Ischemia results when narrowed, hardened or blocked blood vessels starve tissue, often resulting in heart attack, stroke, gangrene and other serious conditions. Surgery can correct the problem in large vessels, but treatment is much more complex in vessels that are smaller or damaged by prior treatment. Professor Christopher Chen, director of the Biological Design Center, is developing a method using 3D-printed patches infused with cells that off...

A combined team of researchers from Boston University and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, also in Boston, has published a paper in the journal Angewandte Chemie describing a type of hydrogel they have developed for use as a bandage for burn patients—one that can be removed by applying another liquid rather than by cutting, as is done with conventional bandages.

The next gold rush could be in outer space, but the treasures luring modern-day prospectors won't adorn lavish jewelry. They are rare earths, a group of 17 chemical elements with tongue-tying names such as yttrium and thulium that are used in televisions, cell phones, laptops, cars, cancer treatment drugs, nuclear reactor shielding, aircraft engines, and weapons. Coveted for their magnetic and conductive properties, they make technologies fa...

"That is a ball." "I do believe that is a cone." "Seems like a wonderful book." The voice is mechanical and flat, and anyone offering such banal commentary and sounding so bored would surely bomb in a job interview. But in this case, the observations are impressive. They're made by what looks like a two-foot-tall stack of hors d'oeuvre trays on wheels, careening around the floor and proclaiming its discoveries as its "eye," an attached camera, fa...