AI helps create better, simpler hepatitis, COVID-19 tests

In AI University, Department of Chemical Engineering, NewsBy Eric HamiltonStory originally published on UF News

Going beyond pregnancy and COVID-19, the world could someday soon come to rely on at-home tests for many diseases thanks in part to AI-fueled improvements. UF scientists have used artificial intelligence tools to simplify a test that works for both hepatitis C and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The simplified test happens in one small test tube in just a few minutes. With further refinement, it could arrive at doctor’s offices soon and, one day, become available as home tests that are as easy as a pregnancy test.

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UF engineers create viable artificial blood vessels by stretching the science of silicone 3D printing

In Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Featured, News, Research & InnovationBy Shawn Jenkins

Thomas Angelini, Ph.D., associate professor in MAE, and Senthilkumar Duraivel, a graduate from MSE working out of Angelini’s Soft Matter Lab, have collaborated on an approach to 3D print soft silicone structures like miniscule vascular bodies by turning the conventional process on its head.

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UF will spearhead DARPA mission to pioneer crucial biomanufacturing in space

In Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Featured, News, Research GrantsBy Shawn Jenkins

With the goal of creating a resilient supply chain for a sustained presence in space, researchers at the University of Florida (UF) are bioengineering microbes for experimentation on the International Space Station (ISS) they hope will reliably produce biopolymers, nutraceuticals, and antibiotics in variable gravity conditions.

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Animal ecosystem engineers much stronger driver of salt marsh accretion than expected, study shows

In Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, Featured, News, Research & InnovationBy Sharon Ryan

Researchers at the University of Florida (UF) and the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research have shown that ecosystem engineering by mussels in Southeastern US salt marshes is a stronger driver of coastal ecosystems’ ability to keep pace with sea-level rise than expected.