Mar. 30, 2013 ? The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University announced today that it was awarded a $9.25 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to further advance a blood-cleansing technology developed at the Institute with prior DARPA support, and help accelerate its translation to humans as a new type of sepsis therapy.
The device will be used to treat bloodstream infections that are the leading cause of death in critically ill patients and soldiers injured in combat.
To rapidly cleanse the blood of pathogens, the patient's blood is mixed with magnetic nanobeads coated with a genetically engineered version of a human blood 'opsonin' protein that binds to a wide variety of bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites, and toxins. It is then flowed through microchannels in the device where magnetic forces pull out the bead-bound pathogens without removing human blood cells, proteins, fluids, or electrolytes -- much like a human spleen does. The cleansed blood then flows back to the patient.
"In just a few years we have been able to develop a suite of new technologies, and to integrate them to create a powerful new device that could potentially transform the way we treat sepsis," said Wyss founding director and project leader, Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D. "The continued support from DARPA enables us to advance our device manufacturing capabilities and to obtain validation in large animal models, which is precisely what is required to enable this technology to be moved towards testing in humans."
The team will work to develop manufacturing and integration strategies for its core pathogen-binding opsonin and Spleen-on-a-Chip fluidic separation technologies, as well as a novel coating technology called "SLIPS," which is a super-hydrophobic coating inspired from the slippery surface of a pitcher plant that repels nearly any material it contacts. By coating the inner surface of the channels of the device with SLIPS, blood cleansing can be carried out without the need for anticoagulants to prevent blood clotting.
In addition to Ingber, the multidisciplinary team behind this effort includes Wyss core faculty and Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Science faculty member Joanna Aizenberg, Ph.D., who developed the SLIPS technology; Wyss senior staff member Michael Super, Ph.D., who engineered the human opsonin protein; and Mark Puder, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pediatric Surgery at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School who will be assisting with animal studies.
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Laundry is possibly the world's most boring chore (heck, you're probably bored just reading this). But it's something we have to do every week, and there are a ton of ways to do it faster, better, and boredom-free. Here's how to take laundry day from snoozefest to?well, less of a snoozefest. 
The most obvious way to avoid doing so much laundry is to...well, not do it. Not every item of clothing needs to be washed right away; in fact, you could probably wear lots of clothes more than once before you wash. Shirts can survive multiple wears if worn with an undershirt, and many people don't even wash their jeans at all (though you can throw them in the freezer to keep them fresh). Check out our reader thread on the subject for more info and see what others have to say?you might find that you're washing some clothes too often. Photo by Harika Reddy.
Don't waste time trying to scrub out that stain later on, after you finally found your Tide to Go pen. You can remove nearly all of life's horrible stains right away using simple house hold items, like club soda, lemon juice, hydrogen peroxide, and more. We've shared more clever stain removers than we can count, but for a good roundup check out WonderHowTo's DIY Stain Removal infographic. If you have to, pin it on your laundry machine so you never forget it. The less time you spend getting those stains out, the quicker you can get that laundry clean and folded back in its home.
One of the best tricks I ever put into practice was putting two laundry baskets in my closet: one for whites, and one for colors. That way, when you take off your clothes before bed, you can sort them with almost zero effort, instead of having to rifle through everything later on. It seems like a small annoyance, but come laundry day, you'll be happy everything's sorted out for you.
Ever look at your clothing tags and see those little symbols? They're supposed to tell you how to wash that item, but heck if any of them make sense without a description. This handy chart will help you figure out what all those symbols mean so you can get it right the first time (and avoid ruining your clothes). Weblog Apartment Therapy recommends sorting your laundry by fabric instead of color, too. If you wash on cold, color doesn't matter, and you'll save time on drying cycles if you have all your lights in one, easier-to-dry load. It's not for everyone, but it could make your life a bit easier. Make sure you don't use fabric softener on towels, either?they'll lose their absorbency. 
Sometimes it feels like half of laundry day is spent looking for that missing sock, or trying to pair everything together. If you're tired of sorting socks, it may be time to declare sock "bankruptcy" and buy a whole new set of socks. Buy only a few colors, all from the same brand, in large quantities. You'll never have to fold or sort them again. Just throw them all in your dresser and as long as you grab two socks of the same color, they'll be sure to match. Plus it helps a bit with that whole "lost sock" problem.
Don't have a basket? Can't carry a basket? You don't need one: all you need is a towel or some item of clothing large enough to wrap everything else up. You can transport an entire load of laundry down to the washer just by wrapping it up in a pair of pants, no hamper required. Similarly, you can throw a clean towel into the dryer after it's finished, rotate the dryer, and use that towel as a little laundry bag that you can carry with one hand. Never drop anything on your way back up the stairs again!
Okay, so this one won't save you a ton of time, but it can save you money. Many of us use way too much detergent in our laundry, and while you could make your own at a fraction of the price, the easiest way to save money is to just use less. You know how much soap the manufacturer recommends using? Use less than that. A lot less. Your clothes will be just as clean and you'll save lots of money.
It's weird to think about cleaning the thing that cleans you clothes, but it can make everything work a whole lot better. Cleaning your washing machine every few months can help get rid of excess dirt, soap gunk, and other things that may be invading your laundry, while cleaning the dryer can make it dry more effectively in a smaller amount of time (especially if you clean that moisture sensor). Your clothes and your patience will thank you. Photo by Patricia H.
Do you stack clothing in your drawers from top to bottom? If so, you've probably noticed how much of a pain it is to find what you're looking for and get it out later on. The next time you fill your drawers, fill them from front to back as shown in the picture here. You'll be shocked how much easier it is to see what you have and pick something out. Alternatively, you can hang shirts in your drawer like a filing cabinet, too.
You may have seen the Japanese folding method that gets your t-shirts folded in two seconds, but have you seen the instant t-shirt hanging method, too? What about the saddle row fold, which keeps your pants from falling off the hanger? There are a ton of more efficient ways to fold and hang your clothes, and we've shared a ton of them over the years. Check out this video for 10 of our favorite clothing tricks, explained in 60 seconds. Once you've seen them, you'll never go back to your old way of folding laundry.
The 2012 Kickstarter darling Ouya has been anticipated ever since it skyrocketed past its fund-raising goal and began pre-production. While Sony has released information on its next-generation PlayStation and many people have been talking up the new Xbox, Ouya may have outdone both larger companies in terms of publicity and expectation.
You've probably heard something about the 
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Public release date: 27-Mar-2013
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