Implantable devices that release insulin into the body hold promise as an alternative way to treat diabetes without insulin injections or cannula insertions. However, one obstacle that has prevented their use so far is that the immune system attacks them after implantation, forming a thick layer of scar tissue that blocks insulin release. This phenomenon, known as the foreign body response, can also interfere with many other types of implantable medical devices. However, a team of MIT engineers and collaborators…

Development of effective live bacterial therapeutics may depend more on using and re-introducing native microbes that can stick around than how the microbes are modified. Residing within the human gut are trillions of bacteria and other microorganisms that can impact a variety of chronic human ailments, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, cancer, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and inflammatory bowel disease. Numerous diseases are associated with imbalance or dysfunction in gut microbiome. Even in diseases that don’t involve the microbiome,…

A breakdown of lipid metabolism in these brain cells promotes inflammation and interferes with neuron activity, a new study finds. One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease is a reduction in the firing of some neurons in the brain, which contributes to the cognitive decline that patients experience. A new study from MIT shows how a type of cells called microglia contribute to this slowdown of neuron activity. The study found that microglia that express the APOE4 gene, one of…

UC San Diego and Salk scientists uncover surprising connection that results in abnormal inflammation and development of atherosclerosis; findings could lead to new therapeutics for other diseases as well. Mitochondria are organelles found within most cells, best known for generating the chemical energy required to power cellular functions. Increasingly, however, researchers are discovering how mitochondrial function — and dysfunction — play critical roles in numerous diseases, and even aging. In a new study published in the August 4, 2022 online…

… awakens stem cells to repair damaged muscle. Study published in Science opens up new avenues for enhancing muscle regeneration. A new study published in the journal Science reveals a unique form of cell communication that controls muscle repair. In damaged muscle, stem cells must work together with immune cells to complete the repair process, yet how these cells coordinate to ensure the efficient removal of dead tissue before making new muscle fibers has remained unknown. The scientists have now…

Researchers use single-cell approaches and deep learning to map all stages of fruit fly embryo development, possibly moving one-step closer to predictive embryonic genomics. Scientists have constructed the most complete and detailed single-cell map of embryo development in any animal to date, using the fruit fly as a model organism. Published in Science, this study, co-led by Eileen Furlong at EMBL and Jay Shendure at the University of Washington, harnesses data from over one million embryonic cells spanning all stages…

Cardiomyopathy is not a uniform disease. Rather, individual genetic defects lead to heart failure in different ways, an international consortium reports in Science. The molecular and cellular mechanisms that lead to heart failure in people with cardiomyopathy are determined by the specific gene variant that each patient carries, according to newly published research based on the first comprehensive single-cell analysis of cardiac cells from healthy and failing hearts. The work, reported in the journal Science, was conducted by 53 scientists from six countries in North…

Researchers from TU Delft have constructed the smallest flow-driven motors in the world. Inspired by iconic Dutch windmills and biological motor proteins, they created a self-configuring flow-driven rotor from DNA that converts energy from an electrical or salt gradient into useful mechanical work. The results open new perspectives for engineering active robotics at the nanoscale. The article is now published in Nature Physics.  Elusive Rotary motors have been the powerhouses of human societies for millennia: from the windmills and waterwheels…

… that can be faithfully moved during cell division. Researchers from the Gerlich Group at IMBA – Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences – discovered a molecular mechanism that confers special physical properties to chromosomes in dividing human cells to enable their faithful transport to the progeny. The team showed how a chemical modification establishes a sharp surface boundary on chromosomes, thus allowing them to resist perforation by microtubules of the spindle apparatus. The findings are…

SCIENTISTS at the University of Huddersfield have secured significant funding to develop novel and sustainable molecular materials that harness light to drive useful chemical reactions. The project will be led by inorganic chemists Professor Paul Elliott and Dr Paul Scattergood, within the University’s Centre for Functional Materials in the School of Applied Sciences.  Funded by the Leverhulme Trust, and with initial seed corn funding for preliminary work from the University’s International Collaborative Fund for strategic partnerships, from  the project is…

New technologies provide unprecedented view of virus’ ‘weird biology’—critical for future biomedical applications against bacterial infections. Humans aren’t the only targets for viruses. Like us, bacteria become infected by many types of viruses. In fact, across billions of years, bacteria and viruses have engaged in a non-stop evolutionary arms race for survival that includes countless innovations and counter-adaptations. Recently, biomedical scientists have ramped up interest in viruses known as bacteriophages, or phages, which can infect and kill dangerous bacteria. Phages,…

UMass Amherst team engineers biofilm capable of producing long-term, continuous electricity from your sweat. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently announced that they have figured out how to engineer a biofilm that harvests the energy in evaporation and converts it to electricity. This biofilm, which was announced in Nature Communications, has the potential to revolutionize the world of wearable electronics, powering everything from personal medical sensors to personal electronics. “This is a very exciting technology,” says Xiaomeng Liu,…

New sensor can measure unknown sugar concentrations in real-time. Researchers have harnessed the light-guiding properties of spider silk to develop a sensor that can detect and measure small changes in the refractive index of a biological solution, including glucose and other types of sugar solutions. The new light-based sensor might one day be useful for measuring blood sugar and other biochemical analytes. “Glucose sensors are crucial to people with diabetes, but these devices tend to be invasive, uncomfortable and not…

University of Cincinnati researchers publish findings of technique that helps naturally balance mitochondria. New research from the University of Cincinnati shows early indications that light can be used as a treatment for certain diseases, including cancer. Researchers from UC, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University at Buffalo published the results of their study demonstrating light-activated proteins can help normalize dysfunction within cells in the journal Nature Communications July 25. Research findings The research centers on the functions of…

The strategy was tested at the Federal University of São Carlos. The conversion took place under ambient temperature and pressure conditions, which could enable methane, a potent greenhouse gas, to be used to produce fuel. A group of researchers has succeeded in converting methane into methanol using light and dispersed transition metals such as copper in a process known as photo-oxidation. According to an article reporting the study published in Chemical Communications, the reaction was the best obtained to date for conversion of methane…

Chemists at the University of Münster present new method for β-amino acid derivatives from alkenes or (hetero)arenes. Chemists at the University of Münster have developed a novel and straightforward way to produce complex organic molecules. Mild reaction conditions, simple operation, scalability and the use of an inexpensive and commercially available photosensitizer make the method interesting for industrial applications. The results of the study are currently (Aug. 1) published in Nature Chemistry. “Visible light has proven to be a powerful tool…