Researchers showed in animal models that the default injury response can be temporarily stopped to allow for better treatment
Exploring spinal discs early response to injury and ways to improve it
News
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
Scientists boost gene-editing tools to new heights in human stem cells
Proof-of-concept shows genes implicated in Alzheimer’s disease can be accurately edited with 90% efficiency in human stem cells
Smart contact lenses power up
Supercapacitors and antennae for wireless charging can be deposited directly onto the surface of a contact lens, paving the way towards multifunctional smart contact lenses
Cancer study may help researchers create usable blood stem cells
Study identifies a possible new way to convince pluripotent cells to make hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). And, ironically, a possible way to do this lies in magnifying a gene that causes a form of childhood leukemia
Artificial muscle sheets transform stem cells into bone
Programmable biomaterials for bone regeneration introduced