The world is awash in digital images, from photographs to x-rays to computer models to 3D scans. The advent of 3D printing has made it possible to take imaging data and print it into physical representations, but the process of doing so has been prohibitively time-intensive and costly.

  When it comes to soft, assistive devices — like the exosuit being designed by the Harvard Biodesign Lab — the wearer and the robot need to be in sync. But every human moves a bit differently and tailoring the robot’s parameters for an individual user is a time-consuming and inefficient process.

The small intestine is the main site where we digest and absorb nutrients and minerals from food, and it is also a place where many intestinal infections occur and digestive and inflammatory disorders manifest themselves. To better understand the intestine in its normal and pathological states, researchers have created 'organoids' by isolating intestinal stem cells from human biopsy samples.

Immunologists and oncologists are harnessing the body’s immune system to fight cancers and other diseases with adoptive cell transfer techniques. In a normal immune response, a type of white blood cell known as T cells are instructed by another kind of immune cell called an antigen-presenting cell (APC) to expand their numbers and stay alive.

  One of the most important and fraught processes in the human body is inflammation. Inflammatory responses to injury or disease are crucial for recruiting the immune system to help the body heal, but inflammation can also cause dangerous blood clots and other conditions by inducing an overproduction of the coagulant protein thrombin.

An immersive VR experience now offers a unique way to visualise and interact with large volumes of 3D anatomical brain data. The system, developed by researchers from the Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering and the University of Geneva, has applications in neurotechnology development, research and surgeon training. A poster describing the system will be presented on Wednesday 15 November at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience ...

  Engineered strands of DNA — nanoscale tools called “nanoswitches” — could be the key to faster, easier, cheaper and more sensitive tests that can enable high-fidelity detection of biomarkers indicating the presence of different diseases, viral strains and even genetic variabilities as subtle as a single-gene mutation.

  A team of researchers from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) has created a super-strong 'tough adhesive' that is biocompatible and binds to tissues with a strength comparable to the body’s own resilient cartilage, even when they’re wet.

To help stroke patients regain their walking abilities, various robotics groups from industry and academia are developing powered wearable devices - so-called exoskeletons - that can restore gait functions or assist with rehabilitation. Historically, these systems restricted patients to a treadmill in a clinical setting, but in recent years portable systems have been developed that enable walking overground.

The traditional Japanese art of origami transforms a simple sheet of paper into complex, three-dimensional shapes through a very specific pattern of folds, creases, and crimps. Folding robots based on that principle have emerged as an exciting new frontier of robotic design, but generally require onboard batteries or a wired connection to a power source, making them bulkier and clunkier than their paper inspiration and limiting their functionalit...

A team of researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) at Harvard University has created a highly sensitive soft capacitive sensor made of silicone and fabric that moves and flexes with the human body to unobtrusively and accurately detect movement.

A team lead by Kevin Kit Parker, Ph.D. at Harvard University's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering recently developed a nanofibre fabrication technique to rapidly manufacture heart valves with regenerative and growth potential. In a paper published in Biomaterials, Andrew Capulli, Ph.D. and colleagues fabricated a valve-shaped nanofibre network that mimics the mechanical and chemical properties of the native valve extra...

A brain-computer interface that can decipher the thoughts of people who are unable to communicate could revolutionise the lives of those living with completely locked-in syndrome, according to a paper publishing in PLOS Biology. Counter to expectations, the participants in the study reported being "happy", despite their extreme condition. The research was conducted by a multinational team, led by Professor Niels Birbaumer, at the Wyss Center for ...