New Atlas

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RAP tech takes a sound approach to faster tattoo removal

Ben Coxworth December 11, 2018

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.

The business end of the RAP system is a handheld device which is used to send ...

Science

Tattoo electrodes made with an inkjet printer

Ben Coxworth March 28, 2018

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.

The electrodes can be printed in single or multiple arrangements

Health & Wellbeing

How the immune system keeps tattoos permanent despite constant skin rejuvenation

Rich Haridy March 6, 2018

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.

On the left is the tattooed mouse tail before the tattoo ink-holding macrophage cells were destroyed ...

Science

Ancient tattoos uncovered on 5,000-year-old Egyptian mummies

Rich Haridy March 1, 2018

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.

The tattoos discovered on the Egyptian mummies are the oldest figurative tattoos ever found on human ...

Science

3D-printed live bacteria creates world's first "living tattoo"

Rich Haridy December 5, 2017

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.

Researchers used a 3D-printed patch of bacteria cells to create a "living tattoo" that changes color ...

Health & Wellbeing

Color-changing tattoos monitor blood glucose at a glance

Michael Irving October 1, 2017

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.

Researchers from Harvard and MIT have developed a smart ink that could make for tattoos that ...

Health & Wellbeing

Nanoparticles from tattoos can travel to the lymph nodes

Nick Lavars September 12, 2017

Scientists were already aware that pigments from tattoo ink can travel to the lymph nodes. Cutting edge X-ray technologies have now provided a look at what much smaller, and more toxic particles within the ink get up to, suggesting that these too can make the migration.

Scientists have gained a new insight into the behavior of nanoscale particles in tattoo recipients

Wearables Feature

Disappearing ink, tech-tats & 3D printing: A look into the future of tattoos

Rich Haridy May 10, 2017

From tattoos that act as embedded sensors to high-tech ink that can be easily removed, tattoos in the new millennium may look similar to how they have in the past, but they're set to get some added functionality.

An example of the Chaotic Moon TechTat system with embedded LED lights

Electronics

Inkjet-printed circuitry makes for cheaper electronic tattoos

Michael Irving March 1, 2017

Tattoos could soon have more practical uses. A team of researchers from Waseda University in Japan has developed a simple new method to manufacture electronic tattoos, printing the conductive “wiring” with a basic inkjet printer and joining components without the need for solder.

Japanese researchers have developed an easy, inexpensive way to manufacture electronic tattoos, printing the circuitry with ...

Electronics

Electronic "tattoo" muscles in on emotion mapping

Michael Irving July 11, 2016

A team at Tel Aviv University's (TAU's) Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology have developed an alternative to the invasive needle electrodes used in electromyotherapy, in the form of an electronic "tattoo" that unobtrusively monitors muscle activity.

TAU researchers have developed an electrode that applies to the skin like a temporary tattoo and ...