Grapheal raises €1.9m to develop graphene-based biosensors
The Grapheal team. Image: Grapheal
The medtech start-up will use the funds to support the development of a digital Covid-19 test and wound-monitoring biosensors.
As the pandemic continues, many start-ups in the health space have seen an influx of investment. According to Pitchbook’s European Venture Report for 2020, investment in biotech and pharma start-ups jumped by more than 40pc year-on-year.
Now, a French medtech company specialising in graphene-based wearable sensors has secured €1.9m in equity and non-dilutive sources.
Founded in 2019, Grapheal develops wearable and disposable sensors that enable continuous monitoring and diagnosis. The company is a spin-out from the Neel Institute at the French National Centre for Scientific Research.
3 February 2021 - PG affairs
The joint PhD programme gives students the opportunity to conduct their research in both South Africa and France.
The scholarship is open to PhD candidates from Wits University and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). Up to 10 PhD candidates (5 at CNRS, 5 at Wits) will receive a 3-year scholarship to conduct their research project in any discipline, with additional support to travel between the two countries.
The scholarships will be shared equally between the two institutions and every selected student will be expected to spend time in each otherâs organisation over the course of their PhD.
Faced with the boom of single-use masks in France, the country’s National Assembly set up a “flash mission” on the topic and concluded that wearing washable facemasks should be recommended to the public. EURACTIV France reports.
In the space of a few months, the mask has become an essential part of everyday life in France. As millions of French wear one for the day and throw it away at night, it has become quite the environmental scourge, despite being a health ally.
According to the Agency for the diffusion of technological information (Adit), between 6.8 and 13.7 billion single-use masks will have been used in France in 2020.
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Gut microbes in plant-eating ants help build tougher armor
Gut bacteria in a species of herbivorous ant play a major role in processing nutrients that allow the ants to build tough exoskeletons, an international team of researchers has found.
In the study, “Gut Bacteria Are Essential for Normal Cuticle Development in Herbivorous Turtle Ants,” which published Jan. 29 in Nature Communications, the researchers specifically broke down which components the bacteria contributed so their host could build a thicker armor. Steven Wang/Provided
Florida turtle ant.
When the researchers killed off the gut microbes in plant-eating turtle ants, their exoskeletons were only half as thick as normal turtle ants. The results reveal diverse roles that gut bacteria can play in organisms.
For the first time, a telecommunications satellite has used an iodine propellant to change its orbit around Earth, reports the European Space Agency (ESA).