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Dr. James C. Weaver

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July, 2023

Made of cement, carbon black, and water, these devices could provide cheap and scalable energy storage for renewable energy sources

https://news.mit.edu/2023/mit-engineers-create-supercapacitor-ancient-materials-0731


April, 2023

Novel ear tubes combine liquid-infused materials with optimized geometry to enable better performance and improve treatment outcomes for patients with ear infections

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/creating-a-blueprint-for-optimized-ear-tubes-and-other-implantable-fluid-transporting-devices/


March, 2023

New nano-composite phases could turn concrete into a robust carbon-sink

MIT engineers discover new carbonation pathways for creating more environmentally friendly concrete.

https://news.mit.edu/2023/new-additives-concrete-effective-carbon-sink-0328


February, 2023

Custom, 3D-printed heart replicas look and pump just like the real thing

The soft robotic models are patient-specific and could help clinicians zero in on the best implant for an individual.

https://news.mit.edu/2023/custom-3d-printed-heart-replicas-patient-specific-0222


January, 2023

Riddle solved: Why was Roman concrete so durable?

An unexpected ancient manufacturing strategy may hold the key to designing concrete that lasts for millennia

https://news.mit.edu/2023/roman-concrete-durability-lime-casts-0106


October, 2022

Tentacle robot can gently grasp fragile objects

Jellyfish-like soft gripper mimics the mechanics of curly hair

https://seas.harvard.edu/news/2022/10/tentacle-robot-can-gently-grasp-fragile-objects


March, 2022

Unexplored dimensions of porous metamaterials

Researchers unlock hidden potential in a long-studied group of materials

https://seas.harvard.edu/news/2022/03/unexplored-dimensions-porous-metamaterials


September, 2021

How to protect structures from blowing winds and flowing water? Look to marine sponges

Research finds the skeletal structure of a marine sponge suppresses vortex shedding better than current technologies

https://www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2021/09/how-protect-structures-blowing-winds-and-flowing-water-look-marine-sponges


September, 2021

Astronomers create the first 3D-printed stellar nurseries

New advances in 3D printing reveal features often obscured in traditional renderings and animations

https://news.ucsc.edu/2021/09/touching-stars.html


August, 2021

Rare Cambrian fossils from Utah reveal unexpected anatomical complexity in early comb jellies

https://oeb.harvard.edu/news/rare-cambrian-fossils-utah-reveal-unexpected-anatomical-complexity-early-comb-jellies?admin_panel=1


November, 2020

Ultra-sensitive and resilient sensor for soft robotic systems

Newly engineered slinky-like strain sensors for textiles and soft robotic systems survive the washing machine, cars and hammers

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/ultra-sensitive-and-resilient-sensor-for-soft-robotic-systems/


September, 2020

Marine sponges inspire the next generation of skyscrapers and bridges

Bioinspired architecture could pave the way for stronger, lighter structures

https://www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2020/09/marine-sponges-inspire-next-generation-skyscrapers-and-bridges


August, 2020

Seven million face shields and counting

How a Wyss Institute COVID-19 project led to regional, scalable PPE production

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/seven-million-face-shields-and-counting/


July, 2020

Robotic textiles are fueled up and take action

A new smart fabric that can be inflated and deflated by temperature-dependent liquid-vapor phase changes could enable a new range of mechanotherapeutic and industrial applications

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/robotic-textiles-are-fueled-up-and-take-action/


May, 2020

Harvard researchers deliver hundreds of face shields to frontline medical personnel

Engineers lead project to design mass-producible personal protective equipment

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/harvard-researchers-deliver-hundreds-of-face-shields-to-frontline-medical-personnel/


April, 2020

The Wyss Institute’s response to COVID-19: Beating back the coronavirus

Harvard's Wyss Institute researchers are confronting the coronavirus crisis on all fronts – by rapidly developing much needed diagnostic and therapeutic inventions

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/news-the-wyss-institutes-response-to-covid-19-beating-back-the-coronavirus/


February, 2020

The Tentacle Bot

Octopus-inspired robot can grip, move, and manipulate a wide range of objects

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/the-tentacle-bot/


February, 2020

Someday, this prosthetic heart valve might be the only one a child needs

A breakthrough design could spare children from repeated operations to replace outgrown valves, and could also benefit adults with valve defects.

https://discoveries.childrenshospital.org/bileaflet-heart-valve/


January, 2020

Printing objects that can incorporate living organisms

A 3D printing system that controls the behavior of live bacteria could someday enable medical devices with therapeutic agents built in.

https://news.mit.edu/2020/3-d-bioprinting-living-materials-0123


November, 2019

Wyss Institute is proud to have 11 Highly Cited Researchers in 2019

Both Faculty and Staff researchers rank in top 0.1% of cited researchers for the year

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/wyss-institute-is-proud-to-have-11-highly-cited-researchers-in-2019/


September, 2019

How to make a book last for millennia

Study of Dead Sea Scroll sheds light on a lost ancient parchment-making technology.

https://news.mit.edu/2019/temple-scroll-ancient-preservation-0906


May, 2019

Blurring the Line Between Science, Art, and Design

Wyss Institute projects featured in 2019 Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/blurring-the-line-between-science-art-and-design/


February, 2019

A bioengineered factory for T-cells

Injectable sponge-like gel enhances the quantity and quality of T-cells

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/a-bioengineered-factory-for-t-cells/


December, 2018

Predicting leaky heart valves with 3D printing

New integrated workflow improves valve sizing accuracy during aortic valve replacement procedures

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/predicting-leaky-heart-valves-with-3d-printing/


July, 2018

Studying aliens of the deep

Folding polyhedron sampler enables easy capture and release of delicate underwater organisms

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/studying-aliens-of-the-deep/


June, 2018

Straight to the heart

Device can deliver drugs, proteins, and stem cells directly to a diseased heart

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/straight-to-the-heart/


May, 2018

Creating piece of mind

New 3D printing technique enables faster, better, and cheaper models of patient-specific medical data for research and diagnosis

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/creating-piece-of-mind/


March, 2018

Personal cancer vaccines get their own boost

A facile biomaterial approach that educates the immune system with tumor-specific peptides could help eradicate tumors more effectively while preventing them from recurring

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/personal-cancer-vaccines-get-their-own-boost/


February, 2018

A gut reaction…on a chip

First study of radiation exposure in human gut Organ Chip device offers hope for better radioprotective drugs

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/a-gut-reaction-on-a-chip/


August, 2017

Slippery liquid surfaces confuse mussels to stop them from sticking to underwater structures

Non-toxic, lubricant-infused coatings deter mussels and prevent their attachment by disrupting their mechanosensory and adhesive systems

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/slippery-liquid-surfaces-confuse-mussels-to-stop-them-from-sticking-to-underwater-structures/


May, 2017

Engineering human stem cells to model the kidney’s filtration barrier on a chip

A glomerulus-on-a-chip lined by human stem cell-derived kidney cells could help model patient-specific kidney diseases and guide therapeutic discovery

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/engineering-human-stem-cells-to-model-the-kidneys-filtration-barrier-on-a-chip/


April, 2017

Setting a trap for autoimmunity

An approach that attracts and captures elusive immune disease cells in vivo could one day be used to better understand diabetes and other autoimmune disorders

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/setting-a-trap-for-autoimmunity/


February, 2017

Mimicking nature’s cellular architectures via 3D printing

Research offers new level of control over the structure of 3D-printed materials

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/mimicking-natures-cellular-architectures-via-3d-printing/


February, 2017

Wyss Institute’s human gut-on-a-chip goes viral

An Institute team provides first proof-of-concept that its human gut-on-a-chip can model infection with enteroviruses

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/wyss-institutes-human-gut-on-a-chip-goes-viral/


January, 2017

Soft robot helps the heart beat

Sleeve attaches directly around the heart

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/soft-robot-helps-the-heart-beat/


January, 2017

A toolkit for transformable materials: How to design materials with reprogrammable shape and function

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/a-toolkit-for-transformable-materials/


October, 2016

Mimicking life-like cigarette smoke exposure and patient-specific responses in human lung airway chips

An instrument that smokes cigarettes like a human, and delivers whole smoke to the air space of microfluidic human airway chips, enables new insights into how non-smokers and COPD patients respond to smoke

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/mimicking-life-like-cigarette-smoke-exposure-and-patient-specific-responses-in-human-lung-airway-chips/


March, 2016

Self-actuating materials

3D materials can transform into prescribed shapes and sizes

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/self-actuating-materials/


September, 2015

Printing transparent glass in 3-D

New system is the first to create strong, solid glass structures from computerized designs.

https://news.mit.edu/2015/3-d-printing-transparent-glass-0914


August, 2015

Inciting an immune attack on cancer cells

A new minimally invasive vaccine that combines cancer cells and immune-enhancing factors could be used clinically to launch a destructive attack on tumors

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/inciting-an-immune-attack-on-cancer-cells/


July, 2015

A jump for soft-bodied robots

By seamlessly blending soft and rigid body parts - a structural innovation used by animals and insects - a team of Harvard scientists has created a new kind of durable, soft-bodied jumping robot

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/a-jump-for-soft-bodied-robots/


April, 2015

Glass sponges hold internal secrets to structural strength

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/glass-sponges-hold-internal-secrets-to-structural-strength/


April, 2015

Cerebral curiosity

Graduate student Steven Keating takes a problem-solving approach to his brain cancer.

https://news.mit.edu/2015/student-profile-steven-keating-0401


February, 2015

A mollusk of a different stripe

Optical features embedded in marine shells may help develop responsive, transparent displays.

https://news.mit.edu/2015/optical-structures-in-limpet-shell-0226


October, 2014

Bioinspired coating for medical devices repels blood and bacteria

Developed using FDA-approved materials, the coating prevented flowing blood from clotting in a large animal efficacy study

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/bioinspired-coating-for-medical-devices-repels-blood-and-bacteria/


May, 2014

Researchers 3D print biomimetic shark skin

The advance allows for accurate measurement of the hydrodynamic properties of synthetic shark skin, and could inspire improved swimsuit, boat, and aircraft designs

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/researchers-3d-print-biomimetic-shark-skin/


May, 2014

Researchers use light to coax stem cells to repair teeth

Noninvasive laser therapy could radically shift dental treatment and lead to a host of broader clinical applications in regenerative medicine

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/researchers-use-light-to-coax-stem-cells-to-repair-teeth/


May, 2014

Bone marrow-on-a-chip unveiled

Device captures complexity of living marrow in the laboratory; could help test new drugs to prevent lethal radiation exposure

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/bone-marrow-on-a-chip-unveiled/


May, 2013

Biologically mediated additive manufacturing:

Spinning up a Silk Pavilion

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/spinning-up-a-silk-pavilion/


June, 2012

Imaginary Beings:

James Weaver’s electron micrographs on display in Paris

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/imaginary-beings-james-weavers-electron-micrographs-on-display-in-paris/

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