Biongineering new bone growth
MIT chemical engineers have devised a new implantable tissue scaffold coated with bone growth factors that are released slowly over a few weeks. When applied...
NEWS INDEX
Artificial Cells Act Like the Real Thing
Imitation, they say, is the sincerest form of flattery, but mimicking the intricate networks and dynamic interactions that are inherent to living cells is difficult...
Bionic Liquids from Lignin
While the powerful solvents known as ionic liquids show great promise for liberating fermentable sugars from lignocellulose and improving the economics of advanced biofuels, an...
Epigenetic breakthrough bolsters understanding of Alzheimer’s disease
A team led by researchers at the University of Exeter Medical School and King's College London has uncovered some of the strongest evidence yet that...
Scientists make major breakthrough in understanding leukaemia
Scientists from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) have discovered mutations in genes that lead to childhood leukaemia of the acute lymphoblastic type – the...
Bioengineers Develop an “Epigenetic Toolbox”
It's not surprising that this challenge from the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition garnered interest from engineering schools across the country. What was surprising...
An Attractive Solution for Heart Repair
Stem cell therapy is a promising option for repairing heart tissue damaged by heart attack. However, the main obstacle to cardiac stem cell therapy also...
Harnessing the power of bacteria’s sophisticated immune system
Bacteria’s ability to destroy viruses has long puzzled scientists, but researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health say they now have a...
A self-organizing thousand-robot swarm
The first thousand-robot flash mob has assembled at Harvard University. “Form a sea star shape,” directs a computer scientist, sending the command to 1,024 little...
Could your brain be reprogrammed to work better?
Researchers from The University of Western Australia have shown that electromagnetic stimulation can alter brain organisation which may make your brain work better. In results...
Plants may use newly discovered molecular language to communicate
The discovery throws open the door to a new arena of science that explores how plants communicate with each other on a molecular level When...
Do gut bacteria rule our minds?
It sounds like science fiction, but it seems that bacteria within us — which outnumber our own cells about 100-fold — may very well be...
Using Light to Diagnose Parkinson’s
Xue Han investigates Parkinson’s disease with an unusual tool: light. Han is a pioneer in the young field of optogenetics, in which scientists reengineer nerve...
Preventing Immune Cells From Turning Against Body
When faced with pathogens, the immune system summons a swarm of cells made up of soldiers and peacekeepers. The peacekeeping cells tell the soldier cells...
Will Genomics Soon Explain the Human Brain Gain?
How close is genomics to showing us how the human brain evolved? Recently three geneticists at the forefront of human evolutionary genomics joined a discussion...