
Top Stories 
Published On May 3, 2014
TECHNOLOGY
Smart Bubble Wrap
“Smart bubble wrap” could help lead to better prosthetics.
It began as a project to heal soldiers’ faces faster and with less scarring. Engineers at the University of Texas at Arlington, working with the Army and Northwestern University, created a material consisting of bubbles of different sizes and densities that apply pressure to a wound to hold a dressing or skin graft in place. “Think of this material as smart bubble wrap,” says Eileen Moss Clements, director of research at the University of Texas at Arlington Research Institute.
When funding ran out for the original “biomask” project, researchers looked for new applications for the novel technology. They found that the bubbles give prosthetic limbs a custom fit when used as a liner. They also coupled the bubbles with sensors that provide real-time feedback about the prosthetic wearer’s tissues. Using an app, the prosthetic wearer can increase or decrease pressure in the bubbles, preventing slippage or pressure ulcers.
Dispatches

What Makes a Kid Clumsy? More research into coordination disorders shows why some children are more prone to trip, fumble and spill the milk.

Eyes in the Sky Satellite data can be used to assess the health impact of dust storms and the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. Additional applications could be on the horizon.

Could This One Change Help Curb the Opioid Crisis? To prescribe an effective bridge to addiction treatment, emergency physicians must get special training and receive a waiver. Making that process easier—or eliminating the requirement altogether—could make a big impact.

One Thing Leads to the Next Robert Lefkowitz is best known for revealing the mechanism behind hundreds of drugs in use today. But he thinks of himself as a storyteller first and has a new book out to make his case.

Podcast: The Research Year That Was Medical research labs have faced a difficult stretch of closed buildings and competing priorities. Yet they have also produced milestone discoveries—and not only on COVID-19.

The Shape of Us Two milestone discoveries in protein modeling promise to change the fundamentals of drug discovery.

Universal Flu Vaccines Move Forward In the shadow of coronavirus vaccine development, another vaccine was making solid progress.

Top Stories 

The Neuroscience of Giving Up
Why do some people react poorly, even catastrophically, in emergency situations?