Artificial muscle fibers could serve as cell scaffolds

February 12, 2024  |  What's New?

In two new studies, North Carolina State University (NC State) researchers designed and tested a series of textile fibers that can change shape and generate force like a muscle. In the first study, the researchers focused on the materials’ influence on the artificial muscles’ strength and contr…
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Exoskeleton helps Parkinson’s patients overcome “gait freeze”

January 29, 2024  |  What's New?

People with Parkinson's disease frequently develop a problem known as "gait freeze," in which their legs simply stop stepping forward as they're walking. A new powered exoskeleton, however, has proven to be very effective at keeping the legs going. Building upon a previous project, the experimental…
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Bio-materials company announces first shipments of commercial Fine Mycelium™

January 15, 2024  |  What's New?

MycoWorks, a San Francisco-based biomaterials company and maker of new mycelium-grown materials, has announced that its commercial-scale Fine Mycelium™ plant has successfully harvested over a thousand sheets of the company's luxury leather-alternative biomaterial, achieving a level of product qual…
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Sleep health technologies to be launched

December 18, 2023  |  What's New?

Sleep technology brand DeRUCCI Group has announced that it will be launching a new line of sleep health technologies in January 2024, including smart mattresses, anti-snore pillows, intelligent height adjustable pillows and other smart sleep solutions.  
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Side-by-side conductivity and flexibility

December 18, 2023  |  What's New?

Electrically conductive "smart fabrics" have many potential applications, but their specialized fibers typically aren't as soft and flexible as those made of regular materials. An experimental new two-faced fiber, however, is both flexible and conductive.
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Shirt helps deaf and hard-of-hearing people enjoy opera 

December 11, 2023  |  What's New?

Opera is everything all at once: music and drama, poetry and dance, grandeur and intimacy, spectacle and sound. But for audience members who are deaf or hard of hearing, or who are blind or have low vision, attending an opera can be a frustrating experience. 
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Sensor yarns for health monitoring

November 27, 2023  |  What's New?

Smart textiles have so much possibility in the medical field, including wound healing and vital signs monitoring. Sensor yarns are a part of this future, as discussed by representatives of the German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) at the recent Advanced Textiles Expo in O…
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Bionic hand restores quality of life to amputee

October 23, 2023  |  What's New?

The world is edging closer to creating fully functional prosthetic limbs with the first clinical bionic attachment connected directly to the nervous and skeletal systems. Incorporating artificial intelligence (AI), the “Mia Hand” has restored about 80 percent of daily use to the user’s hand an…
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Bionic silkworms produce full-length fibers 

October 9, 2023  |  What's New?

For the first time, scientists have successfully produced full-length spider silk fibers using genetically modified silkworms. Newatlas.com reports that this silk has the potential to provide a scalable, sustainable and better-quality alternative to current synthetic fibers like nylon.
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Scientists develop a less invasive brain-computer interface

October 9, 2023  |  What's New?

Serving multiple useful purposes, brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) usually incorporate scalp-applied or even brain-implanted electrodes. A new less-invasive BCI, however, can simply be placed in the patient's ear canal.
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