Tuning the body’s inflammatory response with hydrogels
Custom-designed hydrogels offer effective inflammation control
News
Crab-shell and seaweed compounds spin into yarns for functional materials
Biobased fibres are made from two renewable marine resources and with promise in advanced applications, in wovens and medical materials, among others. The threads draw strength from the crab chitin component and flexibility from seaweed alginate
Neuromuscular organoid: It’s contracting!
Researchers established a new model to study neuromuscular development and disorders. For the first time two distinct human tissues co-developed in the lab from one progenitor cell type and self-organized into a complex, functional neuromuscular organoid
Reprogramming cells to original state for regenerative medicine
Scientists have found a way to induce totipotency in embryonic cells that have already matured into pluripotency. This has great potential to improve cell engineering capabilities for regenerative medicine therapeutics
Exploring spinal discs early response to injury and ways to improve it
Researchers showed in animal models that the default injury response can be temporarily stopped to allow for better treatment
Polymerized estrogen shown to protect nervous system cells
Medical researchers have demonstrated how estrogen — a natural hormone produced in the body — can be polymerized into a slow-releasing biomaterial and applied to nervous system cells to protect those cells and even promote regeneration
Light-activated biomimetic hydrogel for infection-beating wound dressings
The work is a good starting point for making wound dressings with “built-in infection stoppers”
Tiny magnetic structures enhance medical science
Researchers review promising new nanomaterials that can be used in cancer diagnosis and as MRI contrast agents
New thermal process creates plastic-like material from silk
A new method for the solid-state thermal processing of silk allows the biopolymer to be molded directly into bulk parts with tunable properties