News Archive - Liezel Labios

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.

Wearable Ultrasound Patch Enables Continuous, Non-Invasive Monitoring of Cerebral Blood Flow

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a wearable ultrasound patch that can offer continuous, non-invasive monitoring of blood flow in the brain. The soft and stretchy patch can be comfortably worn on the temple to provide three-dimensional data on cerebral blood flow—a first in wearable technology.

$21 Million Gift to UC San Diego Honors Unique Efforts to Link Chemical and Nano Engineering More Strongly

A $21M gift from Aiiso Yufeng Li (Jeff) and his wife, DongDong Li (Doreen), honors unique efforts at UC San Diego to link chemical and nano engineering more strongly. In recognition of this gift, the department will be named the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering.

‘MUSIC Map’ Reveals Some Brain Cells Age Faster and Are More Prevalent in Alzheimer’s

UC San Diego engineers have discovered that some brain cells age more rapidly than others, and they are disproportionately abundant in individuals afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. Additionally, researchers observed sex-specific differences in the aging process of certain brain cells, with the female cortex exhibiting a higher ratio of “old” oligodendrocytes to “old” neurons compared to the male cortex.

Plant Virus Treatment Shows Promise in Fighting Metastatic Cancers in Mice

An experimental treatment made from a plant virus is effective at protecting against a broad range of metastatic cancers in mice, shows a new study from the University of California San Diego. The treatment, composed of nanoparticles fashioned from the cowpea mosaic virus—a virus that infects black-eyed pea plants—showed remarkable success in improving survival rates and suppressing the growth of metastatic tumors across various cancer models, including colon, ovarian, melanoma and breast cancer.