Biohybrid

If you want to gather climate-change data from the deep ocean, why not just hitch a ride with an organism that's going down there anyways? That's the thinking which led to the creation of "biohybrid jellyfish" which pack not one but two speed-boosting technologies.The cyborg jellies are being developed by a team at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) led by Prof. John Dabiri.He's been messing around with the creatures for some time now, having previously brought us a jellyfish-inspired flexible pump, an…

In a study carried out in rats, researchers from the University of Cambridge used a biohybrid device to improve the connection between the brain and paralyzed limbs. The device combines flexible electronics and human stem cells – the body’s ‘reprogrammable’ master cells – to better integrate with the nerve and drive limb function. Credit: University of CambridgeResearchers have developed a new type of neural implant that could restore limb function to amputees and others who have lost the use of their arms or legs.In a…

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a new implantable neural implant that combines stem cells with electronics and has the potential to help amputees or those who’ve lost the use of their limbs.Developments in implantable neurotechnology and cell therapy offer potentially effective treatments for those with injuries to the peripheral nervous system, that is, the nerves that lie outside the brain and spinal cord. Both try to restore function to paralyzed or amputated limbs by either bypassing the site…

When cartilage in joints such as the knees gets damaged, it is very slow to heal – if it ever does at all. An experimental new biohybrid material could one day replace it, however, and may even promote the growth of new natural cartilage.One of the challenges in designing artificial cartilage lies in the fact that like its natural counterpart, the material must be malleable enough to bend with the joint, yet also tough enough to withstand the loads constantly placed upon it.In the past, substances made of natural polymers…