Tattoo

Do tattoos impair the skin’s ability to sweat? Despite the ubiquitousness of tattoos this question has received little research attention. A first-of-its-kind study suggests inked skin may damage sweat glands and reduce the body’s ability to cool itself.

Applying the wearable sensors of the future could be as simple as sketching out a shape on your arm, according to new research that investigates the potential for bioelectronics to be applied through graphite pencils and office copy paper.

Engineers have optimized a novel technology that uses temporary tattoo electrodes to record EEG brain activity. The technology is cheap, can be produced using an inkjet printer, and delivers EEG measurements as accurately as traditional electrodes.

Chromium and nickel nanoparticles from tattoo needles may be responsible for some allergic reactions to tattoos.

​Many people get a tattoo as a means of making a statement. Thanks to new research into permanent tattoos that change color in response to certain biomarkers, that statement could one day be something along the lines of, "My pH levels are being monitored."

​Getting a tattoo certainly isn't known for being a comfortable process. It can also cause damage to the skin, plus it results in bio-hazardous used needles that need to be properly disposed of. A new needle-free technique, however, gets around all of those problems.

​Laser-based tattoo removal is typically a long process, often requiring 10 or more treatment sessions spread several weeks apart from one another. A new acoustic system, however, could reportedly allow for complete tattoo removal in as little as two to three closely-spaced sessions.

​Ordinarily, in order to measure the electrical activity of the heart or muscle tissue, relatively stiff electrodes are applied to the skin along with a contact gel. There may soon be a less cumbersome alternative, however, in the form of ultrathin temporary tattoo electrodes.

​A remarkable new study provides a novel insight into why tattoo ink stays so permanently in a person’s skin. Instead of being a static process, it was discovered that cells in the dermis are constantly dying and passing on the tattoo pigment to new cells so an inked design seems stable.

Using infrared imaging technology a team at the British Museum has uncovered tattoos on two ancient Egyptian mummies, revealing the oldest ever discovered examples of figurative tattoos, which date back to Egypt's Predynastic period between 3351 and 3017 BCE.

​A team at MIT has genetically modified bacteria cells and developed a new 3D printing technique to create a "living tattoo" that can respond to a variety of stimuli.

Tattoos are fast becoming more than just a means of self-expression: soon they could be fitted with practical applications. Now, a team from Harvard and MIT has developed a smart ink that could make for tattoos that monitor biometrics like glucose levels, and change color in response.