January/February 2022

Imagine a transparent chip the size of a flash drive. In it, your own cells—derived from a skin sample—are grown in delicate channels to mimic your heart, lung, or even brain tissue, creating a testing ground for personalized medical treatments. read more

From eliminating some anesthetic gases to creating their own microgrids, more hospitals are looking for ways to cut carbon emissions. read more

For many medical conditions, clinicians can collect quantitative indicators of disease, such as heart rate, body temperature, or levels of a specific protein in a blood sample. For chronic pain, however, such biological markers have not yet been identified. read more

Progress in creating malaria vaccines has been slow, but a new take on an old method of using live parasites promises the potential for herd immunity. read more

In 2020, a research group made the stunning announcement that it had built programmable organisms—living robots they called xenobots—out of biological cells, and these xenobots could work together to perform simple tasks. read more

Biomedical and health technology is progressing at breakneck speed. From specialty pharmacies to general discount shops, store shelves are packed with a vast assortment of wearable medical devices that measure glucose levels, heart rate, and other health metrics; and over-the-counter test kits are helping to check for a wide array of infections. At the same time, electronic health records and other data-sharing platforms have smoothed the mass shift from in-person to virtual office visits over the past two years, and new imaging technologies are allowing earlier disease detection so treatments can begin sooner when they are more effective. read more