#Lab on Chip Technology

[agaselectronicmaterials]

Discover A-Gas's innovative range of microfluidics and lab-on-chip solutions, designed for high precision in disease modeling and drug screening. These cutting-edge products leverage the latest technology to offer unparalleled accuracy and efficiency in micro-scale experiments, making them ideal for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. Learn how our solutions can enhance your research and development efforts in this dynamic field.

[inkintheinternet]

The Science of Lab on a Chip

By Arjuwan Lakkdawala

Ink in the Internet

Science nowadays looks so much like The Jetsons cartoon, where lots of technology would be folded into a little chip or box. The technological leaps have been phenomenal, and what makes this more fascinating in this era, than past breakthrough discoveries, is that the Internet has given us a front row seat of the entire show as it unfolds.

That is not all, we are so connected that it's possible to contribute progressive ideas to science or any project or situation. There is always someone reading and posts go viral faster than we can say cheese.

While this attribute of the Internet makes it very entertaining. There is a serious aspect to the science itself. The aspect of saving lives. The scientists of the world are heroes, innovating not only to progress science but also to invent impactful devices and medication methods in developing countries, we in the privileged first world countries may not think often about the suffering of third world countries. But the elites in academia have made them a priority. Still, despite these efforts there are several issues in getting the proper aid to those countries.

In African regions there is the problem of counterfeit medicines that cause annually thousands of deaths. So a messaging system to scan the barcodes on the medication that could be sent to a website for verification was developed.

Another crisis in developing countries is that women often die during childbirth from blood loss. Due to lack of available medical equipment and blood donors, the same blood lost would be transfused back into the patient using kitchen things and guize to filter the blood  - which done in this way is unhygienic and dangerous. For this the Sisu Global Health developed the Hemafuse for hygienic and steril blood transfusion.

Other inventions like 3D printers are also of significant impact in developing countries. Some examples for instance include; printing prosthetics, setting up field hospitals, or printing a lab-in-a-box.

In this regard is one very interesting invention, which is the lab-on-a-chip. It may sound impossible for a whole lab to be on a chip that can be anywhere from the size of your fingernail to a few inches. This product hasn't been industrialised but it is being used in several medical settings, and constant improved models are in the works.

As technology advances devices are getting miniature and miniature. This is to make it conveniently possible to pack more technology in smaller spaces. But other benefits as scientists emphasis is that it reduces human error. This is more crucial in the medical field than anywhere else.

So how are devices getting so miniature that we can have a lab-on-a-chip?

How did they do it. How does it work. I researched these questions and the answer is complex science, but I will give a detailed overview.

Let's start with the science of chips (not the eating ones) a computer chip is the brain of every type of artificial intelligence. Chips are made mostly from silicon (hence the name Silicon Valley.)

Silicon is made from sand and it's the most abundant natural resource on earth after oxygen.

As we know computers started very large and got smaller, now we have handheld devices that are so slick they are practically flat, and are packed with compute power and huge memory storage.

This is mainly the magic of microchips and transistors. As chips got smaller so did transistors, and they are what gives the chips their compute power. In a powerful optimized chip the size of your fingernail there could be 50 billion transistors.

Transistors have shrunk to the size of atoms.

(Basically the size of atoms, I did extensive research to understand this, and this is what I make of it. The "transistor" is simply layers of silicone, no wires, or hardware, then atoms with an electric charge (ions) are split into negative and positive charged ones known as cations (positive) and anions (negative) and these are fired into the silicone layers, changing their atomic composition, and hence creating an electrical circuit the size of atoms without wires. We know atoms are so small we cannot see them even with a microscope, and this is how devices are getting miniature and compute power is getting bigger. A single transistor circuit can hold two stages of the binary commands by which computer software is programmed. That is 1 and 0. So 50 billion transistors can hold a very large memory capacity and compute power. An electrical current by battery or a direct powerline activates the transistor configuration of postive and negative atoms, which are controlled by the three layers of each transistor.)

The next question is how is it possible for machines to engineer at such nano and microscales. This is the great secret behind such technological leaps - I like to give it a layman term 'light engineering,' and not so much a layman term 'chemical engineering.'

The silicone used in chips and the materials (polymers) used in lab-on-a-chip are modified chemically to be sensitive to different wavelengths of light and even waves of sound, and these techniques are used in a major part of such miniature engineering.

A chip starts basically as an ingot of silicone, then it is sliced into strips technically called 'wafers' this is coated with photo sensitive material, and then it is put in a lithography machine that has a blueprint known as the 'mask' that gets imprinted on it. This is repeated on layers of silicone; building an electrical circuit for the transistors. Then atoms of different charges are blasted in the electrical patterns made on the silicone. This process takes place in a clean room, dust is hazardous to it for it can damage the chips.

After a set of other modifications the chips are tested and ready to be used in devices. Depending on the tech used in the manufacturing, there could be a few billion to 50 billion transistors nearly the size of atoms in the chip.

The material widely used in lab-on-a-chip are polymers, and they are fabricated with the technology of microfluidics. This means that the lab-chips will have microchannels and chambers where test fluids will be pushed through or stored as the tests go on. Fluids at such microscales behave very differently than what we are used to in observations in large volumes. The science of microfluidics explores and takes advantage of the change in fluid dynamics of the microscale. The microchannels and chambers are etched on the chip using lithography - the same technology used in manufacturing microchips and transistors.

Those lab-chips could have high-tech analytical tools like spectrometers and gas chromography attached to them, and in built pressure systems to move the fluids.

There are also organs-on-a-chip, these mimic microenvironments and the effect on specific organ micro simulation, and are more precise than traditional culture tests. Lab-chips are said to be faster than normal conventional labs, cost much less, reduce human error, and being portable can be of significant impact were medical care is needed but a lab or hospital is not possible.

Lab-on-a-chip are used in blood tests, diagnostics of bacteria and viruses, DNA/RNA and HIV tests, and more applications are being developed.

Micro technology had a revolution in the medical field in the 70s, described as "scientists first had only a street light, where testing was not possible of more than a single gnome at a time, and then we had a floodlight."

This happened after scientific methods of studying atoms in physics was applied to molecular biology, and then chemical engineering branched out into biochemical and biomedical engineering. Scientists made technological breakthroughs and discovered that the human body worked like a very high-tech sophisticated biological machine, and it was possible to apply engineering methods to it - resulting in the science of biochemical engineering and systems biology, etc. Scientists started to look for ways to merge biology with mechanical engineering like prosthetics, artificial organs, and so on.

Arjuwan Lakkdawala is an author and independent researcher in science.

X/Twitter/Instagram: Spellrainia Email: arjuwan.writer@gmail.com

Copyright ©️ Arjuwan Lakkdawala 2024

Sources:

Yale School of Medicine, Yale Medicine Magazine - human body as machine

AIChe, The Global Home of Chemical Engineers - chemical engineers are advancing biomedicine

University of Alberta, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering - biochemical and biomedical engineering

ElveFlow, An ELVESYS Brand - introduction to lab-on-a-chip

ASML, Our Technology, lithography - using light to print tiny patterns on silicon - is a fundamental step in mass producing microchips

News-Medical, Life Sciences - what us microfluidics? by susha cheriyedath, M.Sc., reviewed by Afsaneh khetrapal BSc

ElveFlow, An ELVESYS Brand - definition of microfluidics

Semiconductor Engineering, Deep Insights for the Tech Industry - understanding memory by Alex yoon

Homepage.cs.uri.edu - how computers work the CPU and memory

Royal Society of Chemistry - microfluidic diagnostics for the developing world, xiaole mao and tony jun huang

The Borgen Project, blog latest news - health technologies for developing countries

University Wafer - how to fabricate a computer chip from silicon

Nano Werk - transistors explained - what they are and what they do

[techninja]

Miniaturizing Innovation: Exploring the Microfluidics Market

In the realm of life sciences and healthcare, the Microfluidics market is emerging as a transformative force, enabling researchers and clinicians to miniaturize laboratory processes and revolutionize diagnostics and therapeutics. This article delves into the burgeoning field of microfluidics, its applications in biomedical research and diagnostics, and its potential to reshape the healthcare landscape.

Microfluidics, the science of manipulating fluids at the microscale, offers a versatile platform for a wide range of applications, from drug discovery and genomics to point-of-care diagnostics and personalized medicine. By leveraging the unique physics and mechanics of fluid flow at small scales, microfluidic devices enable precise control over sample volumes, reaction kinetics, and experimental workflows.

The Microfluidics market encompasses an extensive array of technologies, including lab-on-a-chip devices, microfluidic pumps, valves, and sensors, as well as integrated systems for automated sample preparation and analysis. These miniaturized platforms offer numerous advantages over traditional laboratory techniques, including reduced sample and reagent consumption, faster analysis times, and increased sensitivity and throughput.

One of the key drivers propelling the growth of the Microfluidics market is the increasing demand for point-of-care diagnostics and personalized medicine. Microfluidic devices enable rapid and cost-effective analysis of biological samples, allowing for early detection of diseases, monitoring of treatment efficacy, and tailoring of therapies to individual patient needs.

In addition to healthcare applications, microfluidic technologies are transforming the landscape of biomedical research, enabling researchers to conduct experiments with unprecedented precision and scalability. From studying cellular dynamics and microorganisms to exploring complex biological phenomena, microfluidic platforms offer insights that were previously inaccessible using conventional laboratory techniques.

Moreover, the integration of microfluidics with other emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced imaging techniques, is expanding the horizons of biomedical research and diagnostics. By combining microfluidic devices with AI-powered analytics and high-resolution imaging systems, researchers can extract valuable insights from complex biological data with unprecedented speed and accuracy.

Want to learn more? Get Sample PDF Copy

As the Microfluidics market continues to evolve, collaboration between academia, industry, and healthcare providers will be essential to realize its full potential. Addressing challenges such as standardization, scalability, and regulatory compliance will be crucial to accelerating the adoption of microfluidic technologies across diverse applications and settings.

In conclusion, the Microfluidics market represents a paradigm shift in biomedical research and diagnostics, offering a powerful platform for innovation and discovery. With its ability to miniaturize laboratory processes, enhance analytical capabilities, and enable personalized healthcare solutions, microfluidic technology is poised to shape the future of medicine and healthcare delivery, driving advances that benefit patients, researchers, and clinicians alike.

[innonurse]

How AI brought back a paralyzed woman's voice

- By InnoNurse Staff -

For the first time in 18 years, a stroke survivor can talk with facial expressions thanks to a breakthrough brain implant and digital avatar.

Read more at UCSF

///

Other recent news and insights

Healthcare payments: Lyric, an AI healthtech company, raises $90.9 million (Technical.ly)

ChatGPT demonstrates 'impressive' clinical decision-making accuracy (Mass General Brigham)

'A fitness tracker for brain health': Sleeping headband looks for early indicators of Alzheimer's (University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus)

The addition of immunity to a human kidney-on-a-chip improves cancer drug testing (Wyss Institute)

KovoCloud, an AI-powered health tech platform, launches (Proactive)

[pomefioredove]

Can I have number 20 sugar cookie with marshmallows and chocolate chips?

malmal... I've missed him

order #20, sugar with marshmallow and chocolate chips

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ something untrue

tropes: roommate AU, fake dating characters: malleus additional info: romantic, gender neutral reader, reader is yuu

In your defense, it was only one lie.

Just one, insignificant, little white lie!

And you thought Malleus would understand. That one boy from potionology just wouldn't give it up, following you around, grabbing at you, asking you out no matter how many times you said no.

He had cornered you, demanded a reason you wouldn't go out with him, and you had panicked.

Just one lie.

It wasn't so unbelievable- you and Malleus already spent so much time together- and even if it was, the boy was too shaken to say it.

He hasn't bothered you since.

You had washed your hands of the whole affair, and then patted yourself on the back for your thinking.

Guilty as you felt for using your closest friend as jerk-repellent, it was only one lie, and Malleus wouldn't even know!

...But... apparently...

Everyone else would.

That little jerk told his little jerk friends about it, and they told theirs, and one of them told his lab partner, who told Cater, and now...

...Well, now, you're "dating" Malleus.

He just doesn't know it yet.

And it's made your temporary living situation in Diasomnia a little awkward. For you, anyway.

"Pleasant evening," Malleus says, looking at the foggy sky. Not a single star, and yet he's just as enchanted.

You nod, tongue-tied and quiet.

You had invited your friend on this walk to talk to him about the lie, and now you can't even talk at all.

"You're quiet. Is something bothering you? Are you cold?"

Malleus is looking at you now. Your eyes avoid his, and you pretend to admire the crumbling, mossy stone wall you're walking along.

"...No,"

"Are you feeling unwell?"

"No,"

"We can turn back, if you would like,"

You bite your tongue. You're grateful he doesn't bother with technology or gossip. The rumors haven't yet reached him. Malleus is, somehow, the very last person to know that you are "dating".

"I'm alright. Just... uh, thinking about potionology class,"

Which is sort of true, in a confusing way.

"I see. Are you struggling?"

You sigh. "Yes," with more than just that.

"Hm. Perhaps we can study together," you meet his eyes again. He's smiling. It's sweet. "It would be my honor to assist you in whichever way I can."

He's sweet.

You can't keep lying to him.

You swallow your fear, and look at him, refusing to let yourself shy away now.

"Malleus," you say, firmly. "A few weeks ago I... said something untrue about... you. I shouldn't have. And I'm very sorry. I know it's wrong to lie, and I shouldn't have done it, but- well, I told someone that you and I are-"

You hesitate.

"-romantically... involved. Dating. It came out before I could stop it, it just feels- felt right- I-I'm sorry."

He stops. And for a long moment, he says nothing.

You can only imagine what's going on behind those piercing green eyes. Is he mad? Is he offended? Is he hurt? Have you just completely ruined your bond with the only friend here that loves you unconditionally-

"Child of man," Malleus says, his tone soft but serious. You feel a chill go up your spine.

"...Yes, Malleus?"

Again, he says nothing. Though, this time, he only seems to be looking for the right words. He cradles his chin in his palm, looking at you with softened eyes but a raised brow, both gentle and confused.

And then, he speaks.

"Are we... not already dating?"

[river-taxbird]

Have YOU got an old Windows PC Microsoft has told you can't run Windows 11? It's time to give it a new life!

How to install Windows 11 on unsupported PC Hardware using Rufus. You can also disable some other Windows 11 bullshit like data harvesting and needing a Microsoft account.

It has been in the news a lot lately that Windows 11 isn't allowed to be installed on PCs without certain requirements, including the TPM 2.0, a chip that was only included in PCs made in 2018 or later. This means that once Windows 10 stops receiving security updates, those PCs will not be able to (officially) run a safe, updated version of Windows anymore. This has led to an estimated 240 million PCs bound for the landfill. Thanks Microsoft! I get you don't want to be seen as the insecure one, but creating this much waste can't be the solution.

(I know nerds, Linux is a thing. I love you but we are not having that conversation. If you want to use Linux on an old PC you are already doing it and you don't need to tell me about it. People need Windows for all sorts of reasons that Linux won't cut.)

So lately I have been helping some under privileged teens get set up with PCs. Their school was giving away their old lab computers, and these kids would usually have no chance to afford even a basic computer. They had their hard drives pulled so I have been setting them up with SSDs, but the question was, what to do about the operating system? So I looked into it and I found out there IS actually a way to bypass Microsoft's system requirement and put Windows 11 on PCs as old as 2010.

You will need: Rufus: An open source ISO burning tool.

A Windows 11 ISO: Available from Microsoft.

A USB Flash Drive, at least 16GB.

A working PC to make the ISO, and a PC from 2018 or older you want to install Windows 11 on.

Here is the guide I used, but I will put it in my own words as well.

Download your Windows 11 ISO, and plug in your USB drive. It will be erased, so don't have anything valuable on it. Run Rufus, select your USB drive in the Device window, and select your Windows 11 ISO with the Select button. (There is supposed to be a feature in Rufus to download your ISO but I couldn't get it to work.?

Choose standard windows installation, and follow the screenshot for your settings. Once you are done that, press Start, and then the magic happens. Another window pops up allowing you to remove the system requirements, the need for a microsoft account, and turn off data collecting. Just click the options you want, and press ok to write your iso to a drive.

From there you just need to use the USB drive to install windows. I won't go into details here, but here are some resources if you don't know how to do it.

Boot your PC from a USB Drive

Install Windows 11 from USB Drive

If you had a licensed copy of Windows 10, Windows 11 will already be licensed. If you don't, then perhaps you can use some kind of... Activation Scripts for Microsoft software, that will allow you to activate them. Of course I cannot link such tools here. So there you go, now you can save a PC made from before 2018 from the landfill, and maybe give it to a deserving teen in the process. The more we can extend the lives of technology and keep it out of the trash, the better.

Additional note: This removes the requirement for having 4GB Minimum of RAM, but I think that requirement should honestly be higher. Windows 11 will be unusable slow on any system with below 8GB of RAM. 8GB is the minimum I think you should have before trying this but it still really not enough for modern use outside of light web and office work. I wouldn't recommend trying this on anything with 4GB or less. I am honestly shocked they are still selling brand new Windows 11 PCs with 4GB of ram. If you're not sure how much RAM you have, you can find out in the performance tab of Task Manager in Windows, if you click the More Details icon on the bottom right. If you don't have enough, RAM for old systems is super cheap and widely available so it would definitely be worth upgrading if you have a ram starved machine you'd like to give a new life.

[vikuo-kuma]

“Anyone can wear Heels.. I just do it better”

— Teachers assistant! Hero! Reader x Various! Invincible

Warnings(?): mentions of blood at the end lmao

——————————

Chapter 4

“Hey pretty”, Zack stares at you from the top floor, leaning against the railing.

“Well isn’t it the only tolerable Hero I know”

“What do you mean tolerable? I’m literally your childhood friend?”, he almost looked offended by your comment, placing a hand on his chest for dramatic effect. “You know I’m joking”, raising an eyebrow towards his figure while keeping a grin on your face.

Zack looked back at your face, observing every single detail. From your lips to your eyes, seeing the obvious dark eye bags under your eyes.

“Lena over working you again?”, he wanted to start small talk, after all he hadn’t seen you for years since he was busy with wars on the Planet Geldaria. “Not really, I’ve been… having nightmares? Yeah let’s call it that”, you were trying to keep it a secret just in case your dear sister was listening in on the conversation.

“You know that I know when you’re lying”

“Uh, nuh uh”.

“Ey are you turning away from me missy?!”

You turned away from his gaze, making a face before turning back and laughing. “I missed you… truly”, a genuine smile rested upon your face, your eyes looked refreshed.

To him?

It felt like the world suddenly lit up.

“Zack? Helloooo? Earth to Zack?”, you waved a hand in his face, trying to catch his attention back. “Oh ah, yes?”, his face flustered up like he was caught doing something inappropriate.

“You seem to be distracted every time you visit”, you started walking upstairs where Zack resided.

“..is someone bullying you because you’re a dork again? If so, give me a name”, smiling so innocently, like you weren’t going to kill anyone.

“What?! No. Just distracted is all, it’snotlikeIdon’tenjoyeverymomentwehave”, playing it off by resting his head on the palm of his hand. You let out a simple laugh while looking at him. “What?”, tilting your head, while looking at him.

“I, uh-”, Zack got interrupted by Lena, slamming the door wide open. Her hair was slightly messy from what looked like her messing around with more technology. “Yikes. What happened to you”,

“New suit. Try now.”, Lena sounded out of breath but also demanding.

Your arm was suddenly yanked into the room and so was Zack. “Wait why am I getting dragged into this?”, at this point you were getting dragged across the floor of the room.

When you guys were finally let go, Lena handed you a chip to put in your ear piece.

Doing as your told, you place the chip in the area where your previous suit was at. Snapping your fingers, the new suit covers your entire body but some certain parts.

“What? Whats with the sudden quiet-ness??”

“Eh whatever, I’m going back on patrol”, you walked out, holding your new weapon. A scythe.

As you walked out of the lab, Zack’s nose started to leak, leaking blood. “Yup that’s the reaction I was looking for from you”, Lena crossed her arms under her chest while looking at his speechless face.

———————

A/N: I was sick for the past few days, and I’m still sick just less sick 👍

[tootalltech]

okay so like. lab rats: bionic island is not real, season 4 is the worst one, it's very disorganized, etc etc yes BUT. i think the angst potential of the bionic soldiers was very interesting and so under-explored.

bc like. what the hell happened with all these kids? krane basically just kidnapped them, wiped their memories, and implanted them with bionics, right? and then controlled all of them with the triton app. that's just crazy to me. bc it's like. none of these kids are like adam, bree, and chase at all when it comes down to it. they had actual families. they were not MADE to be bionic. there's a line that i keep thinking about from bob that's like "i keep asking them where they grew up, but they all just say, 'i don't know, i don't remember'!". that's so sad to me. they had families and lives that they just may never find their way back to.

and this all makes it even more depressing that they consider krane their father in bionic rebellion (sebastian especially). these are just random fucking kids. who maybe just got unlucky and were randomly picked by krane to be part of his army, or maybe were chosen for some particular reason (which is honestly kind of worse bc if any of them realized there was actually a reason, that just makes it feel more like it was somehow their fault even though it wasn't). but in the end none of these kids are related to each other, at all. they consider themselves to kind of be one big group of siblings now, but that's only because they were all put through the same trauma. and also. if they were chosen by krane for a reason. then what the fuck happened with characters like spin? or bob? they're both so young. why would krane have picked them? it gets more disturbing the more you think about it. they also are all probably not going by the names their parents gave them either. because they all got renamed to designations (S1, S2) and then renamed again when krane stopped controlling them.

and finally on the note of them not being made to be bionic the way adam, bree, and chase were: that is its own angst potential. i think the showrunners kind of forgot that they established that about the chips, that adam bree and chase can't even switch chips for a day without messing things up because they aren't built to handle each others chips. if that's really the case, then some random teenagers probably also can't handle being implanted with bionic chips? they should all be experiencing a lot more difficulties due to that. it would be fun for the difference between all of them and abc to be highlighted in a way that is not just "abc are old models" anyway. because given the actual lore of the show, no, they're probably NOT old, they're the only ones whose chips WORK PROPERLY ALL THE TIME. krane got his technology from douglas. he doesn't know how to do bionics himself, and he would not be able to make it work correctly with kids he pulled off the streets once douglas left. there's just no way.

okay thanks bionic soldiers rant over.

[colethewolf]

🌟 HAPPY FATHER'S DAY 🌟

To celebrate this special DAY OF DILFS, I compiled a list of some of the DIRTIEST & DADDIEST fics that I've written over the years.

Mind the tags for TRIGGER WARNINGS, but ENJOY!

1. Goldilocks and the Three Hales | 10k words

During a thunderstorm, Stiles' jeep runs out of gas on the empty interstate. Desperate to find somebody to help, he wanders into the woods towards the sight of chimney smoke billowing up from the dense woods. Instead of finding help, Stiles finds Derek, Peter, and Markoff Hale--the last surviving family members of the Hale pack, who just want to have some fun with their new virgin pack pet.

2. The D.A.D Chip | 29k words - 13 chapters

Rafael McCall, Gregory Hale, and Sheriff Jonathan Stilinski get their hands on some very powerful mind control technology and decide to celebrate the holidays by using the technology on their sons.

3. The Neighborly Thing to Do | Chp. 6 of The Drabble Factory

Hello I would like you to write a dabble with the theme cheating on the couple "Stiles and Derek" the cheater would be Derek Bottom with Ennis Top. I don't know if you understand why I'm using a translator haha. I love your jobs, good luck.

4. Parental Authority | Chp. 7 of "The Drabble Factory"

Sheriff finds out stiles and Derek are dating and reminds stiles who he belongs to.

5. Eavesdropping is for Winners | Chp. 9 of "The Drabble Factory"

Stiles gets fucked in a sleepover by Rafael and Derek's dad. - L

6. The Newest Addition | Chp. 20 of "The Drabble Factory"

When 18 year Derek gets kicked out of his house after he comes out as gay, his best friend, Stiles, and the Sheriff happily invites him to live with them. Derek and the Sheriff become very close and Stiles doesn't think much of it assuming Derek is just needing a parental figure.

7. School of Hard Knocks | Chp. 25 of "The Drabble Factory"

Mr. Harris is tired of Scott and Stiles talking in his class. So one day during their senior year, he gives them detention. He tells them they are going to do an experiment, staring at a video of a black and white spiral to test who can watch it longer. In reality he hypnotized them. Soon they are on top of one of the lab tables, sixty-nining or as Mr. Harris would say, using their mouths for something other than talking.

8. Putt-Putt Stilinski | Chp. 30 of "The Drabble Factory"

Could you write a fic with Stiles/Sheriff as the main pairing where the Sheriff takes the deputies out for a round of golf and Stiles is the hole. Like, his hole has been gaped open and he has to get up and walk to the holes before laying down and spreading himself open so that the balls can be putted into his hole. I don't know why I love this image so much but I cant stop thinking about it.

9. Prom Practice | Chp. 35 & Chp. 37 of "The Drabble Factory"

I don't know if this is your tea, but I never saw any fic like that, so I'll try it anyway. Boypussy!Peter, like Stiles and Derek are virgins, so Peter manipulates them both to use his pussy and hole for practicing.

10. Thanks for Dinner, Mr. Hale | Chp. 38 of "The Drabble Factory"

Anything with unaware hypno smut (maybe everyone around is oblivious as well)

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Oregon State University College of Engineering researchers have developed a more efficient chip as an antidote to the vast amounts of electricity consumed by large-language-model artificial intelligence applications like Gemini and GPT-4. "We have designed and fabricated a new chip that consumes half the energy compared to traditional designs," said doctoral student Ramin Javadi, who along with Tejasvi Anand, associate professor of electrical engineering, presented the technology at the recent IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference in Boston. "The problem is that the energy required to transmit a single bit is not being reduced at the same rate as the data rate demand is increasing," said Anand, who directs the Mixed Signal Circuits and Systems Lab at OSU. "That's what is causing data centers to use so much power."

Read more.

[somedaylazysomeday]

Noisy - Part Three

Viktor is going to be busy in the lab for the next week. He comes over to tell you personally.

Viktor x fem!reader

Rating: Explicit. Minors DNI

Word Count: 5,200

Warnings: Arguments, misunderstandings, Viktor has a chip on his shoulder, fingering, unprotected piv sex, discussions of sex with disabilities, creampie

Previous | Next | Masterlist

---

The knock on your door was a surprise. 

Not that you didn’t have friends, but very few of them worked or studied at the Academy of Science, Technology, and Innovation in Piltover. Of that small group, even fewer of them would come visit you at your apartment unannounced.

Which meant it was probably one of your neighbors. Your downstairs neighbor was a rather bubbly girl attempting to become a professional musician. She studied under a cellist who taught at the Academy - though you had never quite managed to figure out why a school of science and engineering had a concert orchestra. In any case, she helped conduct the orchestra when she wasn’t working with the professor and gave lessons to students in her off hours. 

But given that you hadn’t heard any music coming from her apartment that day, she was probably preparing for the holiday concert that the orchestra was putting on next week. 

That left Viktor - scientist, assistant to the Academy’s Dean, and your upstairs neighbor.

He was also the man you had shared a brief sexual encounter with a few weeks prior. In your defense, you had been trying to force him to go to sleep so he would stop making so much noise late at night. It didn’t hurt that Viktor was devastatingly attractive, but you had really been more focused on the sleep. 

Another knock shook you from your reverie. It was softer, almost hesitant, and you hurried to open the door. 

Sure enough, Viktor stood on the other side. You took a moment to congratulate yourself for your deductive reasoning, then smiled at him. “Hey Viktor. What’s up?” 

He smiled back, but it looked sickly. You watched his thumb strum nervously along the handle of his cane. “I wanted to let you know that I spoke to Heimerdinger and got permission to work late in the lab next week.” 

You nodded thoughtfully. “I know that curfew has been the bane of your existence for a while now. Do you have a specific project you’re working on or is he just tired of you trying to break in?” 

Viktor’s uncomfortable smile turned to a scowl and you fought back a chuckle. Stiffly, he told you, “I do not try to break in, I-” 

A hand lifted between the two of you interrupted whatever he intended to say next. With your most serious expression, you said, “Viktor! I don’t want to be a party to your crimes!” 

He gave a deep sigh. “You are a menace.” 

You finally broke, and your laughter made him smile. It was a real one and you reached out to pat his arm. “There you are. I needed to see you happy, not fake happy. You’re a terrible actor.” 

Viktor rolled his eyes, though he was still smiling. “And to think I was trying to be a considerate neighbor…”

“Go ahead,” you told him. He raised an eyebrow and you laughed despite yourself. “I’m serious! I’m done. Please say what you came here to say.” 

Though he still looked deeply skeptical, Viktor relented. “I received permission to conduct experiments outside of the lab curfew. I will be working late at the lab for much of the next week. I wanted to tell you myself.” 

A realization was tingling at the back of your mind, but like any good scientist, you needed to test it. You kept your face blankly serene as you nodded. “Thank you for letting me know, Viktor. I hope your experiments go well.” 

He looked mildly disappointed. “Thank you. And I hope your week is pleasant. You will not have me around to make noise over your head.” 

“That will take some getting used to,” you teased. 

“And you likely will not see me very often,” Viktor added, ducking his head at your joke. “When I am home, I will be sleeping. And we work in such different sections of the campus…”

You nodded slowly, your hypothesis all but proven. “That’s good to know. I would have wondered if you were avoiding me.” 

“Never,” he denied instantly. 

That made you feel warm, as did the way Viktor stood in the hall, nervously shifting his weight back and forth as his thumb tapped frantically at the handle beneath his fingers. Despite his clear unease, Viktor glanced at you every few seconds, eyes bright and hopeful in a way that you found both amusing and sweet. 

“I suppose I should leave you,” Viktor admitted, slumping slightly. 

“You know,” you started, pausing the half-pace Viktor had taken in the opposite direction. “If you want to sleep together, all you have to do is ask. If that’s in any way what you were-”

“Can we sleep together?”

The immediacy of the question made you laugh aloud even as you nodded and stepped back. “Well, I was in the middle of grading some papers, but it can wait.” 

“I can wait, if you prefer?” Viktor said, in the middle of crossing the threshold into your apartment. 

“No, you’re going to be gone for the next week,” you reminded. “Besides, this sounds much better than slogging through another essay on population ecology. Come on inside.” 

Viktor seemed almost sprightly as he stepped into your apartment, the tip of his cane hardly touching the ground. He looked around eagerly, studying the interior of your living room with such intensity that you were forcibly reminded that he had never seen it before. With that in mind, you did your best to look around with a fresh perspective. 

The furniture was well-worn - all of it was, in this particular housing unit - but you had done what you could. You'd used an assortment of soft blankets to cover stains or tears while comfortable pillows that shielded your back from spots where the padding beneath the upholstery had all but disappeared. The small table in front of the couch bore stacks of textbooks, reference guides, and the aforementioned papers you had been grading. 

The apartment’s small kitchen was visible from where Viktor was standing, a wine bottle and an old dish sitting in plain sight on the countertop. But you were far too wary of pests to allow any kind of mess in the kitchen, so you didn’t have much to be embarrassed of in there. 

Overall, it was a little messy - especially compared to the stark desolation of Viktor’s apartment - but the most notable feature of your living room wasn’t found in the furniture or in the traces of your work that were scattered around. 

You had installed a collection of corkboards and dry-erase boards around the apartment. The corkboards held the results of your latest experiments while the dry-erase boards held scrawled collections of notes and ideas about relationships between criteria. Your goal was to go around and gather those musings once per week so you could erase the boards, but it had been a while and they were cluttered with your handwriting. 

Anyone else might have made some bland comment about your apartment, but Viktor cut directly to what interested him. After moving to study one of the dry-erase boards more closely, he gestured to it and asked, “What are you attempting to calculate?” 

“Well, each board is set up to have its own focus,” you explained. “On that one in particular, I’m trying to figure out why the toxicity in the Sump level of the Undercity is as high as it is.” 

Viktor’s shoulders tightened, but his voice was bland as he said, “Perhaps it has something to do with the large levels of industrial waste and chemical byproduct that moves through or is stored in the area.” 

He was here to fuck, not fight, you reminded yourself. And yet, even after you had taken a breath and bitten back your immediate harsh response, you couldn’t let the implied insult to your scholarly skills go unchallenged. 

You marched to a corkboard on the other side of the doorway, tapping it sharply with your forefinger. “Yes, I realize that, but look at the particular levels of these toxins. They don’t match up with those you would expect to see from anything produced by the plants in Factorywood.”

“No Undercity industries admit to what they are truly producing,” Viktor said, eyes still roaming over your hastily written notes. They lingered on where you had written ‘Silco?’ beneath a particularly strong toxin found in some products from Priggs Industries. 

“”Of course they don’t,” you agreed easily. “But the toxic by-products still generally match up with what everyone knows the factories are producing. From these numbers, someone on the Sump level is creating chemical products in a quantity that threatens the existence of the entire city, not to mention the serious health risks linked to living in the Gray.”

Viktor sighed, his dark eyes meeting yours. There was a deep sadness in their depths, and it made your heart ache to see it. “It is a noble thing to work on a problem like the Undercity’s health. But you will not get far with it. Piltover has more to gain from looking to the future rather than fixing the problems of the present or the past.” 

“You’re from the Undercity, right?” you asked, needlessly. You knew where Viktor was from. Everyone did - it was one of the reasons he struggled to be respected despite his incredible intellect. 

“You think I do not care for where I am from?” he asked, a sharpness in his voice. “You think I would not keep others from enduring what I endured?” 

The sharp thump of his cane against the floor was loud in your living room, but you kept from wincing. With your steady gaze fixed on him, you slowly shook your head. “I don’t think that at all, Viktor. But I also think Piltover will care about these findings, even if it’s just for self-preservation purposes.” 

“You realize they are more likely to clear the Undercity than make meaningful changes?”

That was something you hadn’t truly considered, though you should have. Anyone with a brain knew that Piltover’s treatment of the Undercity had been reckless and unhelpful. 

Still, you lifted your chin. “I will keep that in mind moving forward, but I have to believe I can do something meaningful to help the people who have no choice but to live there.”

Viktor was quiet then, his gaze fixed blankly on the dry-erase board in front of him as his thoughts consumed him. Eventually, he tilted his head to give you a sidelong look. “Why are the boards next to doorways?” 

You smiled despite yourself. “Sometimes, I get flashes of inspiration if I only catch a glimpse of a problem. Something about seeing the information as I walk into and out of a room when I’m doing another task makes me think differently about a problem. That’s why the boards are everywhere, too - so I can write down what I’ve thought of before it has a chance to get away.” 

“It is a good idea,” Viktor admitted. 

“The Academy has plenty more boards and you definitely have the space for them,” you teased. 

The ghost of a smile flitted over Viktor’s face and the odd tension disappeared. "Perhaps I should look into having some installed. They certainly seem to be helping you." 

You made a face at him, but there was no real antagonism in it. “I have to admit, I’m surprised you’re so interested in the boards. I thought you were here for other things.” 

Viktor’s gaze sharpened as he turned to face you, but his tone was light as he retorted, “Talking about your research findings doesn’t put you in the correct frame of mind? I would have thought better of such a respected scientist.” 

The unexpected teasing brought a delighted laugh to your lips as you gave a shallow bow. “I don’t think anyone thinks of me as a respected scientist, but I appreciate the sentiment.”

“I happen to have a great deal of respect for you,” Viktor said, the effort ruined somewhat by the way he was focused on your lips. “Can I kiss you?” 

“So much for respect,” you said, leaning eagerly toward him. Viktor was smirking when his soft lips pressed against yours. 

The first time you had kissed, Viktor had been hesitant. When he had gotten over his own discomfort, the depth of his need became apparent, but not before that. This time, his intensity was immediate. After a split second of softness, Viktor’s lips firmed and he used them to part yours so his tongue could slip into the space between them. 

Viktor tried to pull back at the surprised noise you made, but you weren’t having it. Your hands fisted in the front of his vest, keeping him close as you responded to his explorations with some of your own. Viktor was exceedingly sensitive, and you teased as many reactions from him as you could manage before you parted for air, both of you panting. 

“There is such a reaction when we kiss,” Viktor mused, almost to himself. “It cannot be simple chemistry.” 

“I don’t think there’s anything simple about it,” you countered wryly. “Besides, why can’t it be chemistry? Everything else is. Every smell or taste or touch… Chemistry is how we understand and interact with the world around us. Why should kissing be any different?” 

“You are being deliberately obtuse,” Viktor muttered, mouthing butterfly kisses over your jaw and down the side of your neck. You were swaying into the sensation when his lips parted to deliver a sharp nip to the tender skin. You groaned, but didn’t move away. 

“See?” Viktor asked. “Why should that feel pleasant? Simply because of chemistry?” 

“Dopamine, serotonin, and oxycontin,” you informed him. “They’re a strong combination.”

He rolled his eyes, but leaned in again, working his way back up until he could meet you in a furious kiss once more. It managed to be more intense than the first, though both of your attention was split. Viktor was ruching your shirt upward while you were doing your best to unbutton his vest. 

“Your skin is so soft…” he murmured, and you felt like you were on fire. 

Perhaps that was why you forgot yourself, giving his vest a sharp yank. Buttons scattered across the floor and Viktor gave a disbelieving laugh. You offered an apologetic look. “This would be much easier if you didn’t insist on wearing fourteen layers at all times.”

“You are right; that was my fault,” he agreed. You smiled, though it turned to a startled laugh when his fingers tickled up your ribcage. You probably would have protested more vocally if you hadn’t been so relieved at his pulling the shirt over your head. 

“No,” you said decisively, pushing his hands away. Viktor immediately withdrew, looking apologetic, horrified, and confused. “You don’t get the easy job. I’ll take off my own clothes and you deal with all of the buttons.”

Viktor’s eyebrows arched so sharply that they approached his hairline, but he obediently began to undress himself. You made short work of your own outfit and took a comfortable seat on the couch. The soft texture of a blanket teased at your buttocks and the backs of your bare thighs and you luxuriated in the feeling. Perhaps you should lounge around your apartment in the nude more often…

Then Viktor was approaching. He was completely bare and your breath caught at the beauty of him. He was pale, all long-limbs and angular joints. Dark freckles and moles dotted his skin, almost artistic in their placement. Instead of looking small and frail, Viktor put you in mind of a sculpture. He looked like a piece of ancient artwork, perfectly formed to capture a human emotion you recognized, but couldn’t quite verbalize.

The thatch of hair at his pubic bone was dark, eye-catching surrounded by the stretches of pale skin. His cock rose from that darkness, proud and erect, the slightest hint of an upward curve that promised to do delicious things inside of you. 

Before Viktor could come too close to the couch, you stood and motioned for him to turn around. “Let’s go to my room. I want us to be comfortable.” 

When he nodded, you led the way to your room. It was plain compared to the rest of your apartment. You tried to keep the most chaotic parts of your work away. Bedrooms were for sleeping, not thinking, and you did your best to keep the two from being combined in your mind. 

But there were still touches of your personality spread around. You had specifically requested a bed that was larger than average. There were pillows scattered at the head, each one a slightly different softness so you could use whatever pillow you needed for each specific day. They were matched by different blankets across the lower part of the bed. Each one was made of different fabrics, but all of them felt like heaven against your skin. 

You stepped toward the bed, but froze when Viktor let out a soft chuckle behind you. “What?”

Viktor gestured toward the bed with his free hand. “It seems they have allocated my returned bed to you.” 

It took a moment for that to sink in, but then you belted out a laugh. “Thank you for your sacrifice, then. I hope to give you a glimpse of what you gave up.”

“It has a better life here than I could ever give it with me.” When you looked at him, Viktor was studying your body with obvious admiration. 

Before you could tell him how utterly cheesy that was - no matter how charming you found it as well - he stepped into kissing range. Well, you had always heard it was better to show than to tell…

This kiss was no less demanding than the last had been. In fact, each touch seemed to increase in urgency, building toward a precipice. It was exactly what you wanted from someone you were about to sleep with, and you started to get impatient with the teasing touches. 

“Any-” kiss “Any preference?” kiss “For position, I mean.” 

Viktor looked dazed, drunk on your lips, but a concerning thought jarred you from your self-satisfaction. “Wait, this isn’t your- Is this the first time you’ve done this?” 

He frowned at you, color rising high on his cheekbones. “Did you not ask this the last time?”

“Did I?” Honestly, as much as you had thought about that night in the time since it happened, very few of your thoughts had centered on the conversation you’d shared before your focus shifted to other things. “And what was the answer?”

“No, believe it or not,” he grumbled. “I have managed to find at least one partner before you.” 

“Oh, good.” 

Viktor’s eyebrows shot upward at that. “Not quite the reaction I had expected.”

“Sorry,” you offered instantly, hoping you hadn’t hurt his pride. Viktor seemed a little sensitive about his self-image. “I just meant that I’m glad you found someone you wanted to share this with in the past.” 

“How magnanimous,” he said dryly. “But I would prefer if you wanted to share this with me now instead of asking if I am virginal.”

“Virginal?” you asked, nose wrinkling. “Am I an 18th century lord? I don’t care if you’re- ah!”

With a well-placed push, Viktor had sent you sprawling across the bed. The sheer number of blankets over the mattress meant that the impact was so minimal that you hardly noticed it, but you still took a moment to blink up at Viktor in surprise. 

For his part, Viktor looked so self-satisfied that his expression verged on smug. He stepped up to the edge of the bed and stooped to lean over you when you remembered your original point. 

“Wait, I was asking for a reason,” you protested. 

A look of genuine irritation crossed Viktor’s handsome face. “No, you are not my first.”

“Not-” You took a second to give a silent laugh. “Not that. I meant about positions. Do you have a preference?” 

“Not in the slightest,” he assured you. “Now, if you were to ask for my preferences on when we get together, I have several strong opinions-”

“And your leg will be okay?” you asked softly. Viktor paused. “I don’t want this to hurt you.”

“I am not so delicate,” he said. “Any further objections?” 

“Only that you’re not already inside of me.” 

The stunned look on Viktor’s face at your tongue-in-cheek answer was a glorious sight to see. But it was fleeting; only a moment later, his jaw firmed with determination and he crawled onto the bed. Most of his weight was supported on his arms, planted firmly on either side of you, and the weight that remained on his legs didn’t seem to bother Viktor in the slightest. 

So you didn’t feel bad for losing yourself in the sensations. 

Perhaps, given the nature of your first hookup, you shouldn’t have been shocked that Viktor would want to explore. He sucked a mark over your collarbone, and you could feel his smile at the noises it pulled from you. When his clever fingers dropped to your breast, you froze under his touch. Viktor finally pulled away from the tender place on your skin, but only so he could study every microexpression that crossed your face at the feeling of his fingers on the sensitive peak. 

When he finally pulled away, you arched into his retreating touch. Viktor managed to soothe you into lying against the bed once more. That made it far easier for him to lower himself onto top of you, his hips pressing squarely between your thighs. Suddenly, losing his hand on your breast felt like a fair trade. 

When those talented fingers drifted down to your core, you wriggled impatiently. “I’m ready, I promise. Please, Viktor…”

He looked conflicted. “I know. I will give both of us what we want in a moment. But I- I need to feel you.”

Any further arguments you might have made faded away with the feeling of his long finger sinking into you. Your body accepted him easily, so easily that you might have been embarrassed by it if you weren’t so relieved by the feeling of something to grip with your desperate muscles. 

Viktor withdrew his finger far too soon. You groaned when he studied it for a moment before putting it in his mouth. Then you were groaning together and your core clenched so sharply that it took your breath away. 

“Viktor-”

He gave a decisive nod, lined the head of himself up with your entrance, and began pushing inside of you. As if your body was angry at having lost your previous stimulation so soon, the muscles of your channel contracted around his length. In fact, they spasmed so hard that Viktor paused. 

“Am I hurting you?” 

The real concern in his voice was sweet, but you were nearing desperation. “Only because you’re going so slow. Please, Viktor…”

He gave a stuttered half-thrust into you, clearly trying to stop himself before he drove too hard into you. With a crooked smile, he said, “Have I ever mentioned that I enjoy hearing you say my name?” 

“No, but I can do better than that,” you offered. “Start moving now and I’ll scream it for you.” 

Viktor’s eyes widened and he started a series of pulsing thrusts, each one driving himself a little further inside of you. When he was - at last - as deep as he could be, you both paused to soak in the sensations of it. His hips were flush against your ass and one of you was throbbing. You were too close to know which of you it was. 

Most of your focus was on the realization that you had been right: that slight curve of Viktor’s length was in exactly the right place to press against your g-spot. The delicious pressure of it made your toes curl and you lifted your hips in an effort to urge him deeper. 

When you remembered that your eyes worked, you smiled a little to see the intense concentration on Viktor’s face. Your hands smoothed down his back and when they were as low as you could reach, you pulled him closer, urging him into motion.

For someone who had a tendency to be oblivious, Viktor took the hint beautifully. With an audible sound from where you were joined, he pulled out. His motions were achingly slow, but he thrust back in before his head could leave you entirely. This push of his hips was made up of more mini-thrusts. The next only had a few. Then he was driving full-force into you at a pace that took your breath away. 

And his. 

Getting a little winded during sex wasn’t exactly uncommon, especially when things were as heated as they were with Viktor, but it worried you. The legs you had wrapped around his waist - though you couldn’t remember exactly when you had done that - could feel tremors wracking the right side of his body. They seemed to stem from his weaker leg, and it was quickly growing more severe. He was frowning, and while it seemed to be mostly concentration, there was more than a hint of genuine pain buried in the wrinkles of his forehead.

“Viktor,” you started, cutting off with a low cry when he slammed into you. “Viktor, wait.” 

It took another half thrust for your request to filter through the fog of good sex. When it did hit him, Viktor slowed, though you could see the strain of it in his muscles. “What is it?” 

“Roll over,” you said. “I can tell you’re hurting.” 

An expression of displeasure crossed his face. “I told you: I am fine.” 

“You aren’t,” you argued, watching his face turn incredulous. “Viktor, I can see it. It’s not a bad thing. I like being on top.” 

“I don’t need you to pretend you know what’s best for me!” he snapped. 

Arguing with someone who was currently buried inside of you was a new experience. From the stubbornness in Viktor’s eyes and the set of his jaw, he wasn’t going to let you win. You would bash yourself to pieces against the stone of Viktor’s personality. But maybe you could try a different tactic…

“Please, Viktor,” you murmured. “I promise, I’ll still make things feel good for both of us. Just let me do this. Let me take care of both of us, even if you don’t need me to.”

You watched him think that over. A direct and combative approach wouldn’t get anywhere with Viktor, he had spent too much of his life fighting. But the one-two punch of logic and emotion helped you get through the walls he had built around himself. 

He didn’t agree verbally - that would be too much like admitting defeat. But he carefully withdrew from you and settled onto the bed beside you. When you realized what was happening, you scrambled upright and straddled his thighs as soon as he was fully horizontal. 

The brief pause had done strange things to your libido, but it came roaring back as soon as you saw Viktor lying beneath you, his body still hard and eager and shining with remnants of you. 

You sank down onto him so quickly that it pulled a startled noise from both of you. And then you were moving, surging up and down so quickly that the muscles of your legs started aching almost immediately. That wasn’t enough to stop you, not nearly, especially when you saw the stunned pleasure on Viktor’s face. 

You rested your hands gently on his chest, using him more for balance than a true counterpoint, but Viktor thrust his hips sharply. The force of it knocked you off balance, pushing you forward until you were braced against him. 

His hands covered yours, keeping them planted over his heart. You glanced up at him, unsurprised to see Viktor’s intense gaze fixed on you. “I will not break.” 

You nodded, taking the low promise as truth. With the additional weight resting on your hands, your legs lifted you far more easily, working up and down on his shaft. Pressing your hips backward let you brush your clit against the thatch of coarse hair at Viktor’s base, but it also pressed that slight curve against your g-spot. Your inner muscles tightened so hard and fast that Viktor made a shocked noise and you started having trouble keeping your rhythm. 

“Are you close?” he asked, chest rising and falling more rapidly under your hands. 

You didn’t quite trust your voice, so you nodded again. He nodded with you. “Me too. Where-?”

“Inside,” you interrupted. You used birth control for several reasons, but sex actually wasn’t one of them. Having someone come inside of you wasn’t a sensation you particularly enjoyed, but you were close and pulling out was always tricky when you were on top. And Viktor felt so good…

His eyes widened. “Are you-?”

Before he could ask if you were sure, you had fallen over the edge. You fingers curled against Viktor’s skin, legs tingling so badly that you almost stopped moving on him. But as if your body was willing to circumvent your brain to keep the stimulation going, your legs and hips and torso kept going. You were moving up and down and forward and back all in an effort to chase the incredible pleasure that wracked your body and made your movements stutter.

Somewhere in the middle of your orgasm, Viktor reached his as well. He stiffened under your hands and between your legs, thrusting into you to drive you both higher. You felt his length twitch and pulse inside of you, along with a general sense of warmth as he spilled. 

When the incredible flood of endorphins began to fade, you collapsed like a puppet with cut strings. You slumped forward onto Viktor’s chest with him still buried deep inside of you. His hand came to rest on your back, stroking your overheated flesh. You stayed like that for a long while, your ear pressed to the reassuring sound of his gradually slowing pulse. 

“That was incredible,” he said eventually. His voice was low, but the awe in it was unmistakable. 

“It was pretty good,” you agreed. 

A displeased noise escaped him and you lifted your head to look at him, wincing at the way your sweaty skin had stuck to his. “What’s wrong?” 

“There is a considerable difference between ‘incredible’ and ‘pretty good’,” he told you, the disgust clear in his voice. 

You were already smiling at the way ‘pretty good’ sounded in his accent. “Sorry, I meant it was the single most mind-blowing experience of my entire life. Is that better?” 

Viktor hummed, but his amber eyes sparkled down at you. “That seems like a lie. But it is fine. We can work up to incredible.” 

You chuckled at that, and Viktor pressed a kiss to the back of your hand as you settled back against him.

---

Author's Note - You'll note that this isn't a two-part fic, but there will be another Viktor fic this Fanfic February because I had two ideas that I liked.

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you thought!

[agaselectronicmaterials]

What Is Microfluidics? An Introduction to Lab-on-Chip Technology

Discover how microfluidics and Lab-on-Chip technology are revolutionising diagnostics, research, and environmental monitoring. Learn about their precision, cost-effectiveness, and applications in healthcare, genomics, and food safety. Bring innovation to your business with cutting-edge solutions today.

[thearchivesys]

Canis Ref!! Boom!

Pretty boy scientist <3 The "creator" of Chip Did all of this on magma, because the pixel brush on it makes me happy :D Autistic mf with a hyper fixation on Technology and Pokémon He plays way too much Pokémon and Minecraft when he starts procrastinating Specifically Pokémon Arceus Canis has to play pop music to get motivated which is so real Canis is the type to be chronically tired but still be the most put together person you know. First Character I made with piercings I think, I thought it would be interesting since I've never seen a scientist with piercings before Made him have long hair because my trans men with pretty long hair need representation. And because a trans guy with a mullet asked me to. (one of my head mates) Don't be fooled by the white hair strip, that isn't dyed, mans just goes through way too much stress Not an fancy scientist by any means, Canis just has a makeshift lab in his basement. Breakdances. Yeah anyways that's it bye! - Eli

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive (Daily updates!)

By Rodielon Putol

For countless individuals worldwide, grappling with the lingering impacts of COVID-19 months after their initial recovery has become a puzzling reality.

Often referred to as “long COVID,” the condition is marked by an array of recurring symptoms, including chest pain and heart palpitations.

But why do these symptoms persist? Recent research by the University of Queensland (UQ) offers profound insights.

Cardiovascular impact of long COVID Getting to the root of the matter, the University of Queensland-led investigation focused on post-COVID cardiovascular issues. The goal was to understand why chest pain and heart palpitations persist among long COVID sufferers.

“We discovered elevated levels of cytokines, proteins which help control inflammation in the body, in the blood samples of people at about 18 months post-infection with SARS-CoV-2,” said Professor Kirsty Short.

“Lab studies showed these trace-level cytokines had a direct effect on the functionality of cardiomyocytes, the cells of the heart responsible for its pump function.”

Professor Short noted that these particular types of cells are fundamental building blocks for our heart, so damaging them can lead to cardiovascular symptoms.

Until now, the role of chronic inflammation in cardiovascular symptoms had been unclear, particularly in cases where symptoms persisted for over a year after infection.

These findings bring the medical community one step closer to understanding the full extent of COVID-19’s long-term impact on heart health.

Studying long COVID through blood samples To explore the mysteries of long COVID, the team analyzed the blood of 50 participants from across Australia.

This cohort included individuals who had been living with long COVID for over a year, those who had recovered from COVID-19, and individuals who had never been infected by the virus.

A unique technology developed at UQ’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) called “immuno-storm chip” nanotechnology, was the tool of choice to investigate trace elevated cytokines. The experts also examined markers linked with cardiac tissue damage.

Although excited about the findings, Professor Short remains cautious. “It’s only early days and these results require validation in additional patient cohorts, including those infected with more recent SARS-CoV-2 strains.”

Professor Short also noted that the study’s focus was primarily on people with cardiovascular symptoms.

Despite the limitations, the research paves the path toward a better understanding of long COVID. It presents comprehensive insights into this complex disease and could potentially enhance diagnosis and treatment options.

A collaborative scientific endeavor The research team included Jane Sinclair, a Ph.D. candidate from UQ’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, Courtney Vedelago from AIBN, and Dr. Feargal J. Ryan of the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute.

The study represents a collaborative effort by multiple institutes, including UQ’s School of Mathematics and Physics, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Faculty of Medicine, Mater Health Queensland, Mater Research Institute-UQ, and several other institutions.

COVID’s lasting impact on heart health The findings from the study highlight the importance of understanding the long-term cardiovascular effects of COVID-19, particularly for individuals grappling with symptoms over a year post-infection.

By identifying elevated cytokine levels and their impact on cardiomyocytes, the research opens doors for targeted treatments focused on reducing inflammation to protect heart health in long COVID patients.

“An estimated 65 million people globally suffer from post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), with many experiencing cardiovascular symptoms like chest pain and heart palpitations,” noted the study authors.

Guiding future research While the research team remains cautious about drawing broad conclusions, they acknowledge the study’s potential in guiding future research.

This initial study suggests a need for expanded research across larger and more diverse populations to confirm the findings.

Additionally, future investigations could explore whether specific anti-inflammatory therapies might mitigate the persistent cardiovascular symptoms observed in long COVID patients.

This study marks a pivotal step in understanding long COVID, but it’s only the beginning. By continuing to investigate the role of chronic inflammation, scientists hope to develop clearer diagnostic tools and treatments, ultimately improving the quality of life for those affected by this complex condition.

The study is published in the journal Nature Microbiology. www.nature.com/articles/s41564-024-01838-z

[inkfal]

Hi! I noticed you mentioned a doppel-gilly au, and I have Thoughts about doppel-gilly, do you also have Thoughts and if so may I hear them? I'm fascinated by the idea of a siren au

HEHE I LOVE TALKING ABOUT MY THOUGHTS

This will not be coherent and it’s only a half fledged au but HERE WE GO

Firstly is about the doppelgängers. I feel like the mimics that were in the Sakura sea during the incident probably became corrupted as well, and began taking the form of anyone who fell into the water. The Navy probably experimented on them, with the Promised bastion instead being mostly a lab. The navy would do tests with their soldiers to learn about more cloning technology, and some failures would escape, (Ones that didn’t retain the persons memories or looked too siren-like.)

Keeping with the canon happenings, the sirens might not need to kill their victims, just give them that tidestrider special and steal their skin. My thought is that they trap their victims at the bottom of the sea with old chains and typically the victims die anyways since they can’t breath underwater/they starve eventually. So Gillion is still alive and escapes after a bit.

Secondly is how they got Gillion into the water. Some possible things I’m considering is 1: It was a random mimic/siren that took the form of a helpless civilian on a raft or something, and Gillion went “DESTINY” and jumped in to help. The second option is that Eden was working with the navy and she had been one of the randomly selected people to get cloned, after it didn’t work out, the doppelgänger escaped with sort of half baked memories. So the siren would remember Gillion and convive him to come into the water because she believed it was her brother.

The navy doppels are a bit different than the original mimic/siren things. The navy doppels don’t really understand they are doppelgängers, and can’t change their form, and only have some memories of the real person. They also can’t sing, and have to use their looks to trick people.

The original mimics that haven’t been tested on work more like animals, but do gain the most important memories of that person. They also can change their form regularly. Normal doppels have the ability to lure sailors with singing, (which is basically retextured suggestion.) They hunt in packs, usually with one as the bait and the others waiting to eat whoever falls in. Basically, navy doppels think they are the real person, normal doppels don’t.

The doppels that lures Gillion is a navy doppel, which is why he wasn’t eaten alive. Because fake-Eden believed that was her brother. The one that takes Gillion’s form is a real mimic, and only learns enough to go back to the albatross.

NOW, why would the doppel go for Chip? Well 1. I’m a fnc truther and the drama would be AMAZING 2. Even platonically, chip trusts gill so much he would totally believe gill came back normal. (Because he HAS IN CANON) 3. In my head, the crew probably split up at an island with one half watching the ship, and the others looking for survivors to ask about the sirens in the area or a way to get Gill back, Jay going on the island and Chip being on the ship.

How I think it ends is with Jay and half of the crew barely managing to save the other half from the extra doppelgängers with doppel-gilly, when she realizes Chip isn’t on the ship. Chip is currently in the water drowning and being torn to shreds by the doppel when out of nowhere, a certain holy fish appears! (With 1HP because that was canon) and helps get Chip and himself on the ship so the albatrio can beat doppel-Gillion up. In the au, they just kill him instead of him pulling the idiot card.

So… yeh! That’s what I’ve got so far. It’s a little wonky but it’s fun to think about! Sorry for the rant lmao

[snake-ey3s]

Serpens at your service~

OOC: I started this au as a joking accident and it got too real

Welcome to New Dahlia, 2082! Here's some lore I made!

A mix of Empowered and Unempowered humans got ahold of the sovereign D'Deridahn, and quickly used him as a power-source and used parts of him to advance themselves technologically, socially, medically, militarily, etcetera.

This AUs version of D.U.M.P is D.E.V.I.L (Department of Exportation, Vanguard, Integration, and Law) What are they Exporting? You don't wanna find out :)

And Empowered person? Enjoy life to the fullest! You could be an average Joe, a rich and powerful sipping champagne from your balcony, or if you're really unlucky, thrown out like yesterday's garbage into the slums (and if you're really unlucky you're born there)

You wanna be a d(a)emon? Great! Except not! A d(a)emons career path is strictly to be drained of magic to fuel the city (wouldn't want to use up the Sovereign they already have now would they) With calculated feeding times in sad rooms!

Inchoate demons are by far the most hired by the city

With

Sadism, Misery, and Strife demons being the second most hired (usually feeding off of gang members, depressed pencil pushers, or people who lose their loved ones in the slums)

Shock and Elation demons being the third most hired (Having jumpy junkies high on happy drugs to feed)

Conccubi being the fourth most hired

(Any horny fuck picked off from the streets will do)

And Serenity and Empathy Daemons are rarely if at all hired

Which is great! Except Not! (Part 2)

Congratulations, if you're a d(a)emon, get ready to be a useful pet for high class/elite jackoffs!

Hold stuff

Fetch them things

Do their work

Give them sexual favors! If your human wants it, you're gonna give it to them!

Oh you wanna rift?

Sorry pal, d(a)emons get captured as soon as they end up in New Dahlia! Get ready to have a chip implanted in your prefrontal cortex, implanted by cutting the thin layer of bone above the eye socket, preventing you from rifting, so once you're on elegy you're stuck there!

Hm? Oh? You got turned?

... you're probably a part of a mafia gang! Just high enough to enjoy the luxuries of life but just below the guys in the ivory towers and silver spoons. But don't worry! We've advanced technology so you can get high and drink until you black out just like the good ol days! (Ignore your vamp friends overdosing and dying from alcohol poisoning because it's just a bit too addictive)

Oh, you're unempowered? Not really... I mean, you could have a hand that could fire bullets or metal legs that can move as fast as a car! With how many body mods, enhancements, and brain downloads you could get, you might as well be Empowered! Sure, they ain't cheap, but what is? Inflation? You're talking silly! (Don't look at the rates of people who went fucking crazy and spiraled into a former version of themselves because of too many body mods, enhancements, and brain downloads. Sure, a lot of them went brain-dead vegetable and felt their mind melting, but you're built different! ... right?)

This post will be updated anytime something new should be added and I will also make separate posts about any updates!

These lovely people also have their own Cyberpunk AU oc blogs and you should follow them because they're cool!

Important posts!

D.E.V.I.L does love their science labs (ethics not included)

How to capture a Sovereign

Choose your college

Cybernetic updater

Serpens gang

@localpigeon22 @ryn-halo26 @silver-timetravel @vind3miat0r @aurorialwolf @moonvalley94 @original-bookshelf @sandypuppet @riotkitsune