Scientists launched a global initiative on Friday to map out and describe every cell in the human body in a vast atlas that could transform researchers’ understanding of human development and disease. The atlas, which could take more than a decade to complete, aims to chart the types and properties of all human cells across all […]
Research & Development
CERN researcher’s fertility app is as good as oral contraceptives, condoms
Natural Cycles, the fertility app developed by former CERN particle physicist Elina Berglund, is reportedly as effective at preventing pregnancy as oral contraceptives or condoms, boasting a 99.5% efficacy rate. Berglund began working on the app while she was still at the particle physics laboratory in Geneva, she told Wired. “I wanted to give my […]
Consort Medical’s Bespak inks Syrina auto-injector development deal
Consort Medical (LON:CSRT) subsidiary Bespak said today that it inked a development agreement with an undisclosed biopharmaceutical company for its Syrina auto-injector. The deal makes Bespak responsible for early-stage development of the auto-injector. If the undisclosed partner agrees to commercialize the developed product, both parties will enter into a full commercial supply agreement, the company said. Rather […]
Real-time MRI in stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s
Researchers have observed that using intraoperative real-time MRI to guide induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons into the brains of non-human primates modeled with Parkinson’s disease yields better visualization and increased cell survival. The study, which will be published in the American Society for Neural Therapy and Repair issue of Cell Transplantation, was conducted at the Wisconsin National Primate Research […]
Tunable hydrogel helps predict tissue response to chemotherapy
Researchers from the Wyss Institute developed a hydrogel microenvironment to evaluate how physical properties like stiffness of the extracellular matrix impacts the efficacy of chemotherapy. “To have success with chemotherapy and other drug therapies, we will likely need to screen their effectiveness against cells living in various environments, and not just assume that cells will always […]
Bioprinted 3D renal architecture recapitulates kidney function
Researchers from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have bioprinted a functional 3D renal architecture with living human epithelial cells. Previously, the team bioprinted tissue constructs made of living cells alongside a vascular network in an extracellular matrix. These constructs are functional in vitro for more than a month. “The current work […]
Engineered “building blocks” could form complex nano-structures
A team of researchers from the University of Melbourne have developed a method to turn particles into “building blocks” for complex nano-structures, according to a study published in Nature Nanotechnology. “Nano-objects are difficult to manipulate, as they’re too tiny to see directly by eye, far too small to hold, and often have incompatible surfaces for assembling […]
Researchers develop personalized 3D-printed vascular stents
Researchers from Northwestern University have developed a 3D-printed vascular stent that can be personalized to the patient, the school reported this week. The stents are made of a biodegradable, citric acid-based polymer that researchers could load with drugs to release slowly as the blood vessel wall heals. “Right now, the vast majority of stents are […]
Microchip imaging platform for roundworms could accelerate research
Researchers developed a microchip imaging platform to image-analyze thousands of roundworms simultaneously, according to the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. This is the 1st large-scale, in vivo drug discovery platform using a whole animal model, the school reported. The study, published in Nature Communications, detailed a flexible, cellphone-sized chip with […]
Report finds ethosomes as promising transdermal delivery mechanism
Ethosomes – nanocarriers loaded with ethanol – can penetrate the skin’s protective layers and deliver a variety of drugs, a review published in Current Clinical Pharmacology reported today. Transdermal delivery of drugs is touted by some researchers as promising, since it’s noninvasive and avoids any interaction with the gastrointestinal tract. Ethosomes are malleable and their […]
