PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Binghamton engineer creates origami battery

Binghamton engineer creates origami battery
2015-06-10
(Press-News.org) Origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, can be used to create beautiful birds, frogs and other small sculptures. Now a Binghamton University engineer says the technique can be applied to building batteries, too.

Seokheun "Sean" Choi developed an inexpensive, bacteria-powered battery made from paper, he writes in the July edition of the journal Nano Energy.

The battery generates power from microbial respiration, delivering enough energy to run a paper-based biosensor with nothing more than a drop of bacteria-containing liquid. "Dirty water has a lot of organic matter," Choi says. "Any type of organic material can be the source of bacteria for the bacterial metabolism."

The method should be especially useful to anyone working in remote areas with limited resources. Indeed, because paper is inexpensive and readily available, many experts working on disease control and prevention have seized upon it as a key material in creating diagnostic tools for the developing world.

"Paper is cheap and it's biodegradable," Choi says. "And we don't need external pumps or syringes because paper can suck up a solution using capillary force."

While paper-based biosensors have shown promise in this area, the existing technology must be paired with hand-held devices for analysis. Choi says he envisions a self-powered system in which a paper-based battery would create enough energy -- we're talking microwatts -- to run the biosensor. Creating such a system is the goal of a new three-year grant of nearly $300,000 he received from the National Science Foundation.

Choi's battery, which folds into a square the size of a matchbook, uses an inexpensive air-breathing cathode created with nickel sprayed onto one side of ordinary office paper. The anode is screen printed with carbon paints, creating a hydrophilic zone with wax boundaries.

Total cost of this potentially game-changing device? Five cents.

Choi, who joined Binghamton's faculty less than three years ago as an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, earned a doctorate from Arizona State University after doing undergraduate work and a master's degree in South Korea. Choi, who holds two U.S. patents, initially collaborated on the paper battery with Hankeun Lee, a former Binghamton undergraduate and co-author of the new journal article.

Choi recalls an actual "lightbulb moment" while working on an earlier iteration of the paper-based batteries, before he tried the origami approach. "I connected four of the devices in series, and I lit up this small LED," he says. "At that moment, I knew I had done it!"

INFORMATION:

For a direct link to the journal article: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211285515002359


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Binghamton engineer creates origami battery

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Partial sleep deprivation linked to biological aging in older adults

2015-06-10
DARIEN, IL - A new study suggests that one night of partial sleep deprivation promotes biological aging in older adults. Results show that one night of partial sleep deprivation activates gene expression patterns in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) consistent with increasing accumulation of damage that initiates cell cycle arrest and increases susceptibility to senescence. These findings causally link sleep deprivation to the etiology of biological aging, and further supports the hypothesis that sleep deprivation may be associated with elevated disease risk ...

Public debate could be key to strong economy

2015-06-10
As it turns out, people who speak their minds loudly and often could be responsible for economic prosperity. That's according to a new study by Michigan State University economist Siddharth Chandra, director of MSU's Asian Studies Center, and Nita Rudra, associate professor in the Department of Government at Georgetown University. "Our study demonstrates that freedom to express our opinions is not just something we should enjoy," said Chandra, who's also a professor in MSU's James Madison College. "It could have very important consequences - sometimes preventing the ...

Sleep duration and quality may impact cancer survival rate

2015-06-10
DARIEN, IL - A new study suggests that pre-diagnostic short sleep duration and frequent snoring were associated with significantly poorer cancer-specific survival, particularly among women with breast cancer. Results show that stratified by cancer site, short sleep duration and frequent snoring were associated with significantly poorer breast cancer-specific survival. "Our results suggest that sleep duration is important for breast cancer survival, particularly in women who snore," said lead author Amanda Phipps, assistant professor of epidemiology at the University ...

This week from AGU: Space weather warnings, real-time water management

2015-06-10
From AGU's blogs: New Tool Could Track Space Weather 24 Hours Before Reaching Earth A new model, described in a June 9 paper in the journal Space Weather, might finally give scientists a tool to predict a coronal mass ejection's magnetic configuration from afar, which means forecasters could give utility grid and satellite operators a full 24-hour advance warning to protect their systems. From AGU's journals: Satellite Measurements May Help Real-Time Water Management With the demand for water stored in reservoirs rising in many areas, it is becoming increasingly ...

A stiff upper lip makes sense to baby

2015-06-10
This news release is available in French. Montreal, June 10, 2015 -- When you're one and a half years old, having your favourite ball taken away is likely to result in a temper tantrum. But while babies wear their feelings on the sleeves of their onesies, adults often mask their emotions, responding to life's disappointments with stoic reserve. While you might think that witnessing such reactions would confuse toddlers and lead them to believe emotionally reserved adults aren't being honest -- so by extension are untrustworthy to begin with -- new research shows ...

Teenagers should exercise like kids to achieve best health outcomes

2015-06-10
As little as two minutes of high-intensity exercise four times a day improves health outcomes in adolescents, but the same amount of moderate-intensity exercise does not reap the same rewards, according to a new study from the University of Exeter. Researchers found that when exercise is broken up into short bursts over the course of a day - replicating the way young children go about being active - only high-intensity exercise is effective in improving blood sugar levels, fat metabolism and blood pressure in adolescents after the consumption of a fatty meal. The ...

Pedophiles more likely to have physical irregularities

2015-06-10
New research suggests pedophiles are more likely to have superficial facial flaws, known as Minor Physical Anomalies (MPAs). They are also more likely to be left-handed, says Fiona Dyshniku of the University of Windsor in Canada. She led an investigation into the prevalence and distribution of physical anomalies among men who are sent for sexological assessment. The study in Springer's journal Archives of Sexual Behavior adds to a growing body of evidence that suggests pedophilia develops prenatally, around the same time that such physical flaws develop. "Evidence is ...

The price of a happy ending can be bad decision-making, say researchers

2015-06-10
New research using high-speed gambling experiments shows that, for most of us, the last experience we've had can be the defining one when it comes to taking a decision, coming at the expense of other experiences we've accumulated further back in time. The study, published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, supports the idea that the 'banker's fallacy' - focusing on immediate growth at the expense of longer-term stability that would produce better results - is intuitive in the way many of us make quick decisions. People's natural inclination towards ...

Finding hope in the dark

2015-06-10
Advances in stem cell transplantation and gene therapy have been pioneered in vision research. An international team of researchers from Bristol, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Dallas and Montreal have identified a gene that could be responsible for some cases of human night blindness. Leber's congenital amaurosis (LCA) is a group of hereditary retinal diseases that result in severe loss of vision in early childhood and is estimated to affect around 1 in 80,000 of the population. Recent clinical trials of gene therapy for LCA have shown early promising results in treated patients ...

Impact of insecticides on the cognitive development of 6-year-old children

2015-06-10
This news release is available in French. In an article published in the journal Environment International, researchers from Inserm (Inserm Unit 1085 - IRSET, the Institute of Research in Environmental and Occupational Health, Rennes), in association with the Laboratory for Developmental and Educational Psychology, LPDE (Rennes 2 University), provide new evidence of neurotoxicity in humans from pyrethroid insecticides, which are found in a wide variety of products and uses. An increase in the urinary levels of two pyrethroid metabolites (3-PBA and cis-DBCA) in children ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Neutrino experiments in US and Japan join forces

Hunting for the chromosomal genes that break the heart

Trial enrollment and survival disparities among patients with advanced epithelial ovarian carcinoma

Adverse pregnancy outcomes and long-term risk of atrial fibrillation

Study: Dangerous E. coli strain blocks gut’s defense mechanism to spread infection

No benefit of ketamine for patients hospitalised with depression, clinical trial reports

Ants use a genetic 'bulldozer' to achieve a hyper-specific sense of smell

Scientists pinpoint a key gene behind heart defects in Down syndrome

$6.2M grant will launch UC San Diego REACH Center for Translational Science on Whole Person Health

Bay Area Lyme Foundation opens applications for 2026 Emerging Leader Awards and research grants

A new post-processing route to improve tensile strength and ductility in 3d-printed alloys

JMIR Publications’ Journal of Medical Internet Research invites submissions on Navigating AI-Enabled Uncertainty

Small changes in alcohol intake linked to blood pressure shifts

Natural Japanese and Taiwanese hinoki cypresses genetically differentiated 1 million years ago

GemPharmatech announces research collaboration with leading cancer center to advance antibody discovery

Deciding whether a breathing tube is best for a child

A ‘dead’ 1800s idea rises again... with clues to the mystery of the universe’s missing antimatter

Roboticists reverse engineer zebrafish navigation

FAU historian traces the transformation of U.S. nursing homes into big business

CABI study reveals major inequalities in global One Health research

Reptiles ‘pee’ crystals, and scientists are investigating what they’re made of

Drug prevents congenital heart block recurrence in a high-risk pregnancy

Wiley announces winners of Advanced Science Young Innovator Award

Towards new ionic liquid-modified zeolite membranes for efficient CO2 conversion

UK Capital's ULEZ quickly cut air pollution —high vehicle compliance may have left little room for further gains after expansion

Retreating glaciers may send fewer nutrients to the ocean

Scientists develop a way to track donor bacteria after fecal microbiota transplants

Telescope hack opens a sharper view into the universe

ASU’s new School of Medicine receives preliminary accreditation, gift and new name

Do fitness apps do more harm than good?

[Press-News.org] Binghamton engineer creates origami battery