Biosensor ‘bandage’ collects and analyzes sweat

Tom Patriot

Like other biofluids, sweat contains a wealth of information about what’s going on inside the body. However, collecting the fluid for analysis, usually by dripping or absorbing it from the skin’s surface, can be time-consuming and messy. Now, researchers have developed a bandage-like biosensor that both collects and — in conjunction with a smart phone — analyzes sweat. The device, which could someday help diagnose diseases, is reported in ACS’ journal Analytical Chemistry. Compared with other biofluids such as blood, sweat has the potential to be obtained less invasively for diagnostic…

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Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds Got Extra Flirty on Instagram and We Don’t Hate It

Tom Patriot

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are no strangers to trolling each other on social media. However, their most recent flirtation involved an unexpected (and animated) guest: Pikachu. Reynolds plays the voice of the namesake character in the forthcoming live-action movie Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, and he shared a cute video from the flick to his Instagram. “Footage from my ACTUAL audition for #DetectivePikachu,” Reynolds captioned the teaser. The one-minute clip features many of the film’s characters and Pokémon, including a very animated Pikachu. Reynolds’s comedic power is evident from the start, while…

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April 15 Is Almost Here! Here Are the 6 Tax-Filing Questions Entrepreneurs Should Ask Tax Preparers Now.

Tom Patriot

With the tax-filing deadline just days away, entrepreneurs would be wise to ask their tax preparers six key questions. Because the 2018 tax year is the first year the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has applied to returns, there are new forms, new rules, new elections and new software that can significantly impact your income. In short: This tax-filing season is a very different animal than previous ones because there are so many more decisions to make. So, be sure to ask your tax preparer’s advice on both the 2018 returns you’re…

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Want to learn a new skill? Take some short breaks

Tom Patriot

In a study of healthy volunteers, National Institutes of Health researchers found that our brains may solidify the memories of new skills we just practiced a few seconds earlier by taking a short rest. The results highlight the critically important role rest may play in learning. “Everyone thinks you need to ‘practice, practice, practice’ when learning something new. Instead, we found that resting, early and often, may be just as critical to learning as practice,” said Leonardo G. Cohen, M.D., Ph.D., senior investigator at NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders…

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