Research News

  • June 2, 2009

    Working in the Nano-World

    One of the most common pieces of equipment in any biomedical laboratory is a Coulter counter, a device which counts and characterizes individual cells in a sample by drawing a liquid, such as blood, through a small pore and measuring their electric conductance. Duke engineer Chuan-Hua Chen believes he can not only improve upon this device's ability to count smaller objects, but also come up with a device that can create tiny droplets of water to ...
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  • April 30, 2009

    Limping Rat Provides Sciatica Insights

    DURHAM, N.C. -- A newly developed animal model for the painful nerve condition known as sciatica should help researchers diagnose and treat it, according to Duke University bioengineers and surgeons. Sciatica is not a single disorder, but rather a diverse range of symptoms, such as numbness or pain from the lower back to the feet, radiating leg pain or difficulty in controlling the leg. It is often caused by compression, or pinching, of any of the ...
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  • April 28, 2009

    Unifying the Animate and the Inanimate Designs of Nature

    DURHAM, N.C. -- Living beings and inanimate phenomena may have more in common than previously thought. At least that is the view of Duke University engineer Adrian Bejan and Penn State biologist James Marden. What they believe connects the two worlds is a theory that flow systems from animal locomotion to the formation of river deltas -- evolve in time to balance and minimize imperfections. Flows evolve to reduce friction or other forms of resistance, ...
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  • April 22, 2009

    BME Doctoral Student Talks About Bionic Arm on 60 Minutes

    Jon Kuniholm lost part of his right arm as the result of a roadside bombing in Iraq in 2005. Since that time, the retired Marine Corps officer has been researching new designs for functional limb prostheses as a doctoral student in biomedical engineering at the Pratt School of Engineering. As a vet and as a researcher -- he's also co-founder of a company working on arm prostheses --  he was interviewed recently by the CBS program ...
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  • April 1, 2009

    Light Reveals Breast Tumor Oxygen Status

    DURHAM, N.C. Light directed at a breast tumor through a needle can provide pathologists with biological specifics of the tumor and help oncologists choose treatment options that would be most effective for that individual patient. Duke University bioengineers have developed a light-based system that can quickly and easily provide important information about oxygen levels within a tumor while it is still in place. The new system, based on diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, gives researchers important ...
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  • March 31, 2009

    Magnetic Nano-'Shepherds' Organize Cells

    DURHAM, N.C. -- The power of magnetism may address a major problem facing bioengineers as they try to create new tissue -- getting human cells to not only form structures, but to stimulate the growth of blood vessels to nourish that growth. A multidisciplinary team of investigators from Duke University, Case Western Reserve University and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst created an environment where magnetic particles suspended within a specialized solution act like molecular sheep dogs. ...
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  • March 24, 2009

    Half of Americans See Other Country as Technological Leader

    DURHAM, N.C. - Half of all Americans expect another country to emerge this century as the world's leader in addressing technological challenges that range from the economy to global warming, according to a survey of U.S. public opinion released March 3 by Duke University. Although only 34 percent of Americans gave themselves a grade of A or B for understanding "the world of engineers and what they do," 72 percent nonetheless expect the technological advancements ...
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  • March 18, 2009

    Swimming Pool Game Inspires Robot Detection

    DURHAM, N.C. -- Scientists have used a popular kids swimming pool game to guide their development of a system for controlling moving robots that can autonomously detect and capture other moving targets. Engineers from Duke University and the University of New Mexico have used the simple pursuit-evasion game "Marco Polo" to solve a complex problem -- namely, how to create a system that allows robots to not only "sense" a moving target, but intercept it. Such systems ...
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  • March 5, 2009

    Buckyballs Could Keep Water Systems Flowing

    DURHAM, N.C. Microscopic particles of carbon known as buckyballs may be able to keep the nation's water pipes clear in the same way clot-busting drugs prevent arteries from clogging up. Engineers at Duke University have found that buckyballs hinder the ability of bacteria and other microorganisms to accumulate on the membranes used to filter water in treatment plants. This attribute leads the researchers to believe that coating pipes and membranes with these nanoparticles may ...
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  • February 18, 2009

    Sophisticated Nano-Structures Assembled With Magnets

    What do Saturn and flowers have in common? As shapes, both possess certain symmetries that are easily recognizable in the natural world. Now, at an extremely small level, Researchers from Duke University and the University of Massachusetts have created a unique set of conditions in which  tiny particles within a solution will consistently assemble themselves into these and other complex shapes. By manipulating the magnetization of a liquid solution, the researchers have for the first time coaxed ...
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  • February 13, 2009

    First Step to Autonomous Breast Biopsy Robot

    Duke University bioengineers have developed a laboratory robot that can locate the earliest traces of a mass in simulated breast tissue and reach that mass with a biopsy needle all without the need for human assistance. The results of proof-of-feasibility studies lead the researchers to believe that routine medical procedures such as breast biopsies will be performed in the future with minimal human guidance, and at greater convenience and less cost to patients. The researchers ...
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  • February 3, 2009

    Young Electrical Engineer Honored for Research

    When Adrienne Stiff-Roberts decided during her high school career that she wanted to be a scientist, and then an engineer, she didn't know that she'd end up manipulating the exotic properties of quantum mechanics to perfect devices ranging from infrared cameras to solar cells. It's not surprising that the daughter of a father who taught mathematics would gravitate toward a career in academia in a science so dependent on numbers. "The first time I first became serious ...
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