News Archive - Liezel Labios

Finger Wrap Uses Sweat To Provide Health Monitoring at Your Fingertips—Literally

A sweat-powered wearable has the potential to make continuous, personalized health monitoring as effortless as wearing a Band-Aid. UC San Diego engineers have developed an electronic finger wrap that monitors vital chemical levels—such as glucose, vitamins, and even drugs—present in the same fingertip sweat from which it derives its energy.

Closing the RNA Loop Holds Promise for More Stable, Effective RNA Therapies

New methods to shape RNA molecules into circles could lead to more effective and long-lasting therapies, shows a study by UC San Diego researchers. The advance holds promise for a range of diseases, offering a more enduring alternative to existing RNA therapies, which often suffer from short-lived effectiveness in the body.

New Center Receives $18M from NSF to Develop Tools to Investigate the Pre-emergence Phase of Pandemics

Preventing the next pandemic begins before diseases emerge. This “pre-emergence” phase is the focus of a new Center—funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)—that is dedicated to developing cutting-edge technologies for disease investigations and pandemic research.

Sustainable and Reversible 3D Printing Method Uses Minimal Ingredients and Steps

A new 3D printing method developed by UC San Diego engineers is so simple that it uses a polymer ink and salt water solution to create solid structures. The work has the potential to make materials manufacturing more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Learning Dance Moves Could Help Humanoid Robots Work Better With Humans

Engineers have trained a humanoid robot to perform a variety of expressive movements, from simple dance routines to gestures like waving, high-fiving and hugging, all while maintaining a steady gait on diverse terrains. This work marks a step towards building robots that perform more complex and human-like motions.

Soft, Stretchy Electrode Simulates Touch Sensations Using Electrical Signals

A team of researchers led by the University of California San Diego has developed a soft, stretchy electronic device capable of simulating the feeling of pressure or vibration when worn on the skin. This device represents a step towards creating haptic technologies that can reproduce a more varied and realistic range of touch sensations for applications such as virtual reality, medical prosthetics and wearable technology.

Microrobot-packed Pill Shows Promise for Treating Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Mice

Engineers have developed a pill that releases microscopic robots, or microrobots, into the colon to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The experimental treatment, given orally, has shown success in mice. It significantly reduced IBD symptoms and promoted the healing of damaged colon tissue without causing toxic side effects.

Nanosized Blocks Spontaneously Assemble in Water To Create Tiny Floating Checkerboards

Researchers have engineered nanosized cubes that spontaneously form a two-dimensional checkerboard pattern when dropped on the surface of water. The work, published in Nature Communications, presents a simple approach to create complex nanostructures through a technique called self-assembly.

Swimming Microrobots Deliver Cancer-fighting Drugs to Metastatic Lung Tumors in Mice

UC San Diego engineers have developed microscopic robots, known as microrobots, that swim through the lungs to deliver cancer-fighting medication directly to metastatic tumors. This approach has shown promise in mice, where it inhibited the growth and spread of tumors that had metastasized to the lungs, thereby boosting survival rates compared to control treatments.