/ 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. In most vertebrates, skin appendages such as hair, feathers, or scales originate from placodes—small, specialized skin regions whose spatial organization is controlled by well-conserved genetic signals. Crocodiles are an exception: their head scales do not emerge from placodes but result from simple mechanical folding of the growing skin. /news/2025-06-patterns-sculpted-physics-evolution-revealed.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 10 Jun 2025 12:18:04 EDT news668776682 The stem cell-based embryo model (SCBEM) takes advantage of the flexibility of pluripotent stem cells (non-reproductive cells that can give rise to many different types of cells) to resemble that of embryos. While this model has helped to advance research in diseases and develop therapies or treatments, it has also sparked international debate on what regulations should be placed on this type of experimentation. /news/2025-06-stem-cell-based-embryo-important.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Tue, 10 Jun 2025 11:32:51 EDT news668773962 Axolotls, with their signature smiles and pink gills, are the celebrities of the salamander world. But they are more than just cute: They might also hold the secret to regenerating human limbs. /news/2025-06-axolotls-regenerate-limbs-uncover-secret.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 10 Jun 2025 10:57:03 EDT news668771821 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 process of necrosis, a form of cell death, may represent one of the most promising ways to change the course of human aging, disease and even space travel, according to a new study by researchers at UCL, drug discovery company LinkGevity and the European Space Agency (ESA). /news/2025-05-cell-death-frontier-medicine-earth.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Thu, 29 May 2025 03:00:03 EDT news667646840 Since the COVID-19 pandemic, global interest in antiviral therapies has increased significantly. Recently, with the growing attention to peptide-based drugs such as Wegovy, demand for effective peptide therapeutics derived from natural substances is rapidly rising. In particular, peptide metabolites—which are generated when natural proteins break down in the body—are emerging as promising candidates for multifunctional drug development. /news/2025-05-dual-action-peptide-viruses-tissue.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 26 May 2025 12:59:52 EDT news667483189 The axolotl is renowned for its extensive ability to regenerate organs and body parts, including its spinal cord. Studies on spinal cord regeneration, however, have focused on axolotl cells next to an injury site, leaving the brain's role in regeneration a relative mystery. /news/2025-05-axolotl-tail-injury-distant-neurons.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 22 May 2025 13:11:23 EDT news667138273 Living in a murky lake around Mexico City, surrounded by aggressive and cannibalistic neighbors, the axolotl lives at constant risk of losing a limb to a neighbor's nibble. Fortunately, lost limbs regrow and are functional in as few as eight weeks. To achieve this feat, the regrowing body parts must "know" their position within the axolotl body to regenerate the right structure for a specific location. /news/2025-05-hand2-positional-code-axolotls-regrow.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 21 May 2025 11:00:06 EDT news667043180 Recent technological advances are fueling the development of cutting-edge technologies that can monitor and control physiological processes with high precision. These include devices that could control the expression of genes within living organisms, without requiring invasive surgeries or procedures. /news/2025-05-nanoparticle-cell-interface-enables-electromagnetic.html Bio & Medicine Sun, 18 May 2025 08:20:01 EDT news666605522 Researchers at Toyohashi University of Technology in Japan, in collaboration with the Institute of Translational Medicine and Biomedical Engineering (IMTIB) in Argentina and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, have advanced the "PDMS SlipChip," a versatile microfluidic device. By using a low-viscosity silicone oil and fine-tuning the fabrication process, they've made the SlipChip more reliable for cell-based experiments and simpler for creating concentration gradients. /news/2025-05-viscosity-oil-boosts-microfluidic-device.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Wed, 14 May 2025 16:58:04 EDT news666460682 Scientists at Northwestern University have developed a new approach that directly combats the progression of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). /news/2025-05-sugar-coated-nanotherapy-neuron-survival.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Wed, 14 May 2025 08:00:04 EDT news666347288 A new study by Vanderbilt investigators has uncovered a previously unknown biological mechanism: how tissues detect and respond to damage in basement membranes, the thin layers of extracellular matrix that surround and support nearly every organ in the body. /news/2025-05-tissues-body-hidden.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 12 May 2025 10:30:03 EDT news666264601 Researchers at McGill University, in collaboration with Polytechnique Montréal, pioneered a new way to create hydrogels using ultrasound, eliminating the need for toxic chemical initiators. This breakthrough offers a faster, cleaner and more sustainable approach to hydrogel fabrication, and produces hydrogels that are stronger, more flexible and highly resistant to freezing and dehydration. /news/2025-05-ultrasound-safer-greener-hydrogels.html Polymers Materials Science Thu, 08 May 2025 13:20:07 EDT news665928650 Northwestern Medicine investigators have developed first-of-its-kind eyedrops that use synthetic nanoparticles to help the eye regenerate cells that have been damaged by mustard keratopathy, or exposure to mustard gas, and other inflammatory eye diseases, detailed in a recent study published in the journal npj Regenerative Medicine. /news/2025-05-synthetic-nanoparticle-eyedrops-corneas-chemical.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 07 May 2025 14:47:03 EDT news665848021 Scientists from The University of Manchester have changed our understanding of how cells in living organisms divide, which could revise what students are taught at school. In a study published today in Science, the researchers challenge conventional wisdom taught in schools for over 100 years. /news/2025-05-scientists-discovery-upends-beliefs-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 01 May 2025 15:14:04 EDT news665331242 A novel study has unveiled a technique that enhances stem cell therapy for neurodegenerative diseases by combining magnetic guidance with localized ultrasound stimulation. This approach successfully navigates magnetically loaded stem cells to specific brain regions and promotes their differentiation into neurons using a miniaturized ultrasound device. /news/2025-04-ultrasound-microrobots-team-boost-stem.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 30 Apr 2025 16:34:04 EDT news665249642 What if doctors could guide life-saving treatments through the body using only a magnet? An interdisciplinary collaboration at the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering is bringing that concept closer to reality with the development of silk iron microparticles (SIMPs)—tiny, magnetic, and biodegradable carriers designed to precisely deliver drugs and treatments to sites in the body, like aneurysms or tumors. /news/2025-04-tiny-magnetic-silk-iron-particles.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Tue, 29 Apr 2025 16:54:04 EDT news665164442 Understanding how cells differentiate during early embryonic development is crucial for advancing regenerative medicine and developmental biology. Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) have been invaluable tools in this field, as they can transform into various cell types in the body and play key roles during early embryonic development. Unfortunately, research on this topic in humans and other primates has long been hampered by ethical constraints and technical limitations. /news/2025-04-chimpanzee-stem-cells-insights-early.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Fri, 25 Apr 2025 09:49:03 EDT news664793341 In a new study, researchers from the University of Copenhagen have successfully created stem cells that are better at developing into other cell types, like a younger, fitter version of themselves—by changing their diet. These stem cells are better than normal stem cells at creating specialized cells like liver, skin or nerve cells, which is a core trait of stem cells. /news/2025-04-super-stem-cells-versions-diet.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Fri, 25 Apr 2025 05:00:01 EDT news664695961 The early morning light spills over the raised beds of a thriving community garden in Harlem, New York. It's a Saturday, and people of all ages move among the plants—harvesting collard greens, making compost and packing bags of fresh vegetables. /news/2025-04-foraging-food-common-cities.html Social Sciences Economics & Business Thu, 24 Apr 2025 15:40:02 EDT news664719957 3D bioprinting holds great potential in the field of regenerative medicine to produce miniaturized tissues and organ precursors with biological functionality. Today, however, scientists are still working on the challenge of producing a printable and compatible starting material. /news/2025-04-electrospun-microfibers-nutrient-bioinks-3d.html Biotechnology Thu, 24 Apr 2025 09:09:03 EDT news664704542 Plant breeding plays a vital role in ensuring global food security by increasing crop yields, improving nutritional quality and creating crops that are adaptable to climate change. However, current plant transformation methods present significant hurdles—they're labor-intensive, costly and don't work for many important plant species. /news/2025-04-tiny-crispr-tool-door-faster.html Plants & Animals Biotechnology Thu, 24 Apr 2025 08:44:04 EDT news664703041 Scientists at the University of California, Riverside, have discovered how adult stem cells retain their regenerative power. The researchers demonstrate in a paper published in the journal Genes & Development that these cells rely on a group of helper proteins called histone chaperones—organizers or guides known to help package our two-meter-long genome when cells need to divide or switch on specific genes. /news/2025-04-dna-clues-advancing-stem-cell.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Thu, 17 Apr 2025 10:05:04 EDT news664103101 Mitochondria play a crucial role in acquiring pluripotency and determining cell fate. The mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt) serves as an important retrograde regulatory pathway that communicates from mitochondria to the nucleus. Various factors, including imbalances in mitochondrial protein homeostasis, elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS), discrepancies in mitochondrial and nuclear gene expression, and mitochondrial dysfunction, can all activate UPRmt. The activation of this pathway regulates gene expression, thereby influencing cellular physiological or pathological processes. /news/2025-04-mode-mitochondrial-stem-cell-fate.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 16 Apr 2025 12:29:23 EDT news664025356 A bioreactor that mimics a circulatory system can deliver nutrients and oxygen to artificial tissue, enabling the production of over 10 grams of chicken muscle for cultured meat applications. These results are published in Trends in Biotechnology. /news/2025-04-sized-chunks-chicken-texture-meat.html Biotechnology Agriculture Wed, 16 Apr 2025 11:00:01 EDT news663924601 In a new Nature Â鶹ÒùÔºics study, researchers have provided evidence of universal conformal invariance in living biological cells. They show that a universal feature in the collective behavior emerges in groups of living cells. /news/2025-04-scientists-evidence-universal-conformal-invariance.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 11 Apr 2025 06:30:03 EDT news663499272 Researchers at Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, demonstrate a novel approach for nanoscopic profiling of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) using high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) videography. /news/2025-04-high-imaging-uncovers-nanoscopic-world.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 10 Apr 2025 09:19:03 EDT news663495541 Researchers at University of Tsukuba have developed "tomoseqr"—a new software tool that enables easy estimation of the three-dimensional (3D) spatial distribution of gene expression. Tomoseqr is free to use and has been integrated into Bioconductor—a widely used international platform for life science software. This innovative tool will potentially help researchers identify key genes involved in organism development, disease mechanisms, and regenerative biology. The study is published in the journal PLOS ONE. /news/2025-03-user-friendly-software-enables-easy.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 26 Mar 2025 12:04:58 EDT news662209495 In a recent study, FMI researchers have shed light on how intestinal organoids form crypts, the pockets that house stem cells for gut regeneration and long-term stability. Their findings may have broader implications for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. /news/2025-03-gut-tissue-mechanics-intestinal-organoid.html Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 25 Mar 2025 13:09:49 EDT news662126986 UPF researchers have led the creation of a computational simulator that is unique in the world to study one of the causes of chronic back pain, in the framework of research conducted in collaboration with the Hospital del Mar Research Institute (HMRIB). /news/2025-03-simulator-intervertebral-disk-biochemistry-common.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Tue, 18 Mar 2025 12:09:16 EDT news661518548