End to the pain of injection

Good news for needlephobes: a team of Japanese and Indian scientists has created a painless injection method that mimics the way a female mosquito sucks blood, says the Daily Times (Pakistan). The scientists from Tokai University and the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur have developed a microneedle that emulates the way a female mosquito sucks blood by flexing and relaxing muscles in its proboscis, which creates suction and draws blood. Their microneedle has a pump in it which creates suction, making it painless in comparison with traditional needles. It is also strong enough to penetrate up to three millimetres into skin and reach capillary blood vessels, and can be used to inject insulin or other drugs into patients.