Prime Biomedical Tales of 2024

In 2024, biomedical know-how actually received to our heads—or extra particularly, our eyes and brains. A few of Spectrum’s hottest articles this yr have been about know-how aiding our imaginative and prescient, with tales of retinal implants and good contact lenses drawing your eye. You dug deep into non-invasive tech to hasten sleep and protect mind perform for individuals with Alzheimer’s illness, in addition to an imaging probe to assist extremely invasive mind surgical procedures.

Nevertheless it wasn’t all in our heads. This yr, you additionally examine assistive exosuits and low-cost MRI machines, in addition to a DNA information drive promising a brand new solution to save huge quantities of knowledge.

As we wait to see how new know-how will increase our senses or enhance our well being in 2025, take a minute to look again on the previous yr’s largest tales. Learn on to see Spectrum’s high biomedical articles of 2024.

Wyss Heart for Bio and Neuroengineering

Assistive frames known as exosuits may help individuals in bodily remedy and rehabilitation transfer their physique. The units work by transferring a consumer’s muscle tissues by way of electrical pulses, however that stimulation can rapidly tire out the consumer. Researchers in South Korea and Switzerland are providing a possible answer: an electrostatic clutch system. Within the system, sleeves are positioned round joints and usually versatile, however can quickly stiffen to assist the physique between actions with out further stimulation. The know-how, known as “Synapsuit,” is being prototyped by the Korea Electronics Know-how Institute.

Pixium

In 2022, contributor Mark Harris detailed how blind customers of a retinal implant made by California biotech firm Second Sight have been left with unsupported units when the producer went out of enterprise. That story got here near repeating when French biotech firm Pixium Imaginative and prescient ran out of cash in November 2023—till, that’s, spectacular trial information arrived earlier this yr, and the corporate was acquired by Science, a startup run by one in every of Neuralink’s cofounders.

Elemind

Startup Elemind’s $349 headband guarantees to get you to sleep sooner. The corporate’s first product, which started preorders this yr, tracks mind waves with electrocephalography (EEG) sensors, then tweaks them with sound waves delivered by way of bone conduction. Spectrum’s esteemed former editor Tekla Perry briefly examined out the headscarf, although in less-than-ideal situations. “It wasn’t the time or place to strive for sound sleep, however I—and the others within the room—famous that after 2 minutes I used to be yawning like loopy.”

Getty Photographs

Elon Musk has made daring claims concerning the coming capabilities of Neuralink Blindsight, his firm’s visible prosthesis aiming to revive imaginative and prescient in individuals who have misplaced sight in each eyes. The system was designated a breakthrough system by the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration in September—however consultants informed Spectrum it probably gained’t reside as much as Musk’s hype.

Greg Mably

For individuals with psychological well being situations like bipolar dysfunction, it’s vital to regulate their temper. Smartphone apps might be able to just do that, offering goal perception about our inside state from information collected with none consumer enter. Not like conventional mood-tracking apps and logs, these apps quietly collect information within the background a couple of consumer’s habits. However, whereas promising, they face challenges, together with privateness issues and a necessity for rigorous medical validation.

St. Michael’s Basis

When treating aneurysms and strokes, neurosurgeons usually must make do with blurry photos. However which will quickly change, due to a new fiber-optic imaging probe. The probe winds by way of the maze of mind arteries, capturing high-resolution photos of the mind to information surgeons. “Whereas earlier than … clinicians had a satellite-like view of the mind’s vasculature community, now they’ve a Google Avenue View-like perspective,” writes contributor Elie Dolgin. The probe has been examined in medical trials at two hospitals in Toronto and Buenos Aires, and a startup is aiming to carry the know-how to market.

Getty Photographs

Present MRI scanners are costly and require highly effective magnets and a variety of power to energy. With the machines usually solely present in specialised hospital facilities, MRIs are inaccessible for greater than two-thirds of the worldwide inhabitants. However a new, simplified full-body MRI scanner works at a fraction of the associated fee and 1,800 watts, in comparison with 25 kilowatts or extra. The machine makes use of AI to match the picture high quality of conventional MRI scanners with a lot much less highly effective magnets.

Tsai Laboratory/MIT Picower Institute

Early medical trials are starting to point out proof that stimulating the mind at sure frequencies may gain advantage individuals dwelling with Alzheimer’s illness. In accordance with a crew of researchers at MIT, sound and lightweight oscillations at 40-hertz energetic a neural-cleansing course of that helps take away beta-amyloid, the protein that clumps collectively within the brains of these with Alzheimer’s. The non-invasive remedy is at present being examined in randomized trials, and analysis will probably proceed for the following few years, although some corporations are already providing “wellness” merchandise that ship gamma frequency gentle or sound stimulation.

Edmon de Haro

Our information is piling up rapidly. In truth, it’s rising sooner than our storage functionality will have the ability to deal with in just some years. That’s why some organizations are taking steps towards constructing a DNA drive to retailer the deluge of information, rather than magnetic tape and disk drives. With every DNA base (A, T, G, and C) performing as a bit, DNA provides significantly better storage density; based on one estimate, all 120 zettabytes of knowledge on the Web might be saved in a quantity of DNA the scale of a sugar dice. Now, researchers search methods to effectively learn and write giant volumes of DNA information.

Erfan Pourshaban

Good contact lenses may have varied client and medical makes use of—measuring glucose ranges, delivering medicine for ocular illness, and even performing as a show for augmented actuality. However how do you energy a tool sitting on one of the crucial delicate elements of the human physique? Researchers on the College of Utah created a hybrid energy-generation unit that attracts power from gentle and tears: Whereas the eyes are open, tiny, versatile photo voltaic cells constructed from silicon seize gentle from the solar and synthetic sources. Then, actually within the blink of an eye fixed, a second system acts like a metal-air battery, with electrolytes in tears serving as a biofuel. The mixture permits for steady energy technology and provides sufficient power for good contacts.