Hearing problems often go undetected until they become more serious, in part because current diagnostic tools can struggle to measure the faint signals produced by a healthy inner ear. Researchers at Binghamton University are developing a new ear‑canal probe that aims to improve early diagnosis by measuring these signals more accurately. Their work is inspired by how spiders sense sound through the motion of their webs, a biological strategy that detects air movement rather than pressure. This insight is helping engineers rethink how medical microphones should work. The inner ear produces extremely quiet sounds called otoacoustic emissions. These emissions disappear…

Severe spinal cord injuries often leave people without any ability to move or feel below the level of damage, and current treatments offer limited recovery. Researchers at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research have developed a double neural bypass system that is showing how advanced brain–computer interfaces and targeted electrical stimulation can help restore both movement and sensation in a person with complete tetraplegia. The technology combines implanted microelectrode arrays in the brain with artificial intelligence and precisely targeted stimulation of the spinal cord and the somatosensory cortex. The system reads the participant’s intention to move from the motor cortex…

Many wearable health sensors are uncomfortable, noticeable or distracting, especially when placed on the face. These devices can make people self‑conscious and even change the very signals they are meant to measure. Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed ultrathin, stretchable skin sensors that solve this problem by becoming effectively invisible when worn. Their goal is to allow people to monitor important biological signals naturally, without feeling watched or altered by the presence of a device. The new sensors are built on an elastic film only about 200 nanometers thick, paired with transparent conductive nanowires. This combination allows the…

Wound infections often begin quietly, with bacteria entering a fresh injury and forming a protective biofilm within hours. Once this biofilm develops, infections become much harder to treat and can slow healing significantly. Researchers at the University of Bath have created a new plant‑based wound dressing designed to intervene during this early window, delivering antibiotics directly to the wound before the biofilm can take hold. Their goal is to provide a sustainable, effective alternative to petroleum‑based dressings while improving infection control. The dressing is made from two layers of plant‑derived polymers that differ only slightly in chemical structure. When these…

Liver fibrosis is a silent condition in which the liver gradually hardens like a callus, often without obvious symptoms until serious damage has already occurred. Today, doctors usually rely on liver biopsies or expensive imaging tests to detect fibrosis, procedures that can be painful, risky and difficult to repeat frequently. A research team at Sungkyunkwan University in Korea, has developed an ultrasensitive electrochemical biosensor that can detect early-stage liver fibrosis using only a small amount of blood. Their goal is to make it possible to identify liver problems early without the need for tissue biopsy. The team focused on a…

Astronauts have long faced a major challenge when dealing with injuries or illness in orbit because ultrasound has been the only practical imaging tool available. Ultrasound can be helpful, but it requires extensive training and depends on a sound‑transmitting medium, which is difficult to manage in a constantly moving spacecraft. For decades, experts believed that obtaining diagnostic‑quality X‑rays in space was impossible. A recent commercial spaceflight has now overturned that assumption by capturing the first diagnostic X‑rays during an orbital mission, marking a major step forward for astronaut health. The breakthrough happened aboard SpaceX’s Fram2 mission, a 3.5‑day polar orbital…

Finding the right contact lenses can be a slow and frustrating process for people whose eyes do not match standard lens shapes. Many patients with irregular corneas need rigid lenses that must be fitted over several appointments, and even then the results are not always comfortable. Researchers at the University of Waterloo have developed a new 3D‑printing platform that could make this process much easier by creating personalized contact lenses in about twenty minutes. Their work shows how custom lenses could be designed, printed and dispensed during a single visit to the optometrist. The team’s approach combines custom lens‑design software,…

Many medicines require careful dosing, yet doctors often rely on occasional blood tests that provide only brief snapshots of drug levels. This approach can make it difficult to understand how a medicine moves through the body over time. Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia have developed a lightweight wearable patch that could change this by measuring drug concentrations beneath the skin continuously and sending the information to a smartphone. Their work suggests that future wearable devices may help track therapies inside the body just as easily as they track heart rate or sleep. The…

Many medical sensors used to monitor heart and muscle activity can feel stiff, uncomfortable or difficult to keep attached to the skin, especially when patients move or sweat. Engineers at the Pennsylvania State University have developed paintable electrodes that can be brushed directly onto the skin like face paint, creating colorful, flexible designs that work as accurate medical sensors. Their goal is to make clinical monitoring more comfortable and more adaptable to everyday life while still capturing high‑quality signals such as electrocardiograms and electromyograms. The paintable electrodes are made from a conductive ink that begins nearly transparent and can be…

Treating infected wounds is difficult because the skin needs protection, cooling and antibacterial support, yet most dressings can only provide one or two of these benefits at a time. Researchers at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and their collaborators have created a new type of wound dressing that brings all three together. Their bionic cooling skin is designed to feel and behave more like natural skin while lowering temperature and fighting bacteria, which helps infected wounds heal more comfortably and effectively. The material is built from very thin fibers welded together in a way that gives the dressing strength and…