Lifeboat Foundation

Advantageously, the fabrication of OECTs, in particular of the conductive channel, is compatible with solution-based fabrication methods and additive manufacturing, enabling cost-efficient manufacturing and rapid prototyping on flexible substrates¹⁰. This opens new possibilities in terms of the combination of materials that can be used in the manufacturing of OECTs, in particular the use of degradable materials. Degradable electronics refer to electronic systems and components that can degrade in an environment of interest spontaneously, in a controlled amount of time, and without releasing byproducts that are harmful to that environment¹⁸. With concerning amounts of electronic waste being generated, as well as exploding numbers of connected Internet of Things (IoT) devices¹⁹, there is growing interest in transient electronic systems with a service life of a few days to a few months. Although advances have been made in the manufacturing of fully degradable functional devices, i.e. antennas²⁰, batteries²¹ and physical as well as environmental sensors^22,23, investigations into degradable biosensors remain relatively limited²⁴.

Advances have been made in proposing new materials for the OECT terminals, in particular the gate electrode, as its properties play a key role in modulating the transistor’s behavior. While Ag/AgCl gates offer the advantage of being non-polarizable, Au gates present little electrochemical activity in the range of voltages typical for OECT-based biosensing. Au and PEDOT: PSS gates have been explored for OECT-based biosensors, with the advantage of expanding the possibilities for bio-functionalizing the gate electrode^6,25. PEDOT: PSS gates and contacts have been investigated, simplifying notably their manufacturing²⁶. An all-PEDOT: PSS OECT was presented and shown to measure dopamine concentrations reliably and specifically²⁷. Various forms of carbon have also been investigated for the realization of gate electrodes for OECTs⁸. Activated carbon gates, for example, showed increased drain current modulation due to the large specific surface area of the carbon material⁹. Recently, screen-printed carbon-gated OECTs were shown to be suitable for the detection of uric acid after functionalization of the carbon gate with platinum and Uricase²⁸. Transient or recyclable materials such as paper²⁶ have been proposed as substrates for OECTs. Polylactic acid (PLA)²⁴ and Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)²⁹ (PLGA) have been studied as degradable substrates for OECTs³⁰, as well as diacetate cellulose³¹. These studies, however, relied on non-degradable contacts for the operation of the printed OECTs. More recently, Khan et al.³² proposed a fully printed OECT on cellulose acetate (CA) for the selective detection of glucose. The OECT is made of degradable materials and CA is a biocompatible material that is suitable as a substrate for transient biosensors.

In this work, we present disposable and biocompatible OECTs based on carbon, PEDOT: PSS and PLA as substrate. Challenges in the fabrication of transient electronic devices come from the low-temperature tolerance¹⁸ of biopolymeric substrates and reaching adhesion of the PEDOT: PSS channel material on the biopolymer³³, which is often deposited from an aqueous solution. A fully additive fabrication process is developed to address these challenges, leveraging screen and inkjet printing. The influence of the gate material choice, as well as the gate geometry, are studied, and these parameters are optimized for the fabrication of transient OECTs for ions and metabolite sensing. The transistor characteristics of the devices as well as their sensing behavior and reproducibility are characterized. Finally, the degradable OECTs are integrated with highly conductive transient zinc metal traces, which are of interest for interconnection with other degradable electronic circuits and could allow, for example, the wireless operation of the biochemical chemical sensors³⁴.

Scientists have achieved a major breakthrough in combating ageing and age-related diseases. The study by the researchers from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology was published in the journal Aging-US.

Humanity’s attempt to prevent ageing: What is the breakthrough?

The researchers have introduced a chemical method through a ‘single pill’ to reprogram body cells, following which the cells effectively return to a younger state.

Gero, an AI-driven biotech focused on aging and longevity, has demonstrated the feasibility of applying quantum computing for drug design and generative chemistry, which now offers significant promise for the future of healthcare. The research, published in Scientific Reports, outlines how a hybrid quantum-classical machine-learning model was used to interface between classical and quantum computational devices with the goal of generating novel chemical structures for potential drugs—an industry first.

The research paper follows in the wake of recent advancements from Gero, which sparked vigorous discussion among longevity experts in the scientific community when a story was published in Popular Mechanics that asserted humans can stop—but not fully reverse—aging. Earlier this year, Gero announced a target discovery deal with Pfizer, whereby Gero’s machine-learning technology platform is being applied to discover potential therapeutic targets for fibrotic diseases using large-scale human data.

In this new line of research, the team explored whether a hybrid generative AI system—a deep neural network working in conjunction with commercially available quantum hardware—could suggest unique chemical structures that are synthetically feasible and possess drug-like properties.

A team of nearly 100 scientists recently mapped the cell-type taxonomy in the macaque cortex and revealed the relationship between cell-type composition and various primate brain regions by using the self-developed spatial transcriptome sequencing technology Stereo-seq and snRNA-seq technology, which provides a molecular and cellular basis for further investigation into neural circuits.

The study was published in Cell.

Primates have a vast number of neurons that form complex and intricate neural circuits supporting advanced cognition and behavior. Disruptions in these cells and circuits can lead to various brain disorders. Understanding the composition and spatial distribution of cells in the brain, as well as the relationships between them, is a fundamental question in neuroscience, comparable to the periodic table in chemistry, the world map in geographic discoveries, or the DNA base sequence discovered through human genome sequencing.

The immune system is an incredibly complex network that has some amazing capabilities. It can eliminate dangerous cells that may lead to cancer, and defend the body against a wide variety of pathogenic invaders. It also has the ability to remember those encounters with pathogens so if they happen again, the immune system is primed to respond more quickly and forcefully against the offender. Scientists have now learned more about how the immune system memory is created at the molecular level. The findings have been reported in Science Immunology.

When immune cells are exposed to an invader, they can recognize structures called antigens on the surface of the pathogen. In this study, the researchers compared immune cells that had never been exposed to an antigen, so-called naive cells, to immune cells that had been in contact with an antigen, known as memory cells. The investigators wanted to identify the epigenetic differences between these cell types, which are changes in DNA that can impact gene expression, such as structural shifts or chemical tags, but do not alter the sequence of the genome. Epigenetic changes might explain why memory cells can react so quickly while naive cells are comparatively slow.

The thrusters will play an important role on NASA’s Gateway, the outpost orbiting the Moon.

Engineers from NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne have begun the multiyear qualification testing of the most powerful solar electric propulsion (SEP) thrusters, which are expected to radically change propulsion in space, a press release from the space agency said.

For decades, space research has relied on chemical propulsion to generate millions of pounds of thrust and has attempted to make bigger and more powerful rockets to take us further in our space voyages. While this is a standard even with the most advanced methane-powered rocket engines, it is not necessarily the most efficient way to move about in space.

Immunotherapy could be the “shot in the arm” you need to treat your allergies.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (August 7, 2019) – You may think you can’t tell the difference between the symptoms caused by spring, summer and fall allergies. They all usually involve sneezing, sniffling, itchy eyes and a runny nose. And while symptoms for each Allergies are inappropriate or exaggerated reactions of the immune system to substances that, in the majority of people, cause no symptoms. Symptoms of the allergic diseases may be caused by exposure of the skin to a chemical, of the respiratory system to particles of dust or pollen (or other substances), or of the stomach and intestines to a particular food. rel= tooltip allergy season may be similar, the treatment can look very different, particularly if Immunotherapy is a form of preventive and anti-inflammatory treatment of allergy to substances such as pollens, house dust mites, fungi, and stinging insect venom.

In a groundbreaking study, researchers have unlocked a new frontier in the fight against aging and age-related diseases. The study, conducted by a team of scientists at Harvard Medical School, has published the first chemical approach to reprogram cells to a younger state. Previously, this was only achievable using a powerful gene therapy.

On July 12, 2023, researchers from Harvard Medical School, University of Maine and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) published a new research paper in Aging, titled, “Chemically induced reprogramming to reverse cellular aging.”

The team’s findings build upon the discovery that the expression of specific genes, called Yamanaka factors, could convert adult cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). This Nobel Prize-winning discovery raised the question of whether it might be possible to reverse cellular aging without causing cells to become too young and turn cancerous.

In a groundbreaking study, researchers have unlocked a new frontier in the fight against aging and age-related diseases. The study, conducted by a team of scientists at Harvard Medical School, has published the first chemical approach to reprogram cells to a younger state. Previously, this was only achievable using a powerful gene therapy.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School, University of Maine and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) published a new research paper in Aging, titled, “Chemically induced reprogramming to reverse cellular aging.”