Application Area: Water

Technologies 4

• Manufacturing biomolecules ‘on the go’
  Wyss Institute researchers have developed a biomolecular manufacturing method that can quickly and easily produce a wide range of vaccines, antimicrobial peptides and antibody conjugates while doing so anywhere, even in places without access to electrical power or refrigeration. The breakthrough could provide a life-saving workaround for making modern interventions available in remote areas. Today...
• Putting Biofilms to Work
  A team at the Wyss Institute sees biofilms as a robust new platform for designer nanomaterials that could treat inflammatory bowel diseases, clean up polluted rivers, manufacture pharmaceutical products, fabricate new textiles, and more. A novel protein engineering system called BIND, which stands for Biofilm-Integrated Nanofiber Display, could be the essential ingredient in tomorrow’s probiotic...
• Phase-Separating Liquid Gated Membranes
  Just like pores in living organisms that control the absorption and excretion of fluids, gases and solids in response to their environments, flow-gating membranes have proved very useful for many mechanical systems, such as gas and liquid separators, dialysis machines, or open heart bypass pumps. But conventional approaches to create synthetic “gated pores” within those...
• SLIPS (Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces)
  The need for an inexpensive, super-repellent surface cuts across a vast swath of societal sectors—from refrigeration and architecture, to medical devices and consumer products. Most state-of-the-art liquid repellent surfaces designed in the last decade are modeled after lotus leaves, which are extremely hydrophobic due to their rough, waxy surface and the physics of their natural...

News 30

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• Press Release Slippery liquid surfaces confuse mussels to stop them from sticking to underwater structures
  August 17, 2017
• Research Spotlights A self-regulated microbial system as an anti-pollutant for mercury contaminations
  August 9, 2017
• Community Zika test spreads synthetic biology innovation around the world
  December 19, 2016

Multimedia 10

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  Video/Animation
  Fouling Marine Fouling
  Marine fouling occurs when organisms attach themselves to underwater objects like boats, rope, pipes and building structures. Mussels are one of the biggest culprits. Once attached, they are difficult to remove, leading to operational downtime, increased energy use and damage. Paints and coatings are currently used to prevent marine fouling, but are frequently toxin-based and not...

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  Audio/Podcast
  Biofilms: Reprogramming Bacteria to Improve Lives
  Wyss Core Faculty member Neel Joshi and Postdoctoral Fellow Anna Duraj-Thatte discuss the intersection between synthetic biology and materials science as an underexplored area with great potential to positively affect our daily lives—applications ranging from manufacturing to medicine. Dr. Joshi outlines ways that his lab at the Wyss Institute is looking at reprogramming bacteria in...

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  Audio/Podcast
  Disruptive: Putting Biofilms to Work
  Biofilms are commonly known as the slime-producing bacterial communities sitting on stones in streams, dirty pipes and drains, or dental plaque. However, Wyss Core Faculty member Neel Joshi is putting to work the very properties that make biofilms effective nuisances or threats in our daily lives. In this episode of Disruptive, Joshi and postdoctoral fellow...

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  Video/Animation
  Efficient Recovery of Stem Cell Sheets
  See in this video how an intact sheet of mesenchymal stem cells, stained with a violet dye, can be lifted off the infused polymer substrate in the culture dish using a filter paper and transferred to a new surface. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University

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  Video/Animation
  Jumping on Water: Robotic Water Strider
  In this video, watch how novel robotic insects developed by a team of Seoul National University and Harvard scientists can jump directly off water’s surface. The robots emulate the natural locomotion of water strider insects, which skim on and jump off the surface of water. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University

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  Video/Animation
  Fluid Gate
  In this video, the fluid-based gating mechanism separates gas and water. The fluid-filled pores system leverages pressurization to control the opening and closing of its liquid gates, making it extremely precise at separating mixed materials. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University