UCSD

​What do cameras, audio recorders and music players have in common? They're all things that we no longer have to carry around, as they're built into smartphones. Diabetics may soon be able to add blood glucose-measuring kits to that list, as scientists have created a phone case that does the job.

​When you reach into your pocket and grab your keys, you can tell how they're oriented, without actually seeing them. Well, an engineering team has created a soft robotic gripper that works in much the same way. It can build virtual 3D models of objects simply by touching them.

Joseph Wang and colleagues at the University of California, San Diego have created a ring with a difference. It detects chemical and biological threats in the wearer's environment.​

If you don't like it when your dentist checks your gums with a periodontal probe, you might not have to put up with it for much longer. Scientists have developed a new gum-checking technique that involves rinsing with squid ink instead.

​Slipped capital femoral epiphysis is the most common hip disorder in children aged 9 to 16. It's treated via surgery, and the quicker that the operation can be completed, the better. That's why scientists have been using 3D-printed models of patients' hips to greatly reduce surgery time.

​Of the concerns that people have regarding electric cars, one of the most often-heard is that their batteries won't work in cold weather. That may not be an issue in the future, however – scientists have created a new type of electrolyte that allows batteries to work at ultra-cold temperatures.

When people want to experience tactile feedback while exploring virtual reality environments, they use hand-held devices that vibrate in response to the touching of virtual surfaces. Now, however, scientists are developing gloves that reportedly provide a much more life-like experience.

With the development of a nano-scale optic fiber detector, UCSD researchers have created a tiny device so sensitive that it can detect the waves produced by swimming bacteria and hear the beating of individual muscle cells of the heart.

It would be nice if the settlers of Mars didn't have to bring along a bunch of kilns, in order to fire the Martian soil into bricks. Well, according to a study conducted at the University of California San Diego, Martian bricks can actually be made without any heat whatsoever.​

​When it comes to assessing the chronic muscle stiffness of patients with conditions such as cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis, doctors pretty much just go by feel. That's why scientists are developing a glove that measures muscle stiffness objectively.

New research has revealed how scammers are gaming Google Maps by setting up fake pins and locations, with Google now taking steps to preserve the integrity of its venerable online mapping service, claiming to have reduced these fake listings by 70 percent. ​

A new flexible material can block various portions of the electromagnetic spectrum while allowing others through. The material has the potential to improve solar cell efficiencies and create window coatings that not only let in visible light and keep out heat, but also block electromagnetic signals.