shows Transcendental Meditation reduces emotional stress and improves academics

Related Posts

  • How parental involvement affects children’s performance in school
    35
    How parental involvement affects children’s performance in schoolUsing data from the HSE University longitudinal study Trajectories in Education and Careers (TrEC), Ilya Prakhov, Olga Kotomina and Alexandra Sazhina determined which forms of family engagement in the school are useful and which are harmful to the student. This study makes it possible to monitor students' entire educational path…
    Tags: school, study, students, education, academic, high, performance, control

At what temperature does the weather becomes a problem

by

“We have studied which temperatures are preferable and which are harmful in humans, cattle, pigs, poultry, and agricultural crops and found that they are surprisingly similar,” says Senthold Asseng, Professor of Digital Agriculture at TUM. According to the study, preferable temperatures range from 17 to 24 degrees Celsius.

When does it become too hot for humans?

At high humidity, mild heat strain for humans begins at about 23 degrees Celsius and at low humidity at 27 degrees Celsius.

“If people are exposed to temperatures above 32 degrees Celsius at extremely high humidity or above 45 degrees Celsius at extremely low humidity for a lengthy period of time, it can be fatal,” says Prof. Asseng. [Read more…] about At what temperature does the weather becomes a problem

Separating natural and man-made pollutants in the air

by

COVID-19 has changed the world in unimaginable ways. Some have even been positive, with new vaccines developed in record time. Even the extraordinary lockdowns, which have had severe effects on movement and commerce, have had beneficial effects on the environment and therefore, ironically, on health.

Studies from all around the world, including China, Europe and India, have found major drops in the level of air pollution. However, to fully understand the impact of anthropogenic causes, it is important to separate them from natural events in the atmosphere like wind flow.

To demonstrate this point, a new study by researchers at the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Japan, uses satellite data and mathematical modeling to explain just how great the lockdown effect on nitrogen oxides has been in Delhi, India, one of the world’s most polluted cities, and its surrounding area. This study was carried out under the activity named “Mission DELHIS (Detection of Emission Change of air pollutants: Human Impact Studies)” as a part of RIHN project, Aakash (meaning “Sky” in Hindi, originated from Sanskrit). [Read more…] about Separating natural and man-made pollutants in the air

Bringing order to hydrogen energy devices

by

Researchers at Kyoto University’s Institute for Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) have developed a new approach to speed up hydrogen atoms moving through a crystal lattice structure at lower temperatures. They reported their findings in the journal Science Advances.

“Improving hydrogen transport in solids could lead to more sustainable sources of energy,” says Hiroshi Kageyama of iCeMS who led the study.

Negatively charged hydrogen “anions” can move very quickly through a solid ‘hydride’ material, which consists of hydrogen atoms attached to other chemical elements. [Read more…] about Bringing order to hydrogen energy devices

Amazon indigenous group’s lifestyle may hold a key to slowing down aging

by

A team of international researchers has found that the Tsimane indigenous people of the Bolivian Amazon experience less brain atrophy than their American and European peers. The decrease in their brain volumes with age is 70% slower than in Western populations. Accelerated brain volume loss can be a sign of dementia.

The study was published May 26, 2021 in the Journal of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences.

Although people in industrialized nations have access to modern medical care, they are more sedentary and eat a diet high in saturated fats. In contrast, the Tsimane have little or no access to health care but are extremely physically active and consume a high-fiber diet that includes vegetables, fish and lean meat. [Read more…] about Amazon indigenous group’s lifestyle may hold a key to slowing down aging

Related Posts

  • Coffee lovers, rejoice! Drinking more coffee associated with decreased heart failure risk
    34
    Coffee lovers, rejoice! Drinking more coffee associated with decreased heart failure riskDietary information from three large, well-known heart disease studies suggests drinking one or more cups of caffeinated coffee may reduce heart failure risk, according to research published today in Circulation: Heart Failure, an American Heart Association journal. Coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke are among the top causes of…
    Tags: risk, study, life, health
  • Scientists say active early learning shapes the adult brain
    33
    Scientists say active early learning shapes the adult brainAn enhanced learning environment during the first five years of life shapes the brain in ways that are apparent four decades later, say Virginia Tech and University of Pennsylvania scientists writing in the June edition of the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. The researchers used structural brain imaging to detect the developmental…
    Tags: brain, study, health, age, life
  • Obesity and cancer: Studies highlight different aspects of the connection
    32
    Obesity and cancer: Studies highlight different aspects of the connectionMulti-factorial metabolic and inflammatory abnormalities in obesity, independently or in combination, seems to be the critical biological link of obesity, cancer and racial/gender health disparities. However, the specific cross-talk between these factors remain elusive. Because of the extraordinary relevance in understanding the relationship between obesity-associated inflammation and comorbidities with cancer…
    Tags: risk, health, life
  • Fertility treatment affects children's growth patterns but not for long
    31
    Fertility treatment affects children's growth patterns but not for longChildren born as a result of fertility treatment have different growth patterns to naturally-conceived children but, by the time they reach the age of 17, they are of similar height, weight and body mass index (BMI), according to research published today (Wednesday) in Human Reproduction. The study of 81,461 children from…
    Tags: study, health, age, life

Following nature’s cue, researchers build successful, sustainable industrial networks

by

By translating the pattern of interconnections between nature’s food chains to industrial networks, researchers at Texas A&M University have delineated guidelines for setting up successful industrial communities.

The researchers said this guidance can facilitate economic growth, lower emissions and reduce waste while simultaneously ensure that partnering industries can recover from unexpected disturbances.

“Industries can often partner up to exchange byproducts and over time these industries might form bigger communities. While these networks sound quite beneficial to all industry partners within the community, they are not always successful,” said Dr. Astrid Layton, assistant professor in the J. Mike Walker’ 66 Department of Mechanical Engineering. [Read more…] about Following nature’s cue, researchers build successful, sustainable industrial networks