Important Innovations Collection

Breakthrough  Bioprinting Method Source:  Carnegie Mellon University Big Step Toward Printing Functioning, Adult Human Heart A breakthrough in 3d bioprinting has brought the world closer to printing fully functional human hearts.  The invention comes from researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.  It involves both a new technique and an additional substance.  This is important medical innovation because millions of people worldwide are in need of a new heart.  Today, in the US, 4000 patients are on a list for a heart transplant. New Technique and Substance The new technique is called FRESH or Freeform Reversible Embedding of Suspended Hydrogels.  It remedies the problem of liquid collagen, which is the major structural protein in the human body, puddling in the air as its goes through 3D printing to create a heart.  The scientists have successfully used hydrogel as temporary support for the layers of liquid collagen as t...

New Hydrogel Collects & Cleans Water from Air Solar Powered Water Harvester This is new innovation from engineers at the University of Texas Austin.  It's a hydrogel powered by the sun that is able to collect, harvest and clean a lot of water from the atmosphere.  And it doesn't matter if the air is dry or humid. Super Sponge The "super sponge" absorbs moisture from the air, stores it and then releases it after being exposed to natural sunlight for five minutes.  According to the team, the hydrogel can  produce 50 liters of water per kilogram of hydrogel. They believe it can replace key components in current solar powered water harvesters. Super Gel The material is a gel polymer hybrid that passively absorbs moisture from the atmosphere and returns it as clean, usable water.  There are 50,000 cubic kilometers of water in the atmosphere.  The new system could tap into that and lead to small, inexpensive and portable filtration systems....