#23 A new organ, an adhesive tooth sensor and the terahertz technology
Discover 3 recent science news in our #PeerusWhatsNew, now on Medium.
1 A new organ has been discovered in the human body: the interstitium. It consists of fluid-filled spaces inside connective tissues and can be found all over the body, such as under the skin, lining the lungs or surrounding muscles.
Scientists used a new imaging technique which doesn’t require cutting or draining the tissues in order to examine on a microscopique level. This newfound organ was previously thought to be a dense wall of collagen instead of an “open, fluid-filled highway” (Dr. Neil Theise).
“The fluid-filled spaces may act as shock absorbers to protect tissues during daily functions”, the researchers said.
2 US researchers have developed an adhesive sensor to stick to a tooth that can analyze the glucose, salt and alcohol consumption and transmit the information to a smartphone.
The sensor, which measures 2 x 2 mm, acts as an antenna. When the sensor receives radio waves emitted by a smartphone, it restores the quantity of chemical substances. For example, if it reacts to the presence of salt, it will modulate radio waves in a specific way by varying their intensity.
A specific mobile application can then determine the type of substance and its quantity. The researchers believe that they could modify the device to detect other substances and adapt it to work especially on the skin.
3 Physicists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have developed technology to make our computers run 100 times faster. The answer resides in the implementation of terahertz microchips in optic communication devices.
Optic communications, which use light and transmit through fiber optic cables, are super fast but in microchips they become unreliable and are hard to replicate. This issue was overcome by using using a Metal-Oxide-Nitride-Oxide-Silicon (MONOS) structure and flash memory technology, present in flash drives, in microchips.
“It will now be possible to manufacture any optical device with the precision and cost-effectiveness of flash technology” Meir Grajower, the leading HU PhD student on the project, shared. This technology could bring all optic devices closer to the holy grail of communications: the terahertz chip.
Try Peerus, a smart and exhaustive way to be up-do-date with the latest scientific advances.
