Researchers from Germany's Technische Universität München (TUM) in collaboration with researchers from France are building an artificial retina using graphene. This project was recently accepted to the EU's billion-dollar Graphene Flagship project.

Currently artificial retinas are often rejected by the body following the implant, and the signals that they transmit to the brain are not optimal. But graphene is very compatible to the body - as it is durable, flexibly and made from carbon only. Graphene's great electronic properties provide an efficient interface for communication between the retina prosthesis and nerve tissue.

Researchers from Wuhan University of Technology developed a new graphene-based high-energy electrode for Li-Ion batteries. The electrode is made from a 3D-crumpled graphene that encapsulates nickel-sulfide. Covering the Nickel-Sulfide with the graphene enhances the performance of the electrode - makes it much longer lasting.

A regular nickel-sulfide electrode offers high-performance, but it only lasts for about 150 cycles. Adding the graphene "protection", the electrode enables it to last almost a thousand cycles, without much change to capacity.

Researchers from Monash University discovered that graphene oxide flakes can spontaneously change their structure - to become liquid crystal droplets, in the presence of an external magnetic field. This could be very useful for applications such as drug delivery and disease detection.

It's common for current drug delivery systems to use magnetic particles - useful for drug release. But most magnetic particles are toxic in some conditions. Now the researchers hope that the new graphene discovery means it can be a better system than what's available today.

The National Science Foundation of China (NSFC) awarded an 18-month Young International Researcher Fellowship to a University of Cambridge researcher that will look to se graphene materials composites for organic optoelectronic compounds. The researcher hope to use inkjet printers to produce those devices and then integrate them into displays, light detectors and gas sensors.

In plain English, it means that they hope these kind of devices will enable flexible, cheap and fast cameras. Compared to current printed organic circuits, the graphene-based will be less sensitive to temperature and moisture and will also offer much faster response time that is suited for photodetection.

SiNode Systems signed a joint-development agreement with Merck's AZ Electronic Materials with an aim to commercialize graphene-based materials for lithium-ion batteries. The two companies will develop electrode materials that deliver high energy density and improved rate capabilities - to enable Li-Ion batteries that last longer and charge faster.

SiNode, established in 2013 to commercialize a novel anode Li-ion battery technology developed at Northwestern University, developed a composite material of silicon nano-particles and graphene in a layered structure. The company says that their material will enable 10 times higher battery capacity and a tenfold decrease in charging time compared with current technology. The company is now expanding its R&D and pilot manufacturing facility in Chicago.

Researchers at Australia's Griffith University developed a new method that can be used for mass production of low-cost graphene devices. The new method includes a low-temperature synthesis method by using a metal alloy catalyst which produces a high-quality graphene film.

The researchers also developed a strategy for patterning the graphene - by growing it on a pre-patterned Silicon Carbide (SiC) layer. They are now looking for industrial partners to commercialize the new technology.

Researchers from the University of Michigan developed a graphene-enabled wearable vapor sensor - that can be used for continuous disease monitoring, for diabetes, high blood pressure, anemia or lung disease. The sensor can detect airborne chemicals either exhaled or released through the skin.

The researchers can sense several biomarkers that indicate the presence of diseases. For example, acetone is a marker of diabetes. It can also detect nitric oxide and oxygen which abnormal levels may indicate high blood pressure, anemia or lung disease.

Researchers from Boston University discovered that making patterned cuts in graphene can enable it to become stretchable - to more than 160% of their original size (regular graphene will be torn after stretched by 30%). This research uses an approach that is similar to the Japanese paper-cutting technique kirigami. The researchers say that it such stretchable graphene can be used to fabricate flexible sensors or foldable TV screens.

The researchers have used computer simulations, and have not performed real experiments yet. Those patterned sheets look like intricate snowflakes or flowers. The best pattern, they discovered, was numerous overlapping rectangles.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded a $880,000 grant for a University of Pennsylvania 2-year project that aims to develop fast and cost-effective genome sequencing. The project uses the DNA translocation process which threads DNA through nanopoers in a thin membrane - in this case a graphene nanoribbon (GNR) membrane.

A GNR is very useful for sequencing because it's thin and strong, and also its electrical properties enable to read the bases signals directly from the membrane as the DNA passes through the pore. We posted about this project last year, and it's great to see them receive more funding.

Researchers from Canada's University of Saskatchewan are investigating how to use Graphene Oxide in solar-cell electrodes. According to their experiments, GO is indeed less conductive than pure graphene, but it is more transparent and it is a better charge collector.

The researchers modeled graphene oxide, for the first time with real complexity, and showed that previous models were incorrect. Their resreach also showed how heated water touching the GO film can burn it and produce carbon dioxide - which could be risky in solar cells.