Rutgers University–New Brunswick engineers have created a smart wristband with a wireless connection to smartphones that will enable a new wave of personal health and environmental monitoring devices. Their technology, which could be added to watches and other wearable devices that monitor heart rates and physical activity, is detailed in a study published in Microsystems & Nanoengineering.

Rutgers University–New Brunswick engineers have created a 3D-printed smart gel that walks underwater and grabs objects and moves them. The watery creation could lead to soft robots that mimic sea animals like the octopus, which can walk underwater and bump into things without damaging them. It may also lead to artificial heart, stomach and other muscles, along with devices for diagnosing diseases, detecting and delivering drugs and per...

Rutgers engineers have invented a '4D printing' method for a smart gel that could lead to the development of 'living' structures in human organs and tissues, soft robots and targeted drug delivery. The 4D printing approach here involves printing a 3D object with a hydrogel that changes shape over time when temperatures change, said Howon Lee, senior author of a new study and assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace E...

  Using light-emitting nanoparticles, Rutgers University-New Brunswick scientists have invented a highly effective method to detect tiny tumours and track their spread, potentially leading to earlier cancer detection and more precise treatment. The technology could improve patient cure rates and survival times.

  Want to restore hearing by injecting stem cells into the inner ear? Well, that can be a double-edged sword. Inner ear stem cells can be converted to auditory neurons that could reverse deafness, but the process can also make those cells divide too quickly, posing a cancer risk, according to a study led by Rutgers University-New Brunswick scientists.

Rutgers University-New Brunswick scientists have created a graphene-based sensor that could lead to earlier detection of looming asthma attacks and improve the management of asthma and other respiratory diseases, preventing hospitalisations and deaths. The sensor paves the way for the development of devices - possibly resembling fitness trackers like the Fitbit - which people could wear and then know when and at what dosage to take their med...

  A drug used to treat bipolar disorder and other forms of depression may help to preserve brain function and prevent nerve cells from dying in people with a traumatic brain injury, according to a new Rutgers University study.

While many anti-aging drugs don't live up to their claim, a tightly replicated study by Rutgers and a group of researchers from around the country discovered that a chemical used to detect amyloid plaques found in the brains of those with Alzheimer's extended the lifespan of thousands of roundworms similar in molecular form, function and genetics to humans.

In the future, wide-ranging composite materials are expected to be stronger, lighter, cheaper and greener for our planet, thanks to an invention by Rutgers' Richard E. Riman. Nine years ago, Riman, a distinguished professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the School of Engineering, invented an energy-efficient technology that harnesses largely low-temperature, water-based reactions.

Rutgers University engineers have found a simple method for producing high-quality graphene that can be used in next-generation electronic and energy devices: bake the compound in a microwave oven. The discovery is documented in a study published online today in the journal Science. "This is a major advance in the graphene field," said Manish Chhowalla, professor and associate chair in the Department of Materials Science and Engine...

Big data refers to extremely large data sets that may be analysed computationally to reveal patterns, trends and associations. As scientists gain greater access to even more immense amounts of information, they need ever more efficient ways to round up and organise that data in order to gain useful insight from it.

Instead of simply observing how consumers behave, market research is going a step up thanks to the latest technological innovations. Companies want to know the reasons behind every decision and VR is offering them an opportunity to study their audience in greater depth than ever before in a cost-effective manner.

  A small, squishy vehicle equipped with soft wheels rolls over rough terrain and runs under water. Future versions of the versatile vehicle might be suitable for search and rescue missions after disasters, deep space and planet exploration, and manipulating objects during MRI, according to its creators at Rutgers University.

  Though senior citizens are generally less fascinated than younger generations with the bells and whistles of mobile devices, they could soon find themselves relying on a smartphone app built by Rutgers students to help them avoid falling.