Health Tech

Time to assess the last of the four activity trackers I've been living with for over two months, the BodyMedia Fit.

If you're serious about tracking every calorie burned as accurately as possible, this makes the other trackers look like toys. But it's also the least comfortable to wear, and monthly subscription fees may also put some off.

BodyMedia sells two versions of the Fit. The "Core" version for $120 lacks Bluetooth and so can't talk directly to apps on your iPhone or Android device. The "Link" version sells for $150 and … Read more

Sometimes a concept is simple but the tech behind it is not. This is the case with a new approach to identifying new viruses, which could ultimately lead to screening patients for viruses that haven't even been identified. (Think of the one currently rearing its deadly head in the Middle East.)

Researchers at Saint Louis University are using the next-gen sequencing approach transcriptome subtraction, and it really does employ basic arithmetic -- with very fancy tools. They take a human blood sample. Then they subtract the entire human genetic sequence from the genetic material in the sample. Then they … Read more

How does our top layer of skin -- the thin stratum corneum -- manage to keep water inside our bodies and microbes out, all while maintaining strength and elasticity, at just a fraction of the thickness of a sheet of paper?

In the first tests of its kind, scientists at the University of Bath are using a tiny "microneedle" with atomic force microscopy to probe the surface of the top layer of human skin and solve some of these mysteries.

Until now, researchers were able to use this form of microscopy only to analyze the surface of corneocytes, the cells that form the outer layer of the epidermis. Now, by adding a nanoneedle to the end of the probe, they can delve below the surface and shine a light on the cell structure within.… Read more

Ladies and gentlemen, may I now present your deep thought of the day: People who play video games are better at playing video games than people who don't play video games.

OK, new findings out of Duke may be a bit more complex than that, but there's not much of a spoiler alert to this one. Hours spent at a gaming console seem to translate directly to a test, taken at a computer, of how the brain tracks visual stimuli, according to a new study at the Duke School of Medicine.… Read more

When scientists at the University of Washington recently drilled into the skulls of seven people with severe epilepsy and placed thin sheets of electrodes directly onto their brains, they were surprised by the brain activity they observed.

While physicians were studying neuro activity to investigate seizure signals, a separate team of bioengineers was simultaneously on the lookout for exactly how the brains of the seven volunteers behaved as they learned to move a cursor using their thoughts alone. It turns out that, in as few as 10 minutes, activity went from being centered on the prefrontal cortex, which is associated with learning new skills, to areas seen during more automatic functions, such as waving one's hand or kicking a ball.

In other words, in just a matter of minutes these brains behaved as if they had already mastered these Jedi mind tricks.… Read more

Nowadays breathalyzers are being used to detect far more than just how much alcohol one has imbibed. Researchers in Sweden are working on one that can spot marijuana and cocaine. Scientists in Germany are exploring one that can sniff out heart failure. And researchers in the U.S. are hard at work on one that can detect diseases such as diabetes.

And now, a group of chemists at the University of Pittsburgh is unveiling new sensor technology that could lead to a breathalyzer for not just the detection of diabetes, but the ongoing monitoring of it as well.… Read more

For the first time in the U.S., surgeons have successfully transplanted a bioengineered blood vessel into the arm of a patient -- a possible stepping stone toward more complex human-engineered organs such as livers or eyes, and potentially a more immediate boon for kidney dialysis patients and perhaps even people with heart disease.

The surgery represents a major milestone for tissue engineering: The bioengineered blood vessel can be stored relatively easily and donated universally (unlike veins harvested from a patient's own body and therefore specific to that body). Also, it's human-cell-based, with no biological properties that can cause organ rejection.

"We hope this sets the groundwork for how these things can be grown, how they can incorporate into the host, and how they can avoid being rejected immunologically," Jeffrey H. Lawson, a vascular surgeon and biologist at Duke Medicine who helped develop the technology and performed the implantation, said in a statement. "A blood vessel is really an organ -- it's complex tissue. We start with this, and one day we may be able to engineer a liver or a kidney or an eye."… Read more

In 2012, 83 firefighters died in the line of duty in the U.S. alone, and another 37 fatalities have been reported thus far in 2013. But, with better scouting tools, these numbers could be lowered.

Thank goodness for robots.

A new one out of the University of California, San Diego, may soon help first responders survey a fiery scene with its ability to enter a burning building and immediately transmit data on the state and location of the fire, the building's structural integrity, and the presence of any volatile gases -- all while on the lookout for survivors.… Read more

How close are we getting to actual brain control? It's starting to seem like it's not far off. On the sillier end of the spectrum, we've seen robotic ears and tails that respond to brainwaves, and more recently we've seen a brain interface for designing printable objects, a mind-controlled exoskeleton, and even mind-to-mind communication.

A team of researchers at the University of Minnesota has just added another exciting new technology to the list: a quadcopter that can perform feats of aerial agility, controlled entirely by the pilot's thoughts. … Read more