Biotechnology

Bridge Optogenetics bridges biology and engineering: viral delivery of algal channelrhodopsin-2 and archaeal halorhodopsin to specific neuron types enables millisecond-precision optical control of neural circuits, culminating in the first human vision restoration trial in 2021.

Fields: Biology, Engineering, Neuroscience, Biotechnology, Gene Therapy

Optogenetics (Boyden & Deisseroth 2005) uses light-gated ion channels from microorganisms to control neural activity with millisecond precision. Engineering components: (1) Actuators: channelrhodopsin...

Bridge Microbial fuel cells exploit extracellular electron transfer by electrogenic bacteria to convert chemical energy directly to electrical current, mapping metabolic oxidation half-reactions onto electrochemical cell theory with the Nernst equation governing thermodynamic limits and biofilm conductivity replacing metallic electrode kinetics

Fields: Biotechnology, Electrochemistry, Microbiology

Electrogenic bacteria such as Geobacter and Shewanella transfer electrons from intracellular NADH oxidation to an external anode via cytochrome c chains or nanowire pili, obeying the same Butler-Volme...

Bridge Microfluidics bridges physics and engineering: low Reynolds number flow, Peclet- dominated diffusion, electroosmosis, dielectrophoresis, and droplet generation enable lab-on-chip systems for single-cell RNA-seq (10x Genomics), CRISPR screening, and point-of-care diagnostics.

Fields: Physics, Engineering, Fluid Dynamics, Biotechnology, Medical Devices

At the microscale (channel dimensions L ~ 1-100 μm), fluid physics is dominated by viscosity: Reynolds number Re = ρvL/η << 1 — flow is laminar, deterministic, and fully predictable by Stokes equ...