Many amputees struggle with prosthetic devices that cannot provide meaningful sensory feedback, leaving them unable to feel temperature, pressure, or texture during everyday tasks. Existing electronic skins attempt to address this gap, but they are often expensive, difficult to customize, limited in sensing resolution, and unable to conform well to curved or irregular surfaces. Researchers at Washington State University developed an electronic skin system that detects both pressure and temperature at a much finer scale than current commercial glove sensors, offering a potential path toward prosthetics that more closely mimic human tactile sensation. The team designed a customizable sensing system…

Pacemakers require periodic battery replacement, a process that can be risky, costly, and burdensome for patients who depend on long‑term cardiac rhythm management. Leadless intracardiac pacemakers reduce complications compared with traditional chest‑implanted models, but their batteries still occupy more than half the device’s size and last only seven to ten years. Removing a depleted device from inside the heart is difficult, so expired pacemakers are often left in place while new ones are implanted alongside them. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison developed a battery‑free pacemaker powered entirely by a patient’s heartbeat, offering a potential path toward implants that last…

Patients in intensive care often experience rapid and dangerous changes in blood pressure, yet the standard method for continuous monitoring requires inserting a catheter directly into an artery. This approach provides accurate, beat‑by‑beat measurements but carries risks such as bleeding, clot formation, infection, and restricted mobility. Conventional arm cuffs avoid these complications but offer only intermittent readings, which can miss sudden fluctuations. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have developed a wearable sensor system combined with artificial intelligence that generates continuous blood pressure waveforms without entering the bloodstream, offering a potential alternative to arterial lines for critical care and other settings.…

Severe bone injuries caused by trauma, cancer, or infection often fail to heal because engineered bone tissue struggles to form the blood vessels needed to deliver oxygen and nutrients. Without vascularization, even advanced bioprinted constructs cannot mature or integrate with the body. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University developed a strategy that programs living stem‑cell spheroids with genetic switches to promote both bone formation and blood‑vessel growth, addressing one of the central challenges in bone tissue engineering. The team began with commercially sourced, undifferentiated stem cells and introduced specific strands of genetic information to guide their behavior. By layering these cells…

Spinal cord injuries often lead to permanent loss of movement, sensation, and autonomic control because damaged neural pathways can no longer carry signals between the brain and the body. Current technologies typically focus on restoring only one function at a time, and many approaches rely on limited remaining pathways rather than creating new routes for communication. Researchers at Houston Methodist have developed an implantable device designed to bypass the injured region of the spinal cord and restore multiple functions by rerouting neural signals around the damaged area. The device is an ultra‑thin, flexible interface that wraps around the spinal cord…

Recurrent brain tumors are extremely difficult to treat because they often return after surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, leaving patients with few options and limited time. Many tumors grow in locations that cannot be safely reached through open surgery, and repeat operations are often too taxing for patients who have already undergone extensive treatment. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis evaluated a minimally invasive laser‑based therapy that uses heat to destroy tumor tissue and may extend survival for people facing aggressive, recurrent disease. The approach, known as laser interstitial thermal therapy, uses a thin probe inserted through…

Opioid overdoses often become fatal because they occur without a bystander present to administer naloxone, the medication that rapidly reverses opioid effects. Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl act quickly and powerfully, leaving individuals unconscious before they can seek help. Researchers at Virginia Tech developed a wearable microneedle patch that detects fentanyl in the body and automatically releases naloxone, offering a potential safeguard for people at high risk of unwitnessed overdose. The device is designed to intervene autonomously, providing protection even when no one else is present. The patch, called the “iNal” patch, uses an array of 121 microscopic needles that…

Many chronic conditions require frequent monitoring of biomarkers that cannot be measured easily with conventional wearables. Sweat‑based sensors often struggle with low fluid volume, while blood‑based tests require needles and clinical visits. Researchers at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University developed a wearable microneedle patch that collects interstitial fluid beneath the skin and uses ultrasound to enhance both fluid extraction and biomarker detection. This combination enables continuous, painless monitoring of multiple health indicators and offers an alternative to traditional sampling methods for conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic disorders. The patch uses an array of microscopic needles that penetrate…

Many neurological disorders are treated with electrical stimulation delivered through surgically implanted electrodes. These devices can help manage severe epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, and other conditions when medications fail, but they require invasive brain surgery and place rigid metal components deep within neural tissue. Researchers at Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) in Russia and collaborating institutions developed a new approach that uses biocompatible magnetic microparticles to stimulate nerves remotely, offering a potential alternative that is far less invasive. The team demonstrated the concept by modulating the breathing and heart rate of a mouse through wireless stimulation of…

Glioblastoma remains one of the most difficult cancers to treat because its cells infiltrate healthy brain tissue, making complete surgical removal nearly impossible. Even when surgeons remove all visible tumor tissue, microscopic clusters often remain and lead to recurrence. The blood‑brain barrier further complicates treatment by limiting how well drugs and radiation reach the tumor site. Researchers at the University of Technology Sydney and collaborating institutions developed a multifunctional nanozyme platform designed to address both challenges using a single material activated by near‑infrared light. The platform is built from an ultrathin two‑dimensional sheet engineered with isolated platinum atoms placed individually…