Sweet Coating for Sour Bones: Bridge-Burning Coating for Bone Implants
Osteoporosis is a leading global health challenge. Besides its own adverse effects, it also impairs the function of bone implants — normally made of a…
Biotechnology
Apples May Boost Brain Function, Stimulate the Production of New Brain Cells
Natural compounds found in apples and other fruits may help stimulate the production of new brain cells, which may have implications for learning and memory,…
STINGing Tumors With Nanoparticles – Boosting the Body’s Innate Immune System to Fight Cancer
New immunotherapy drug activates the body’s innate immune system to fight cancer. A new nanoparticle-based drug can boost the body’s innate immune system and make…
Winner-Takes-All Synthetic Gene Circuit Process Opens New Pathways to Treat Cancer and Other Diseases
Division of synthetic gene circuit workloads will make therapy more effective. A new process for inserting synthetic gene circuits into host cells, developed by a…
No More Needles for Diagnostic Tests? Engineers Develop Nearly Pain-Free Microneedle Patch
Nearly pain-free microneedle patch can test for antibodies and more in the fluid between cells. Blood draws are no fun. They hurt. Veins can burst,…
New Biosensors Quickly Detect COVID-19 Coronavirus Proteins and Antibodies
When mixed with fluid from a nasal swab or blood sample, these protein sensors emit light within minutes. Scientists have created a new way to…
Our Gut-Brain Connection Revealed by “Organs-on-a-Chip” System
‘Organs-on-a-chip’ system sheds light on how bacteria in the human digestive tract may influence neurological diseases. In many ways, our brain and our digestive tract…
Smartphone-Based COVID-19 Test Developed That Delivers Results in 10 Minutes
The method analyzes saliva samples and delivers results in about 10 minutes. Researchers at the University of Arizona are developing a COVID-19 testing method that…
Heart Recovery After Heart Attack Mapped in Great Detail
Researchers from the Hubrecht Institute mapped the recovery of the heart after a heart attack with great detail. They found that heart muscle cells —…
Scientists “Farm” Natural Killer Cells Using a Microfluidic Chip in Novel Cancer Fighting Approach
Engineers and oncologists teamed to develop a microfluidic chip capable of capturing the body’s natural killer immune cells to harvest their cancer-killing exosomes. Building on…
Lab-Grown Three-Dimensionally Reconstituted Organoids That Are Just Like Human Organs
Organoids are organ-like tissues derived from stem cells that are grown in labs, often referred to as miniature organs. Because they can imitate the structure…
Avalanching Nanoparticles Break Barriers to Imaging Cells in Real Time
Study co-led by Berkeley Lab and Columbia Engineering could lead to simple, high-resolution bioimaging in real time by overcoming a fundamental property of light. Since…
Chemists Invent Shape-Shifting Nanomaterial With Intriguing Biomedical Potential
Chemists have developed a nanomaterial that they can trigger to shape shift – from flat sheets to tubes and back to sheets again – in…
Simulating Evolution to Understand a Hidden Genetic Switch
Some organisms evolve an internal switch that can remain hidden for generations until stress flicks it on. Computer simulations of cells evolving over tens of…
New COVID-19 Vaccine: Nanoparticle Immunization Technology Could Protect Against Many Strains of Coronaviruses
Method presents the immune system with several different coronaviruses at once. The SARS-CoV-2 virus that is causing the COVID-19 pandemic is just one of many…
Cure for Blindness in Sight: Retinal Stem Cell Transplant Clears Experimental Hurdle
Retinal cells derived from adult human eye stem cells survived when transplanted into the eyes of monkeys, an important early step in the validation of…
Giving Computers a Keen Sense of Smell – Researchers Create a Biohybrid Olfactory Sensor
A keen sense of smell is a powerful ability shared by many organisms. However, it has proven difficult to replicate by artificial means. Researchers combined…
Peeking Inside Human “Mini-Brains” to Understand the Brain, Study Disease and Test New Medicines
Revealing details of the internal structure of ‘mini-brains’ could help accelerate drug studies and may offer alternatives to some animal testing. ‘Mini-brains’ are pin-head sized…