Leon Gettler

Researchers from the Munich University of Technology (TUM) have created a high-tech wall designed to help the elderly continue to live at home by providing assistance in everyday tasks and monitoring their health. The "wonderwall" can find misplaced keys and glasses, check blood pressure and blood sugar levels and, in the event of a critical health problem, call the local doctor or mobile nursing service.  Read More

The Rheinmetall Group has been awarded an €84 million (US$112 million) contract to supply a further sixty of its modular Gladius "future soldier" systems to the German Federal Defense Force.  Read More

A team of scientists at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has developed a new technique to treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. The approach, which is based on the infusion of cells that regulate immune responses, has been demonstrated to to be effective in mice, even weeks after the disease was initiated.  Read More

Already revolutionizing manufacturing, 3D printing technology also promises to revolutionize the field of biotechnology. While scientists have previously had success in 3D printing a range of human stem cell cultures developed from bone marrow or skin cells, a team from Scotland's Heriot-Watt University claims to be the first to print the more delicate, yet more flexible, human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). As well as allowing the use of stem cells grown from established cell lines, the technology could enable the creation of improved human tissue models for drug testing and potentially even purpose-built replacement organs.  Read More

Researchers have created a prototype armchair designed to take care of the elderly by giving them health and fitness advice ... and even a workout. Developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (IIS) in Germany, the GEWOS (Gesund Wohnen Mit Stil or Healthy Living With Style) armchair looks like an ordinary, comfortable chair. The difference is that it contains sensors built into the seat cushions, backrest and armrest that measure the heartbeat and oxygen saturation of the seated person, along with an integrated rowing machine that can get you exercising on the spot.  Read More

We are familiar with the tobacco plant being harvested to create products that damage our health, but a new study from the Hotung Molecular Immunology Unit at St George’s University in London has shown that tobacco plants can be genetically modified to produce rabies antibodies. It's hoped that the research will deliver a safe, inexpensive way of treating rabies in developing countries.  Read More

A beer a day might not keep the doctor away but hops, one of the basic ingredients in beer brewing, could be good for you. In a development that could lead to better drug treatments of diabetes and cancer, University of Washington research associate professor of chemistry, Werner Kaminsky, has determined the exact structure of humulones and their derivatives – the acids in hops that give beer its distinctive bitter taste.  Read More