/ en-us Â鶹ŇůÔş internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Â鶹ŇůÔşics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Fungi are vital to natural ecosystems by breaking down dead organic material and cycling it back into the environment as nutrients. But new research from the University of Utah finds one species, Marquandomyces marquandii, a ubiquitous soil mold, shows promise as a potential building block for new biomedical materials. /news/2025-10-soil-fungus-durable-hydrogels-potential.html Biochemistry Polymers Wed, 01 Oct 2025 17:24:04 EDT news678558241 The story of the princess and the pea evokes an image of a highly sensitive young royal woman so refined, she can sense a pea under a stack of mattresses. When it comes to human biology, it also takes an abnormal individual to sense far beyond its surroundings, in this case, a cancer cell. Now, researchers also know that normal cells can pull a similar trick by working together. /news/2025-09-cells-environment.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 12 Sep 2025 13:10:11 EDT news676901405 A new study from North Carolina State University identifies vertebrate hemoglobin in bone extracts from two dinosaurs and shows that this molecule is original to those animals. The work also shows how heme, a small molecule that gives hemoglobin the ability to transport oxygen in blood, degrades over time. The study both adds to the body of evidence that biological remains can and do persist across deep time in some fossils and provides further insight into the process of fossilization. /news/2025-09-precise-imaging-technique-hemoglobin-dinosaur.html Molecular & Computational biology Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 10 Sep 2025 12:11:04 EDT news676725061 Imagine being able to flip a light switch to control disease pathways inside a living cell. A team of visionary researchers at the Texas A&M University Health Science Center (Texas A&M Health) is making this dream a reality with their genetic tools known as photo-inducible binary interaction tools, or PhoBITs. /news/2025-09-compact-genetic-safer-precise-disease.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 09 Sep 2025 10:40:05 EDT news676632577 The tongues of chameleons and salamanders might not seem like the inspiration for tomorrow's engineering breakthroughs, but inside the Deban Laboratory at the University of South Florida, biology and engineering are colliding to reveal how nature's designs could one day help solve challenges on Earth and beyond. /news/2025-09-videos-high-tongues-salamanders-chameleons.html Plants & Animals Biotechnology Mon, 08 Sep 2025 16:10:03 EDT news676566120 Organ donors can save lives, for example, those of patients with kidney failure. Unfortunately, there are too few donors, and the waiting lists are long. 3D bioprinting of (parts of) organs may offer a solution to this shortage in the future. But printing living tissues, bioprinting, is extremely complex and challenging. /news/2025-09-ai-printer-partner-tissue.html Biotechnology Health informatics Fri, 05 Sep 2025 12:17:05 EDT news676293421 Researchers at EPFL have created the first 4D lipid atlas of vertebrate development, revealing how fats shape our bodies from embryo to organism. /news/2025-09-lipid-blueprint-vertebrate-life-4d.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 03 Sep 2025 10:17:04 EDT news676113422 Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a novel framework for understanding and controlling the flow behavior of granular hydrogels—a class of material made up of densely packed, microscopic gel particles with promising applications in medicine, 3D bioprinting, and tissue repair. /news/2025-09-advanced-granular-hydrogel-mechanics-biomedical.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Tue, 02 Sep 2025 17:18:04 EDT news676052281 With the power to rewrite the genetic code underlying countless diseases, CRISPR holds immense promise to revolutionize medicine. But until scientists can deliver its gene-editing machinery safely and efficiently into relevant cells and tissues, that promise will remain out of reach. /news/2025-08-crispr-efficiency-triples-lab-dna.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 01 Sep 2025 15:00:03 EDT news675675301 Similar to the way the caps on the ends of a shoelace prevent it from fraying, telomeres—regions of repetitive DNA sequences and a protein structure—protect the tips of chromosomes from damage. /news/2025-08-telomerase-rna-polygenic-scores-reveal.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 14 Aug 2025 17:27:04 EDT news674411221 A new study has uncovered evidence that a giant marine reptile from the Early Jurassic period used stealth to hunt its prey in deep or dark waters—much like owls on land today. /news/2025-07-fossil-discovery-reveals-ancient-giant.html Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 16 Jul 2025 13:01:41 EDT news671889691 A team of biomedical researchers led by Michael Mak, Ph.D., in the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, has developed a new method of bioprinting physiological materials. Called TRACE (Tunable Rapid Assembly of Collagenous Elements), the method solves previous problems of bioprinting natural materials of the body. /news/2025-06-collagen-based-method-previous-problems.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Mon, 09 Jun 2025 12:04:04 EDT news668689442 The sugar glucose, which is the main source of energy in almost every living cell, has been revealed in a Stanford Medicine study to also be a master regulator of tissue differentiation—the process by which stem cells give rise to specialized cells that make up all the body's tissues. /news/2025-03-glucose-life-reveals-role-master.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 26 Mar 2025 12:02:00 EDT news662209316 Xolography is a novel light printing technique that has been explored for dental products and in-space manufacturing. At Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), this technique has now been adapted to 3D print living cells. This research can pave the way for 3D-printed kidneys and muscle tissue. The team pioneered the Xolography-based method to produce tiny structures with features as small as 20 µm—approximately the size of a human cell. /news/2025-02-xolography-based-method-enables-3d.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Thu, 27 Feb 2025 15:55:28 EST news659894124 For many years, it was widely believed that fossils no longer contained any original organic molecules as the fossilization process was thought to destroy them. /news/2025-01-discovery-collagen-fossil-bone-insights.html Paleontology & Fossils Fri, 31 Jan 2025 11:38:04 EST news657545882 Hidden within our bones, marrow sustains life by producing billions of blood cells daily, from oxygen-carrying red cells to immune-boosting white cells. This vital function is often disrupted in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation, which can damage the marrow and lead to dangerously low white cell counts, leaving patients vulnerable to infection. /news/2025-01-nature-blueprint-scientists-replicate-bone.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Thu, 30 Jan 2025 08:57:07 EST news657449821 As astronauts venture further into space, their exposure to harmful radiation rises. Researchers from Columbia University are simulating the effects of space radiation here on Earth to determine its impact on human physiology using multi-organ tissue chips. Their work documents the differential effects seen in tissues after acute and prolonged radiation exposure and identifies multiple genes of interest that could help inform the development of future radioprotective agents. /news/2024-12-astronaut-chip-multi-tissue-chips.html Biotechnology Wed, 18 Dec 2024 16:17:02 EST news653761015 When a vertebrate embryo develops, a group of cells self-organizes into the neural tube, eventually becoming the brain and the spinal cord. This involves specific signals, but how these signals are interpreted by developing cells remains unclear. A team of researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) now has more insights—thanks to miniature 2D organs and rubbery silicone molds. /news/2024-11-tissue-temporally.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 27 Nov 2024 12:30:04 EST news651933001 The efficient use of cellulose—the primary plant scaffold and a major natural building block—could address many issues associated with petroleum-based polymers across various industries. In the search for more sustainable uses of cellulose, Lithuanian scientists have developed a production method for a nanofibrous cellulose matrix, which has the potential to replace non-renewable industrial even in biomedical applications. /news/2024-10-eco-friendly-nanofibrous-cellulose-matrix.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Wed, 30 Oct 2024 15:09:04 EDT news649519741 A recent discovery has found a possible avenue to improve human health by better understanding how to engineer human stem cell differentiation. /news/2024-10-pathway-discovery-faster-reliable-human.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Thu, 10 Oct 2024 16:25:26 EDT news647796322 For centuries, civilizations have used naturally occurring, inorganic materials for their perceived healing properties. Egyptians thought green copper ore helped eye inflammation, the Chinese used cinnabar for heartburn, and Native Americans used clay to reduce soreness and inflammation. /news/2024-05-ancient-medicine-blends-modern-day.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 30 May 2024 11:10:48 EDT news636286244 Natural materials like bone, bird feathers and wood have an intelligent approach to physical stress distribution, despite their irregular architectures. However, the relationship between stress modulation and their structures has remained elusive. /news/2024-05-programmable-materials-broken-bones.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Tue, 21 May 2024 13:34:41 EDT news635517278 Medical implants could fail less often when coated with a microscopically crinkled, ceramic material designed by researchers at the University of Michigan. The coating is described in a paper published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. /news/2024-04-crinkled-coatings-medical-implants.html Nanomaterials Wed, 24 Apr 2024 11:03:20 EDT news633175396 In a recent study published in Science Advances, researchers from Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital and others have unveiled a promising approach for treating osteoarthritis (OA) using engineered magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles. /news/2024-03-mgo-nanoparticles-path-synergistic-cartilage.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Thu, 14 Mar 2024 13:14:08 EDT news629640846 Fat tissue holds the key to 3D printing layered living skin and potentially hair follicles, according to researchers who recently harnessed fat cells and supporting structures from clinically procured human tissue to precisely correct injuries in rats. The advancement could have implications for reconstructive facial surgery and even hair growth treatments for humans. /news/2024-03-3d-skin-wounds-hair-follicle.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Mon, 04 Mar 2024 06:54:07 EST news628757596 Hydrogels are versatile biomaterials conquering an increasing number of biomedical areas. Consisting of water-swollen molecular networks that can be tailored to mimic the mechanical and chemical features of various organs and tissues, they can interface within the body and on its outer surfaces without causing any damage to even the most delicate parts of the human anatomy. /news/2024-02-scientists-method-bond-hydrogels-polymeric.html Biochemistry Polymers Mon, 19 Feb 2024 15:00:01 EST news627557665 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 Is it possible to grow tissue in the laboratory, for example to replace injured cartilage? At TU Wien (Vienna), an important step has now been taken toward creating replacement tissue in the lab—using a technique that differs significantly from other methods used around the world. The study is published in Acta Biomaterialia. /news/2024-02-approach-artificial-cartilage-3d.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Mon, 12 Feb 2024 10:57:03 EST news626957821 Bone regeneration is a complex process, and existing methods to aid regeneration including transplants and growth factor transmissions face limitations such as the high cost. But recently, a piezoelectric material that can promote the growth of bone tissue has been developed. /news/2024-02-bone-bandage-material-bones.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Thu, 01 Feb 2024 09:38:59 EST news626002736 Most people can relate to having a laptop charger break right where the flexible cable meets the solid adapter. This is just one example of how difficult it is to effectively interface hard and soft materials. Using a unique 3D printing process, TU Delft researchers produced hybrid multi-material interfaces that reached a remarkable closeness to nature's design of bone–tendon connections. Their research findings, recently published in Nature Communications, have numerous potential applications. /news/2023-12-optimization-hardsoft-material-interfaces-3d.html Polymers Materials Science Tue, 12 Dec 2023 10:59:42 EST news621601180