Piezoelectric

Forget strips, gels, and pastes. Your next tooth-whitening and repairing substance might well be a new powder developed by Shanghai researchers. You'll want to use it with an electric toothbrush though, because that's what makes it spark.

Stumbling on a giant gold nugget and never working again is something we’ve all daydreamed about, but how exactly do they form? A new experiment has found that earthquakes and electricity might be key ingredients.

Researchers regenerated damaged bone in mice by creating a scaffold that combines a piezoelectric framework and the growth-promoting properties of a naturally occurring mineral. The novel “bone bandage” has wide-ranging potential applications.

In a move that echoes a sci-fi series, researchers have developed a material that was able to not only stimulate nerves in rodents, but reconnect them as well. The finding could lead to injectable particles that take the place of larger implants.

While seabed-located cameras are great for tasks such as monitoring wildlife, powering them can be challenging. That's where a new MIT-designed camera comes in, as it requires no battery, plus it wirelessly transmits its photos through the water.

One of the dangerous things about sports-related concussions is the fact that athletes may not realize they have one, so they don't seek medical attention. A new sensor could let them know, and it would go on their neck, not their head.

By stimulating cells to reproduce, electricity has already been shown to help heal soft tissue injuries. Now, an electricity-producing implantable material likewise appears to boost the regrowth of cartilage in compromised joints.

Although hearing aids do make life easier for many people, their limited battery life can be problematic. Scientists have set about addressing that shortcoming, by designing a hearing aid that requires no batteries.

While implanted artificial teeth do offer a longer-term alternative to dentures, they may need to be surgically replaced if gum infections occur. Scientists are thus working on a better implant, that would generate electricity via mouth movements.

A new study has explored the potential of piezoelectric devices, which turn motion into electricity, to treat damaged tendons and found they can act as a "switch" to turn on highly targeted regenerative processes.

Falls are the leading cause of death by injury amongst seniors. Now, however, a new study indicates that subtly-buzzing insoles may help seniors regain some of the lost sensation in their feet, and thus be less likely to fall down.

A group of researchers has developed a cardiac pacemaker that is powered semi-permanently by a flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator. Designed to be implanted directly in the body, it is claimed to generate enough electricity to directly stimulate the heart from small movements of body muscles.