Tattoo

Medical

Particles from tattoo needles found in lymph nodes

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

Some of the colorimetric tattoos, which were made on pig skin

Medical

Permanent tattoos could be used to monitor long-term conditions

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."

A diagram of the setup – as indicated, it could be used to inject medication as well as tattoo ink

Health & Wellbeing

Laser-heated bubbles may find use in better, less painful tattooing

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.

The business end of the RAP system is a handheld device which is used to send acoustic pulses through the skin

Health & Wellbeing

RAP tech takes a sound approach to faster tattoo removal

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 electrodes can be printed in single or multiple arrangements

Science

Tattoo electrodes made with an inkjet printer

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.

On the left is the tattooed mouse tail before the tattoo ink-holding macrophage cells were destroyed and on the right we see the tattoo still there despite the cells being eliminated

Health & Wellbeing

How the immune system keeps tattoos permanent despite constant skin rejuvenation

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.

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

Science

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

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.

Researchers used a 3D-printed patch of bacteria cells to create a "living tattoo" that changes color in the presence of certain chemical stimuli

Science

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

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 from Harvard and MIT have developed a smart ink that could make for tattoos that monitor biometrics and change color in response

Health & Wellbeing

Color-changing tattoos monitor blood glucose at a glance

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.

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

Health & Wellbeing

Nanoparticles from tattoos can travel to the lymph nodes

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.

Japanese researchers have developed an easy, inexpensive way to manufacture electronic tattoos, printing the circuitry with a basic inkjet printer

Electronics

Inkjet-printed circuitry makes for cheaper electronic tattoos

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.

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

Electronics

Electronic "tattoo" muscles in on emotion mapping

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.