Startups/ Innovation
• Indian researchers at the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST) in Mohali, led by Dr Sharmistha Sinha, identified a self‑assembling bacterial shell protein that behaves like a light‑driven semiconductor.
• The protein forms thin 2‑D sheets that absorb UV light and generate an electrical current via tyrosine‑mediated electron release, without any added dyes, metals, or external power.
• Because the material is flexible, biocompatible and degrades naturally, it is proposed for wearable health monitors, skin‑safe UV patches, and implantable medical sensors.
• The findings, published in Chemical Science (Royal Society of Chemistry), mark a step toward sustainable, bio‑inspired electronics that could cut electronic waste.
Australia/NZ
• Line Ferriman, a veterinarian‑farmer in New Zealand’s Canterbury Plains, left her clinical role at Vetlife to specialize in dairy cow wearables after personal pressures and early sector adoption of the technology.
• She now runs the independent, brand‑agnostic advisory platform Cowsmart, translating raw sensor data into practical farm decisions before farmers even purchase the devices.
• Ferriman and her husband operate a 230‑hectare, System 3 dairy farm with about 720 cows, converted from a support block 14 years ago, while raising two daughters aged 10 and 5.
• She stresses that wearables must reduce labour and cost friction, making data interpretation as vital as collection for improving efficiency, animal welfare and labour challenges in NZ and Australia.