Humans are living longer around the world. While there have been obvious ups and downs, life expectancy at birth overall has been steadily increasing for many years. It has more than doubled in the last two centuries. This increase was previously driven by reductions in infant mortality. But since around the 1950s, the main driver…
Summary : Researchers have discovered a brain process common to sleep and ageing in research that could pave the way for new treatments for insomnia. Oxford University researchers have discovered a brain process common to sleep and ageing in research that could pave the way for new treatments for insomnia. Writing in the journal nature,…
Researchers have found that spider silk produces a strong twisting motion when exposed to humidity, and may be usable for future artificial muscles or actuators. Spider silk, already known as one of the strongest materials for its weight, turns out to have another unusual property that might lead to new kinds of artificial muscles or…
It’s late, you’re tired, and the last thing you want to do is get out of bed and take out your contact lenses. If so, you’re not alone: Around one-third of people who wear contact lenses have reported that they sleep or nap in them. But people who do this have six to eight times…
Materials are widely used to help heal wounds: Collagen sponges help treat burns and pressure sores, and scaffold-like implants are used to repair bones. However, the process of tissue repair changes over time, so scientists are developing biomaterials that interact with tissues as healing takes place. Now, Dr Ben Almquist and his team at Imperial…