The latest Omicron variant is making scientists take notice in the US – so what do you need to know?
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Rishi Sunak Must ‘Step Up To The Plate’ To End Strikes, Says Union Chief
Rishi Sunak has been urged to “step up to the plate” by personally sitting down with union bosses to end the strikes.
TUC boss Paul Nowak has written to the prime minister demanding talks on how to find a solution to the industrial action crippling public services.
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Nurses, railway workers and ambulance drivers are among those taking part in strike action throughout January in the ongoing disputes over pay and conditions.
Nowak said Sunak must “allow his ministers to get around the table with our unions reach a fair settlement on pay.”
He said striking workers “can’t afford another year of a real terms pay cut”.
“The reality is their mortgages are going up, their food bills are going up, their rents are going up – the only thing that isn’t going up is their wages,” he told Sky News.
“I think the government has got to take some responsibility now, step up to the plate, facilitate those talks and lets get a fair pay settlement for our NHS workers and public sector workers right across the piece.”
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The TUC boss said Sunak had “forgotten some of those basic lessons” from the pandemic, when the TUC worked with him to develop the furlough scheme during lockdown.
He said: “I think he’s forgotten the value of sitting down and reaching an agreement and taking ideas from people outside his own cabinet.
“And frankly, I think it would be really good for Rishi Sunak to talk to our unions, but also to talk to some of those frontline parandemics, those physiotherapists, teachers in the classrooms, civil servants – people who for the last decade have been placed under real pressures on workload who feel they’re at breaking point.
“Let the prime minister talk to those workers and understand their concerns and their issues. I think that’s what any decent employer would do, and as someone responsible for the employment of millions of public sector workers, that’s exactly what the prime minister should do as well.”
Sunak will today set out his plans for the year ahead in a major speech in London.
The PM will unveil plans to make all pupils study some maths until they are 18, as well as explain how he plans to tackle the NHS crisis, illegal immigration and boost the economy.
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I Thought I Had Flu. It Turned Out To Be Mastitis
I lay in bed realising I’d finally succumbed. I had flu. The self-diagnosis made sense: our then 15-month-old had picked up her billionth illness of the year from childcare and was suffering with a high temperature and the kind of chesty cough that rattled her ribcage. Meanwhile, flu cases were on the rise in the UK.
I’d spent a sleepless night shivering in bed one moment, my teeth chattering aggressively, and sweating buckets the next. By morning, my body ached and I was so tired I was unsure I’d be able to move out of bed. Spoiler alert: I had to because, as we all know, toddlers do not stop. Even when sick.
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I did a Covid test, and it came back negative. I spent the rest of the day trying to look after my daughter while feeling like I’d been hit by a ton of bricks. It meant back-to-back Hey Duggee and lots of reading – she’d fetch books and sit on top of me while I lay on the sofa, so I didn’t really have much say on the matter.
One of my boobs started to feel a bit tender as the day went on but I brushed it off. In over a year of breastfeeding I’d never had mastitis, so I presumed I wouldn’t develop it now – the stories I’d heard about it were always from those experiencing it in the few months after having babies.
Plus, there had been multiple occasions where my breast had felt a little bit sore due to engorgement but I’d always managed to clear the issue at home.
The following day I still felt awful and noticed that my tender boob now had a red patch on one side and, oh my word, the pain. It had progressed to the point where it hurt to even put a bra on. I strongly suspected it might not be flu that was causing my body aches, fatigue and shivering after all, so I called the doctor’s surgery and managed to bag an appointment that afternoon.
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After a quick examination, with my GP exclaiming how hot and red the area was, she confirmed I had mastitis – where the breast becomes inflamed, usually as a result of an infection. This issue mostly occurs in those who are breastfeeding when there’s a build-up of milk in one of the breasts or a blocked milk duct hasn’t cleared properly.
The pain can be extreme. I now fully understand why Stacey Solomon once described it as feeling like her boobs were “on fire”.
The diagnosis made sense. I’d been reducing my feeds for a few weeks to try and wean my daughter off milk during the day, so she was only really having the odd feed at night.
Still, I was surprised I hadn’t developed an issue sooner, and that the pain had been secondary to my flu symptoms – but maybe I’d just become used to that dull ache that comes from not having your boobs emptied properly.
Symptoms of mastitis include:
- a swollen area on your breast that may feel hot and painful to touch The area may become red but this can be harder to see if you have darker skin
- a wedge-shaped breast lump or a hard area on your breast.
- a burning pain in your breast that might be constant or only when you breastfeed
- nipple discharge, which may be white or contain streaks of blood
- flu-like symptoms such as aches, a high temperature, chills and tiredness
Antibiotics were prescribed (the go-to treatment for mastitis) and within a few days I was feeling right as rain again – no shivers, no shakes, and a very happy breast. Since then, I’ve had a few issues with blocked ducts, but I’m no longer complacent. Whenever I’ve felt a twinge of tenderness, I’ve promptly dealt with the issue to avoid it developing into mastitis again.
This has often meant putting a warm wet cloth on the tender area, or having a warm shower or bath. But the NHS also recommends continuing to breastfeed, starting feeds with the sore breast first to empty any backed up milk; expressing milk between feeds; and massaging the area of the breast where it’s tender.
It’s important to note that mastitis can occur in anyone, even men. When it’s not caused by breast milk building up, it may be down to: smoking, damaging the nipple, breast implants, having a weak immune system, or shaving/plucking hairs from around the nipples.
If you’re experiencing flu-like symptoms and breast pain which doesn’t go away after 24 hours, speak to your GP. Don’t struggle on or brush it off, as the sooner you get it treated, the sooner you’ll feel better.
And if you experience recurrent mastitis, it’s definitely worth speaking to a midwife, health visitor or breastfeeding specialist who can help you get to the bottom of why.
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Help and support:
- You can call the National Breastfeeding Helpline on 0300 100 0212 (9.30am to 9.30pm, daily)
- Get breastfeeding support from La Leche League.
8 ‘Gross’ Things Your Body Does That Are Actually Good For You
Have you ever wondered why you have earwax or why you fart? Although these bodily functions might seem gross, they are actually beneficial to maintaining your overall health. So even though they may be stinky, unsightly or a huge nuisance – you need them for optimal functioning.
To provide more insight on the most common disgust-inducing body mechanisms, we chatted with a few doctors on what you might notice and why they happen. Here’s what to know:
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1. Earwax
If you’ve noticed a clogged feeling in your ears, then it may be due to a buildup of earwax, also known as cerumen. However, when it’s not causing damage and discomfort, earwax is actually good for you.
“Not only is earwax normal, it’s necessary. Earwax protects the ears from things that could hurt the eardrum, such as dust, hair or small insects,” says Dr. Jaclyn Railsback, an internal medicine physician at Cleveland Clinic Florida Weston Hospital.
Certain factors that may affect the amount of earwax you have include previous ear surgery or trauma, recurrent ear infections, or wearing hearing aids or deep earplugs.
“Unless there is a serious condition, such as hearing loss or infection, it is best to leave earwax alone in most cases,” Railsback says.
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2. Leaky nipples
Not everyone has leaky nipples, however, those who just had a baby will likely experience this phenomenon.
“Your body would rather produce too much milk than not enough in the early stages of breastfeeding,” says Dr. Whitney Casares, the founder and CEO of the Modern Mamas Club. “All that extra milk can get messy as your body works out the balance of supply and demand between you and your baby and you may end up with leaky nipples and a wet shirt.”
Leaky nipples are a normal part of the breastfeeding process and are a clear sign of heavy milk production for nursing people. That said, if other discharge leaks from the nipples, or if there’s pain, you’ll want to consult with your doctor to rule out any underlying conditions.
3. Flatulence
While passing gas may be embarrassing and gross, it’s a natural result of the digestive process.
“It is a way for your body to expel both swallowed air as well as the fermented byproducts of undigested food,” says Dr. Brett Mendel, a gastroenterologist and Everlywell adviser.
The volume and frequency of flatulence can vary greatly between individuals and can be affected by diet, activity level, antibiotic use and even altitude.
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Additionally, farting may indicate that your diet is high in fibre which can signal improved gut health and that of the microbiome. Plus, it can help prevent unwanted stomach pain and bloating which is commonly caused by “holding it in”.
While farting is normal, too much may not be a good thing. “Excess gas leading to bloating and abdominal pain can be signs of serious medical conditions you should share with your doctor,” Mendel says.
According to Healthline, excessive flatulence is categorised as farting more than 20 times per day. While this is frequently caused by diets high in fibre, in some rare cases it can be indicative of other issues such as Crohn’s disease or dumping syndrome.
4. Burps
You’ve probably been told not to belch at the dinner table, but sometimes you just have to let it out for your health.
“Burping is the body’s way of expelling excess gas from your stomach and even though it seems gross, it is a normal bodily function,” Railsback says. “When we swallow food or drinks, it goes through the esophagus and into the stomach where stomach acids and digestive enzymes work to break food down into nutrients that we use for energy which creates gas during the process.”
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If you always hold in your burps because you’re embarrassed or they are just not something you like to do, then you might experience bloating and an overinflation of the stomach that may cause discomfort.
While burping a few times isn’t a cause for concern, if it persists, then you might want to take a trip to the doctor’s office. “While burping is a normal function, it can be associated with certain conditions like GERD, indigestion, gastritis, ulcers and IBS,” Railsback says.
5. Vaginal discharge
While using the restroom, you might notice some discharge when you wipe. Although this clear jelly-like substance might seem gross, it’s actually a sign of a healthy reproductive system.
“Vaginal discharge is a way your body carries away dead cells and bacteria, keeping the vagina clean and preventing infection,” Casares said.
While discharge is normal, Casares noted that if your discharge has a fishy odor, causes itching or changes color, you’ll want to get checked out by a medical professional to rule out any underlying conditions or infections.
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6. Mucus
After blowing your nose, you’ll most likely see mucus in a tissue. Mucus is naturally produced by the cells in your mouth, throat, nose and sinuses.
“Mucus plays an important role in lubricating and protecting your upper and lower airway,” Railsback says. “Its slippery consistency helps trap potential irritants as it contains special antibodies and proteins to help fight harmful germs that may be introduced into your respiratory tract.”
Railsback noted that healthy mucus tends to be thin and clear, but if you’re sick or have other lung disease, mucus can become thick, colourful and can potentially cause difficulty breathing.
7. Pooing
As the popular saying goes, “everybody poops.” While it may not smell pleasant, “bowel movements are the mechanism for our body to get rid of materials that cannot be digested,” Mendel says. “It is generally accepted that normal bowel movements are from three times a day to three times a week.”
According to the Bristol Stool Chart, a “sausage-like” poop with cracks or a “smooth soft sausage or snake-like” type of poop is ideal (Types 3 and 4). Anything that falls too far out from the descriptions above should be flagged to a professional for evaluation.
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While pooping is healthy, alterations in bowel movements can be an indicator of overall health. For example, if you have chronic constipation, diarrhea, or blood in your stool, you’ll want to schedule an appointment with your physician.
8. Pus
When you get an infection, like a staphylococcus (a bacterial infection) or folliculitis (infection of a hair follicle), you might notice that pus develops. While it may be an eyesore to look at, pus is actually a good thing.
“The white stuff coming out of an infection ― known as pus ― is the collection of defensive white blood cells that are attacking bacteria to trap and kill them,” said Dr. William Li, a doctor and author of Eat To Beat Disease.
It’s usually normal to have some pus present shortly following the presence of a wound – around one or two days after. This means that the white blood cells have flocked to the open wound and are working to fight germs and bacteria. If the wound is healing, it’ll usually be odour-free and not show signs of discolouration.
When you get an infection, however, the pus may smell and the wound may be hot to the touch so you’ll want to be sure to head to the doctor to get it treated and prescribed medication to clear it as soon as possible.
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NHS: Inside a GP surgery as winter pressure mounts
This week surgeries across the country likely face intense demand after the Christmas break.
Paget Brewster Shares Thoughts On Aging, Cosmetic Surgery With New Year’s Day Photo
Paget Brewster intends to stay “inquisitive and sexy” as she looks ahead to her future in Hollywood.
The 53-year-old actor, best known for her portrayal of Emily Prentiss on the drama series “Criminal Minds,” acknowledged the new year Sunday by sharing her thoughts about aging and the decision not to go under the knife.
“Hi guys. I’m excited about 2023!” she tweeted, alongside a photo showing off her gray hair. “It’s hard getting older and not doing injections or surgery but I choose that. I’m older. I’m still hard working, inquisitive and sexy. Very sexy.”
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By mid-Tuesday, Brewster’s tweet had received nearly 130,000 likes and a plethora of supportive comments. Many followers shared selfies in which they, too, displayed their gray tresses.
“I just wish that aging honestly ― and proudly ― were the norm,” journalist Amy Biancolli wrote. “The older we get, the more kickass we get. That’s the lesson and arc of life.”
Added “Portlandia” producer Evan Shapiro: “Grey is the new black. You look amazing – better than ever.”
Brewster joins a number of women in the entertainment industry, including Jamie Lee Curtis and Andie MacDowell, who are choosing to embrace their age, even if that means speaking out against cosmetic procedures.
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In July, the actor shared another photo in which she rocked gray hair, noting that she’d chosen not to color it.
“I have felt pressure to dye it, pretend to be 35 again, no thanks,” she tweeted at the time. “We all have huge issues to address, I know. This is one small battle. But I think all of us have small personal battles. Let’s start by being kind to each other, even when we disagree. Please.”
Installing Acoustic Panels
One project that I’ve been wanting to do for a while was to add acoustic panels to my home studio and office. Acoustic panels absorb sound, so they can greatly help to reduce room echo. Some rooms in my house are very echoey, which can be noticeable when doing recordings or live calls in an untreated room.
Previously my studio was ringed with several sound blankets (80 inches square) hanging on light stands. That was acoustically effective but rather ugly, and I didn’t like that the blankets blocked the windows too. I used the sound blankets for a few years to good effect though.
There are many YouTube videos sharing how to make your own acoustic panels on the cheap. I might have gone that route if I only needed a few panels, but I wanted more than 20 panels, and I thought I’d find the DYI approach really tedious after a while if I had to manually make that many panels. I also felt that it would add too many extra decisions to the process and slow me down a lot. I’d have to decide which wood to buy, which fabric to use, which acoustic material to put inside, and where to source these items. I also don’t own an electric saw or a stapler that can secure fabric to work, so I’d have to invest in additional tools as well. That all seemed like I’d be biting off more than I wanted to chew. This was a case where I’d rather spend more money to save time.
So I concluded that it would be way easier and less risky to buy professionally made panels. I still wanted a little bit of the DIY experience though, so I opted to install them myself, which was still a considerable amount of work.
Good acoustic panels are about 3x as effective at absorbing sound reflections as sound blankets, so you don’t need to cover as much wall area with the panels. It’s generally undesirable to have too much coverage. You want to retain some reflections, so the room doesn’t sound completely dead. A common recommendation I’ve seen is to cover at least 25-30% of wall area with panels.
My rooms also have carpeting too, so I don’t need to worry as much about vertical reflections. Hence I didn’t intend to install any panels on the ceilings.
The considerations for acoustic panels are different if you’re recording music or if you’re using them for controlling the reflections of speakers, such as in a home theater setup. I’m only concerned about vocals for audio/video recordings and for live video calls, so I prioritized my panel and installation choices based on that.
I also wanted panels that would look nice aesthetically. I wanted to appreciate the look of the panels when I’m in the rooms where they’re installed. That’s one reason I didn’t go with the cheaper foam panels. Foam panels are much less effective acoustically too, especially if you get the thinner ones (like 1 inch thick).
Sourcing the Panels
After researching various options, I decided to order all of the panels from Acoustimac. (I’m not an affiliate, and I have no sponsorship relationship with them.) I went with them after seeing some positive reviews and recommendations online. I feel that was a good choice, but since this is my first time using acoustic panels of any kind, I don’t really have anything to compare them to other than the sound blankets I was previously using.
I started by requesting fabric swatches, which they graciously sent for free. Their website provides an option to order the swatches for 1 penny plus about $8 shipping, but I didn’t notice that option till I’d already sent the request via the contact form. The swatches were very helpful in deciding which fabrics to go with. They have a lot of different color options, and the colors can look slightly different than the pics on their website.
I found that a good way to get a better price per panel was to take advantage of Acoustimac’s multi-panel packs instead of ordering them individually. They also let you customize the colors per panel. Even when I ordered an 8-pack where the order form invited me to specify two colors (4 of one color, 4 of another), I found out by contacting their support that I could get up to 8 different colors for the same price if I wanted. So that level of customization was really nice. In fact, overall I found their customer support to be excellent throughout the process. They even held up on shipping the panels when I asked them to (after I’d placed the order) because I realized they might arrive while I was out of town. I really appreciated that.
I ended up buying 8 of their 412 panels (4′ tall x 1′ wide x 2″ thick) and 16 of their 422 panels (4′ tall x 2′ wide x 2″ thick). You can mount the panels vertically or horizontally. I planned to mount most of them vertically. If you’re recording music, you might want to go with their thicker 4-inch panels, which are more effective at absorbing low bass sounds.
I also went with Acoustimac’s “eco” filling for the panels, which costs a bit more per panel. If you buy the panels individually, that option is $10 more per panel, but it can be as little as $3 per panel when you buy them in multi-packs.
Recording Studio
Here are some pics of the new acoustic panels I added to the studio. From left to right, the colors along this wall are rust, tan, spa, charcoal, gray. These are all 422 panels.
I put 3 of the 412 panels between the windows (charcoal, rust, black), and there’s another 422 panel (peat) behind the light with the light box on it.
Another modest upgrade would be to add some extra storage to the studio. I have a small glass bookshelf and a little filing cabinet in the room, but I could use some small shelves or a cabinet or two for storing various gear. This room doesn’t have a closet. It’s a relatively small space for a studio (about 14′ square), but it works.
Office
Here’s the home office. I put a couple of 422 panels in the corner (shell, tan). And I add 5 of the 412 panels behind the area where I do lots of Zoom calls (navy, spa, apple, tangerine, ruby). There are 5 more 422 panels on other walls of the room too, which aren’t shown (spa, shell, khaki, tan, gray).
How the panels look on camera is really sensitive to the lighting. The navy blue panel looks nearly black on camera if it isn’t getting much light, so I’ll use a 4′ tube light to splash some extra light on it when I’m live. The ruby red panel looks much brighter on camera. I’m using Amaran 100X’s with Light Dome Mini II soft boxes for my key and fill lights, which work nicely. I normally set the key to 15% and the fill at 7%, both at 5600K. I previously calibrated the lighting for a plain background where I mainly just had to focus on how to light myself, so I may need to re-calibrate the light settings for this different look.
I like how this looks on camera so far. It adds a bit of color, but I don’t think it’s overly distracting. We put the darker colors on the outside of the frame with the milder colors in the middle. With the framing on a Zoom call, you’ll only see about half of the navy and ruby panels, so the middle 3 panels are the most prevalent.
I also like that we can change the look a bit by splashing some colored light on the panels. I probably won’t do that for Zoom calls, but for recorded videos it can create some interesting looks.
Living Room
We added 3 panels to the living room too since I do some occasional filming there. Partly this was because we got a good deal buying the panels in 8-packs (24 total). We used 12 panels for the office and 9 for the studio, so we had 3 extra 422 panels to use for this room (spa, sunshine, apple).
Installation
It took me several hours to install the panels over the course of about 3 days since I carefully measured and calculated the exact positions for each one, having to balance aspects like acoustic effectiveness and symmetry.
The 412 panels weigh about 8 lbs each, and the 422 panels are about 15 pounds. The installation kit includes screws and metal brackets to hang the panels on the walls. I wondered if I’d need to use drywall anchors, but that turned out to be unnecessary. With 4 screws securing the brackets to the walls for each panel, they seem pretty secure in the drywall. If you have very weak or flaky drywall though, I might recommend using anchors, just to be safe.
One issue I had was getting the thinner 412 panels to hang straight. When hung vertically, the brackets are pretty close together, so even with careful measuring, I found it pretty difficult to install the brackets precisely enough to get the panel to be perfectly vertical when hanging. It would have been easier to get them to hang straight with a different mounting system, such as using picture hanging wire. Some of my 412 panels were a bit crooked when mounted, offset by 0.5″ or more horizontally from top to bottom. I found that if the difference was less than 0.25″, the panel will look sufficiently straight, but at 0.5″ or more, the crookedness becomes very noticeable.
My solution was to add a Command Strip to the bottom of each panel, so I could basically swing the bottom into perfect alignment and then “Velcro” it to the wall in the right position. Command Strips are pretty strong, and technically I might have been able to use them to secure the panels to the walls completely with no other mounting hardware. But these panels are right around the weight limits for Command Strips, and I’ve never used Command Strips before. I wasn’t sure how much I could trust them to hold the full weight of the panels, especially since my walls are textured (not completely flat), and the backs of the panels are wood (also having some texture and not 100% flat). I really didn’t want to risk panels potentially falling off the walls if the adhesive doesn’t hold.
The Command Strip solution worked perfectly for straightening out the crooked panels, so I’m happy with that fix. With a few 412 panels, I got lucky in that the panels were very straight with the default mounting, so I only used the Command Strips to straighten out 5 of the 8 panels of that type.
With the larger 422 panels, the brackets are far enough offset from each other (16″ apart as I installed them), so that made it much easier to get those hanging straight (with 0.25″ or less horizontal difference from top to bottom). I didn’t need to use any Command Strips to straighten those panels.
Teamwork
This was a great project to do with Rachelle because our strengths complemented each other nicely. I’m good at driving projects forward with action and decisiveness, but sometimes to keep advancing, I will gloss over aesthetic concerns and favor functional solutions. Rachelle is way more detail-oriented, and she has proper color vision whereas I’m color blind. She’s much better at picking color schemes and considering aesthetics. She largely picked the colors and fabrics whereas I focused on the acoustical considerations.
We spent hours going over the color and fabric options for the panels before we ordered them, taping fabric swatches to the walls to try to visualize what the results would look like. The panels are made to order, and it costs a lot to ship them, so we wanted to do our best to get the choices right the first time. Before we placed the order, we mapped out where we’d placed every single panel in each room.
I did reject some color options that didn’t look good to me. For instance, the spa and gray colors look identical to me. Those are the 3rd and 5th panels in the first pic above, respectively. I didn’t want those colors next to each other because it seemed like two of the same in a row. It was a bit tricky to identify options that looked good to both of us color-wise, but we managed.
I also wanted to get a variety of colors, so we could potentially change them up by swapping panels from different locations. That also gives us more flexibility in case one color doesn’t look so good on camera. So we have some backup possibilities, just in case we need them.
Fortunately I think we succeeded. I don’t have any regrets about the panel choices thus far. It will take time to give them a thorough test, but so far they do seem to work well acoustically.
This is my first experience with acoustic panels. As with many upgrades of this nature, you quickly learn that you could have gone further than you did because more is always possible.
For this project I wanted to go far enough to create a nice improvement that I’ll appreciate, but not so far as to feel like I’m over-reaching, over-spending, taking too long, or getting bogged down in micro-decisions. I decided going into this project that I should also stick with the basics, at least until I have a better grasp of how these panels work acoustically. I decided to avoid the really artistic design possibilities for now, even though I’m aware that way more is possible in that direction. Likewise I felt it was a wise decision to begin with simple sound blankets until I felt the timing was right to upgrade to acoustic panels.
I like that this project felt edgy and took me a bit out of my comfort zone, especially in terms of dealing with colors. I also like how it mixed audio and visual decisions with hand-ons working with tools. It took some patience to drive it to completion, so it was a good project to approach with a very methodical attitude. I found it helpful to acknowledge and celebrate each little act of progress along the way, including picking the colors, placing the order, unboxing everything, and installing each individual panel in its proper position. It feels good to have it all done. 😁
Researchers demonstrate new sensors by creating novel health monitoring, machine interface devices
Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a stretchable strain sensor that has an unprecedented combination of sensitivity and range, allowing it to detect even minor changes in strain with greater range of motion than previous technologies. The researchers demonstrated the sensor’s utility by creating new health monitoring and human-machine interface devices.
Strain is a measurement of how much a material deforms from its original length. For example, if you stretched a rubber band to twice its original length, its strain would be 100%.
“And measuring strain is useful in many applications, such as devices that measure blood pressure and technologies that track physical movement,” says Yong Zhu, corresponding author of a paper on the work and the Andrew A. Adams Distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at NC State.
“But to date there’s been a trade-off. Strain sensors that are sensitive — capable of detecting small deformations — cannot be stretched very far. On the other hand, sensors that can be stretched to greater lengths are typically not very sensitive. The new sensor we’ve developed is both sensitive and capable of withstanding significant deformation,” says Zhu. “An additional feature is that the sensor is highly robust even when over-strained, meaning it is unlikely to break when the applied strain accidently exceeds the sensing range.”
The new sensor consists of a silver nanowire network embedded in an elastic polymer. The polymer features a pattern of parallel cuts of a uniform depth, alternating from either side of the material: one cut from the left, followed by one from the right, followed by one from the left, and so on.
“This feature — the patterned cuts — is what enables a greater range of deformation without sacrificing sensitivity,” says Shuang Wu, who is first author of the paper and a recent Ph.D. graduate at NC State.
The sensor measures strain by measuring changes in electrical resistance. As the material stretches, resistance increases. The cuts in the surface of the sensor are perpendicular to the direction that it is stretched. This does two things. First, the cuts allow the sensor to deform significantly. Because the cuts in the surface pull open, creating a zigzag pattern, the material can withstand substantial deformation without reaching the breaking point. Second, when the cuts pull open, this forces the electrical signal to travel further, traveling up and down the zigzag.
“To demonstrate the sensitivity of the new sensors, we used them to create new wearable blood pressure devices,” Zhu says. “And to demonstrate how far the sensors can be deformed, we created a wearable device for monitoring motion in a person’s back, which has utility for physical therapy.”
“We have also demonstrated a human-machine interface,” Wu says. “Specifically, we used the sensor to create a three-dimensional touch controller that can be used to control a video game.”
“The sensor can be easily incorporated into existing wearable materials such as fabrics and athletic tapes, convenient for practical applications,” Zhu says. “And all of this is just scratching the surface. We think there will be a range of additional applications as we continue working with this technology.”
The work was done with support from the National Science Foundation, under grant number 2122841; the National Institutes of Health, under grant number R01HD108473; and the U.S. Department of Defense, under grant number W81XWH-21-1-0185.
Story Source:
Materials provided by North Carolina State University. Original written by Matt Shipman. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Self-powered, printable smart sensors created from emerging semiconductors could mean cheaper, greener Internet of Things
Creating smart sensors to embed in our everyday objects and environments for the Internet of Things (IoT) would vastly improve daily life — but requires trillions of such small devices. Simon Fraser University professor Vincenzo Pecunia believes that emerging alternative semiconductors that are printable, low-cost and eco-friendly could lead the way to a cheaper and more sustainable IoT.
Leading a multinational team of top experts in various areas of printable electronics, Pecunia has identified key priorities and promising avenues for printable electronics to enable self-powered, eco-friendly smart sensors. His forward-looking insights are outlined in his paper published on Dec. 28 in Nature Electronics.
“Equipping everyday objects and environments with intelligence via smart sensors would allow us to make more informed decisions as we go about in our daily lives,” says Pecunia. “Conventional semiconductor technologies require complex, energy-intensity, and expensive processing, but printable semiconductors can deliver electronics with a much lower carbon footprint and cost, since they can be processed by printing or coating, which require much lower energy and materials consumption.”
Pecunia says making printable electronics that can work using energy harvested from the environment — from ambient light or ubiquitous radiofrequency signals, for example — could be the answer.
“Our analysis reveals that a key priority is to realize printable electronics with as small a material set as possible to streamline their fabrication process, thus ensuring the straightforward scale-up and low cost of the technology,” says Pecunia. The article outlines a vision of printed electronics that could also be powered by ubiquitous mobile signals through innovative low-power approaches — essentially allowing smart sensors to charge out of thin air.
“Based on recent breakthroughs, we anticipate that printable semiconductors could play a key role in realizing the full sustainability potential of the Internet of Things by delivering self-powered sensors for smart homes, smart buildings and smart cities, as well as for manufacturing and industry.”
Pecunia has already achieved numerous breakthroughs towards self-powered printable smart sensors, demonstrating printed electronics with record-low power dissipation and the first-ever printable devices powered by ambient light via tiny printable solar cells.
His research group at SFU’s School of Sustainable Energy Engineering focuses on the development of innovative approaches to eco-friendly, printable solar cells and electronics for use in next-generation smart devices.
Pecunia notes that the semiconductor technologies being developed by his group could potentially allow the seamless integration of electronics, sensors, and energy harvesters at the touch of a ‘print’ button at single production sites — thereby reducing the carbon footprint, supply chain issues and energetic costs associated with long-distance transport in conventional electronics manufacturing.
“Due to their unique manufacturability, printable semiconductors also represent a unique opportunity for Canada,” he says. “Not only to become a global player in next-generation, eco-friendly electronics, but also to overcome its reliance on electronics from faraway countries and the associated supply chain and geo-political issues.
“Our hope is that these semiconductors will deliver eco-friendly technologies for a future of clean energy generation and sustainable living, which are key to achieving Canada’s net-zero goal.”
Story Source:
Materials provided by Simon Fraser University. Original written by Marianne Meadahl. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Researchers find hints of a ‘hidden state’ involving one of Earth’s most abundant ions
While conducting an otherwise straightforward investigation into the assembly mechanism of calcium-phosphate clusters, researchers at UC Santa Barbara and New York University (NYU) made a surprising discovery: Phosphate ions in water have a curious habit of spontaneously alternating between their commonly encountered hydrated state and a mysterious, previously unreported ‘dark’ state. This recently uncovered behavior, they say, has implications for understanding the role of phosphate species in biocatalysis, cellular energy balance and the formation of biomaterials. Their findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“Phosphate is everywhere,” said UCSB chemistry professor Songi Han, one of the authors of a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The ion consists of one phosphorus atom surrounded by four oxygen atoms. “It’s in our blood and in our serum,” Han continued. “It’s in every biologist’s buffer, it’s on our DNA and RNA.” It’s also a structural component of our bones and cell membranes, she added.
When bound with calcium, phosphates form small, molecular clusters on their way toward forming mineral deposits in cells and bone. That’s what Han and collaborators Matthew Helgeson at UCSB and Alexej Jerschow at NYU were preparing to study and characterize, in hopes of uncovering quantum behaviors in symmetric phosphate clusters proposed by UCSB physics professor Matthew Fisher. But first, the researchers had to set up control experiments, which involved scans of phosphate ions in the absence of calcium via nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM).
But as the UCSB and NYU students on the project were collecting reference data, which involved the naturally occurring isotope phosphorus 31 in aqueous solutions at varying concentrations and temperatures, their results didn’t match up with expectations. For instance, Han said, the line that represents the spectrum for 31P during NMR scans is supposed to narrow with increasing temperatures.
“The reason is, as you go to higher temperatures, the molecules tumble faster,” she explained. Typically, this rapid molecular motion would average out the anisotropic interactions, or interactions that are dependent on the relative orientations of these small molecules. The result would be a narrowing of resonances measured by the NMR instrument.
“We were expecting a phosphorus NMR signal, which is a simple one, with a peak that narrows with higher temperatures,” she said. “Surprisingly, though, we measured spectra that were broadening, doing the complete opposite of what we expected.”
This counterintuitive result set the team on a new path, following experiment after experiment to determine its molecular-level cause. The conclusion, after a year of eliminating one hypothesis after another? Phosphate ions were forming clusters under a wide range of biological conditions — clusters that were evading direct spectroscopic detection, which is likely why they had not been observed before. Furthermore, the measurements suggested these ions were alternating between a visible “free” state and a dark “assembled” state, hence the broadening of the signal instead of a sharp peak.
Additionally, as the temperature increased, the number of these assembled states was also increasing, another temperature-dependent behavior, according to co-lead author Mesopotamia Nowotarski.
“The conclusion from those experiments was that the phosphates are dehydrating and that allows them to come closer together,” she said. At lower temperatures, the vast majority of these phosphates in solution cling to water molecules that form a protective water coat around them. This hydrated state is typically assumed when considering how phosphate behaves in biological systems. But at higher temperatures, Nowotarski explained, they shed their water shields, allowing them to stick to each other. This concept was confirmed by NMR experiments that probed the phosphate water shell, and further validated by analysis of cryo-TEM images to identify the existence of clusters, as well as modeling the energetics of phosphate assembly by co-lead author Joshua Straub.
These dynamic phosphate assemblies and hydration shells have important implications for biology and biochemistry, according to the researchers. Phosphate, said chemical engineer Matthew Helgeson, is a commonly understood “currency” used in biological systems to store and consume energy through conversion into adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and adenosine diphosphate (ADP). “If hydrated phosphate, ADP and ATP represent small ‘bills’ of currency, this new discovery suggests that these smaller currencies can exchange with much larger denominations — say $100 — which may have very different interactions with biochemical processes than currently known mechanisms,” he said.
Also, many biomolecular components include phosphate groups that may, similarly, form clusters. Hence, the finding that these phosphates can spontaneously assemble might shed some light on other fundamental biological processes such as biomineralization — how shells and skeletons form, as well as protein interactions.
“We also tested a range of phosphates, including those incorporated into the ATP molecule, and they all appear to show the same phenomenon, and we achieved quantitative analysis for these assemblies,” said co-lead author Jiaqi Lu.
This once overlooked process could also be significant in the realms of cell signaling, metabolism and disease processes such as Alzheimer’s disease, where the attachment of a phosphate group, or phosphorylation, to the protein tau in our brain is commonly found in neurofibrillary tangles — a hallmark of neurodegeneration. Having seen and studied this assembly behavior, the team is now digging deeper, with studies on the effect of pH on phosphate assembly, genetic translation and modified protein assembly, as well as their original work on calcium phosphate assembly.
“It really changes the way we think about the role of phosphate groups that we typically don’t consider a driver of molecular assembly,” Han said.
Research in this paper was also conducted by Tanvi Sheth and Sally Jiao at UC Santa Barbara.
