/ en-us Â鶹ÒùÔº internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Â鶹ÒùÔºics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. According to UNESCO, plastic waste makes up 80% of all marine pollution, with 8–10 million metric tons of plastic making its way into our oceans each year. USC Viterbi School of Engineering researchers have discovered a mineral commonly found in seashells could be the key to a safer plastic alternative. /news/2025-04-eco-friendly-plastic-mineral-seashells.html Biochemistry Polymers Wed, 16 Apr 2025 11:22:03 EDT news664021321 An important chapter of the history of human occupation on the coast of Brazil is being rewritten by Brazilian researchers affiliated with the University of São Paulo's Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology (MAE-USP). /news/2024-06-hypothesis-occupation-brazil-southern-coast.html Archaeology Tue, 18 Jun 2024 09:12:04 EDT news637920721 Scientists have combined laser 3D printing technology and an alternate soaking process to construct complex 3D structures that mimic bone microstructure. This is the first demonstration of this fabrication method, and it will lead to the development of 3D cell culture systems that can support bone grafts or create artificial bone marrow. /news/2024-02-team-fabrication-method-3d-mimic.html Biochemistry Polymers Mon, 12 Feb 2024 16:20:04 EST news626977201 In the 19th century, the market for ivory products increased to an alarming point. This high demand led to the search for artificial substitutes, but ivory properties were nearly impossible to replicate. The most important substitutes came from Alexander Parkes and John Wesley Hyatt, inventors of the first artificial plastics: Parkesine and celluloid. /news/2023-11-successful-substitutes-ivory-billiard-balls.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Fri, 24 Nov 2023 12:50:01 EST news620037832 The ancient Egyptians believed that when we died, our spiritual body sought out an afterlife similar to this world. But entry into this afterlife wasn't guaranteed; it first required a perilous journey through the underworld, followed by an individual last judgment. For this reason, relatives and embalmers did everything they could to ensure that their loved one might reach a happy destination. /news/2023-01-golden-boy-mummy-precious-amulets.html Archaeology Tue, 24 Jan 2023 00:10:01 EST news593710741 Over-the-counter pain relievers, physical therapy, steroid injections—some people have tried it all and are still dealing with knee pain. /news/2022-08-stiff-achy-knees-lab-made-cartilage.html Materials Science Thu, 11 Aug 2022 16:09:09 EDT news579452943 In the Stone Age, pendants with potent symbolism were made from animal teeth and bones, adorning clothes or accessories and serving as rattles. Human bones were also used as a raw material for pendants, as demonstrated by a study where burial finds dating back more than 8,200 years were re-examined after 80 years. /news/2022-07-human-bones-pendants-stone-age.html Archaeology Thu, 07 Jul 2022 09:00:03 EDT news576403201 Composite hydrogels can incorporate natural polymers and bioactive glass as promising materials for bone regeneration. However, the applications of such constructs are limited by poor compatibility between organic and inorganic phases. In a new study now published in Science Advances, Xinxin Ding, and a research team in medicine, in Shanghai China, formed an electrostatically reinforced hydrogel (abbreviated CAG) with improved interfacial compatibility. To accomplish this, they introduced amino-functionalized bioactive glass to the alginate/gellan gum matrix. When compared with bioactive glass, the electrostatically reinforced hydrogel indicated a more uniform porous structure with a pore size of 200 µm and an optimal compressive strength of 66 kPa. Using the reinforced hydrogel, the team promoted the phenotype transition of macrophages and upregulated the osteogenic gene expression of stem cells. They showed how new bone formation was also accelerated in vivo with enhanced biomineralization of the electrostatically reinforced hydrogel, with biocompatibility ideally suited for bone regeneration. /news/2021-12-biopolymer-hydrogel-amino-functionalized-bioactive-glass.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Fri, 17 Dec 2021 11:40:03 EST news558960680 Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a new biomaterial made entirely from discarded bullfrog skin and fish scales that could help in bone repair. /news/2021-05-scientists-aquaculture-biomaterial-tissue.html Materials Science Thu, 27 May 2021 10:18:56 EDT news541329530 For centuries, ivory was often used to make art objects. But to protect elephant populations, the ivory trade was banned internationally in 1989. To restore ivory parts of old art objects, one must therefore resort to substitute materials—such as bones, shells or plastic. However, there has not been a really satisfactory solution so far. /news/2021-04-3d-printed-material-ivory-artifacts.html Materials Science Wed, 14 Apr 2021 10:22:13 EDT news537614530 The current gold standard for bone grafting surgery includes autografts and allografts, although a growing demand exists to develop synthetic biomaterials for enhanced bio-integration in bone tissue engineering. In a new report now published on Nature Communications Materials, Hideo Fushimi and a research team in bioscience and engineering, and reconstructive biotechnology in Japan and the U.S., developed a biodegradable scaffold material using recombinant proteins or polypeptides as a source of hydrogel-based graft materials. The team used human type I collagen alpha 1 chain (abbreviated RCPhC1) as a source to develop the recombinant polypeptide and demonstrated the flexibility of the material to engineer ideal characteristics for bone grafts. The team also developed RCPhC1 bone grafts using a highly scalable, streamlined production protocol for the robust generation of mature bone tissue in the lab. The bone graft completely resorbed after tissue regeneration in a preclinical animal model for effective biological integration. /news/2020-11-recombinant-collagen-polypeptide-versatile-bone.html Biochemistry Materials Science Mon, 30 Nov 2020 10:40:01 EST news525954790 University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers have developed a safer and more efficient way to deliver a promising new method for treating cancer and liver disorders and for vaccination—including a COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna Therapeutics that has advanced to clinical trials with humans. /news/2020-07-tiny-mineral-particles-vehicles-gene.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 02 Jul 2020 10:17:56 EDT news512903869 The thin, slippery layer of cartilage between the bones in the knee is magical stuff: strong enough to withstand a person's weight, but soft and supple enough to cushion the joint against impact, over decades of repeat use. That combination of soft-yet-strong has been hard to reproduce in the lab. But now, Duke University researchers say they've created an experimental gel that's the first to match the strength and durability of the real thing. /news/2020-06-lab-cartilage-mimicking-gel-strong-knees.html Materials Science Fri, 26 Jun 2020 11:03:00 EDT news512388178 A team from the Research Group in Mediterranean Social Archaeology (ASOME) at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) has led an international study to reconstruct the diet of the El Argar society of the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula (2220-1550 BCE) and distinguish the subsistence strategies of the populations of this archaeological complex. Published in PLOS ONE, the study was conducted with biological material extracted from the excavation site of La Bastida in Totana, Murcia, one of the oldest cities in Europe, and from another smaller site known as Gatas, located in Turre, Almeria. /news/2020-03-intensive-crops-livestock-spurred-la.html Archaeology Wed, 11 Mar 2020 14:00:08 EDT news503132937 A new way of making bone-replacement materials that allows for cells to grow around and inside them has been developed by researchers at the University of Birmingham. /news/2020-02-scientists-chemical-gardens-bone-substitute.html Materials Science Fri, 07 Feb 2020 03:16:03 EST news500267758 Researchers at McMaster University have found that a person's first permanent molars carry a life-long record of health information dating back to the womb, storing vital information that can connect maternal health to a child's health, even hundreds of years later. /news/2019-11-adult-molars-fossils-health-dating.html Plants & Animals Mon, 11 Nov 2019 10:27:19 EST news492690427 Prehistoric Iberians created "imitation amber" by repeatedly coating bead cores with tree resins, according to a study published May 1, 2019 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Carlos Odriozola from Universidad de Sevilla, Spain, and colleagues. /news/2019-05-examples-iberian-prehistoric-imitation-amber.html Archaeology Wed, 01 May 2019 14:00:01 EDT news475904928 Bioinspired materials mimic their natural counterparts for characteristic functionality in multidisciplinary applications forming a popular theme in biomaterials development. In bone tissue engineering, for instance, researchers focus on the natural composite architecture of bone, organically designed from complex structures of mineralized collagen. The resulting bioengineered constructs include inorganic/organic composites based on native mammalian bone components such as carbonated apatite and collagen. However, microparticle incorporation to material constructs can cause complications during premature in vivo resorbability, due to their brittle nature. /news/2019-04-differentiation-bone-precursors-hydroxyapatite-ormohap.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 26 Apr 2019 07:32:22 EDT news475482728 Advances in materials science and production technology have enabled bone tissue engineering (BTE) strategies that generate complex scaffolds with controlled architecture for bone repair. The novel biomaterials can be further functionalized with bioactive molecules for biocompatibility by enhancing osteoinductivity (induce osteogenesis to initiate bone healing). In a recent study published in Multifunctional Materials, IOP Science, Arun Kumar Teotia and co-workers at the Departments of bioengineering, orthopedics, chemical engineering and biomedical engineering, in India, Finland and Sweden developed a novel, multifunctional, bilayered composite scaffold (BCS). The novel material contained ceramic nano-cement (NC) and the macroporous composite scaffold (CG) to mimic bone architecture during bone repair. /news/2019-02-biofunctionalized-ceramics-cranial-bone-defect.html Materials Science Thu, 28 Feb 2019 08:19:26 EST news470564341 In bone tissue engineering (BTE), 3-D printing is a reliable and customizable method used to repair bone defects by producing biomimetic tissue scaffolds. In a recent study published online on Tissue Engineering Part A (Mary Ann Liebert, Inc), Qing Li and a team of scientists engineered a biomimetic substitute closest to the natural bone structure and composition for bone grafting. For this work, they used two different types of hydroxyapatite (HA) materials: nanohydroxyapatite (nHA) and deproteinized bovine bone (DBB) dispersed into collagen (CoL) to prepare a bio-ink and engineer composites of nHA/CoL and DBB/CoL as 3-D printed scaffolds. /news/2019-02-bioplotting-bone-mimetic-d-tissue-scaffolds.html Materials Science Thu, 07 Feb 2019 09:13:58 EST news468753226 Materials such as poly(ε-caprolactone) are used as scaffolds in bone tissue engineering, but their inherent hydrophobicity and surface smoothness can impair cell attachment, proliferation and differentiation in the lab, or after implantation in vivo. Surface modifications including chemical alterations or the immobilization of biologically active molecules on materials can overcome the intrinsic hydrophobicity of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL). In a recent study, bioengineers Yasaman Zamani and her colleagues investigated a chemically modified, 3-D printed PCL material surface immobilized with RGD peptide (R: arginine, G: glycine, D: aspartic acid). The results of the study are published on Biomedical Materials, IOP Publishing. /news/2018-12-osteogenic-pre-osteoblasts-surface-modified-d-scaffolds.html Materials Science Thu, 13 Dec 2018 09:30:03 EST news463910020 For researchers pursuing the primordial history of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere, a new study might sour some "Eureka!" moments. A contemporary tool used to trace oxygen by examining ancient rock strata can produce false positives, according to the study, and the wayward results can mask as exhilarating discoveries. /news/2017-11-popular-tool-earth-oxygen-history.html Earth Sciences Fri, 17 Nov 2017 05:00:58 EST news430111234 (Â鶹ÒùÔº)—A team of researchers with members from Russia, Germany, Canada and Italy studying a tooth found in Denisova cave back in 1984 has found that it belonged to a young Denisovan girl and that it was a baby tooth. In their paper published on the open access site Science Advances, the team also notes that DNA evidence suggests the girl lived approximately 20,000 years before other Denisovans living in the same cave who also left behind fossils that have been found and identified. /news/2017-07-fourth-denisovan-fossil.html Archaeology Mon, 10 Jul 2017 08:30:01 EDT news418891994 (Â鶹ÒùÔº)—A team of researchers with members from Italy, Belgium and Peru has found evidence that suggests the reason the giant shark megalodon went extinct millions of years ago, was because its small prey went extinct due to climate change. In their paper published in Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, the team describes fossils they found in Peru and their link to the giant ancient shark. /news/2017-01-giant-ancient-shark-extinct-due.html Archaeology Fri, 13 Jan 2017 09:10:45 EST news403521023 Researchers at MIT are seeking to redesign concrete—the most widely used human-made material in the world—by following nature's blueprints. /news/2016-05-bones-shells-blueprints-stronger-durable.html Engineering Thu, 26 May 2016 06:56:34 EDT news383464575 If you have survived years of pushing, pulling, lifting, lowering and rotational forces assaulting your shoulders, thank your healthy articular cartilage. It is the smooth, white, lubricating connective tissue covering the ends of bones that meet at a joint. Cartilage promotes low-friction movement and helps bones glide pain-free through a wide range of motion and many functions—when it's healthy. /news/2015-09-kangaroo-shoulder-joints-reveal-knee.html Condensed Matter Tue, 08 Sep 2015 11:00:12 EDT news360922877 Designing better protective gear against severe impacts for civilians and soldiers requires a detailed understanding of how soft tissues in the body actually respond to such impacts, whether from concussions, ballistic attacks, or blast wounds. MIT researchers are developing new synthetic polymer-solvent gels, called tissue simulant gels, which mimic the response of natural tissue. /news/2015-03-synthetic-gels-brain-traumatic-injuries.html Materials Science Wed, 25 Mar 2015 07:00:01 EDT news346483976 Squid tentacles are loaded with hundreds of suction cups, or suckers, and each sucker has a ring of razor-sharp "teeth" that help these mighty predators latch onto and take down prey. In a study published in the journal ACS Nano, researchers report that the proteins in these teeth could form the basis for a new generation of strong, but malleable, materials that could someday be used for reconstructive surgery, eco-friendly packaging and many other applications. /news/2014-07-squid-sucker-teeth-material-aid.html Nanomaterials Wed, 02 Jul 2014 10:51:22 EDT news323517010 Despite its impressive biological resume, phosphorus is relatively inaccessible as elements go. To understand how phosphorus obtained its prominent role, scientists are modeling the early geochemical environment on Earth and in space. /news/2012-08-life-phosphorus.html Earth Sciences Thu, 23 Aug 2012 10:10:03 EDT news264932343 The P-T mass extinction may have been instigated by populations of algae dying. According to one group of scientists, this die-off of large numbers of relatively simple life forms caused a crash in the ocean's entire food web. /news/2010-12-day-algae-died.html Earth Sciences Tue, 14 Dec 2010 10:25:23 EST news211544692