in vitro News and Research

RSS

Silica nanomatrix enhances immunotherapy for solid tumors

Cancer has long remained a leading cause of death worldwide and in Hong Kong, accounting for 30% of all disease-related deaths in the city in 2025. While chemotherapy remains a major treatment modality, its side effects and the risk of relapse challenges for patients.

30 Dec 2025

Dihydrotanshinone I induces autophagic cell death in ovarian cancer

A recent study published in Engineering has shed light on the potential therapeutic effects of dihydrotanshinone I (DHT), a compound derived from the traditional Chinese herb Salvia miltiorrhiza, on ovarian cancer.

30 Dec 2025

Engineered womb lining model opens a window into embryo implantation

By engineering a system replicating the womb lining with high biological accuracy, researchers at the Babraham Institute and Stanford University have been able to study the implantation of human embryos, opening up this enigmatic process to investigation.

23 Dec 2025

Polysaccharide functionalized carbon dot nanovaccine boosts antitumor T cell responses

Recent advancements in cancer vaccine development have demonstrated their potential for precise tumor targeting through antigen-specific immune activation.

23 Dec 2025

Researchers explore a promising approach to enhance the immune system's ability to fight cancer

Researchers at the University of Sharjah are exploring a promising approach that could enhance the immune system's ability to fight cancer, potentially paving the way for new treatments.

23 Dec 2025

Engineered extracellular vesicles enable antigen-specific regulatory T cell induction

A research team at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI) and the Faculty of Medicine at Kanazawa University has developed a new class of engineered extracellular vesicles (EVs) capable of inducing antigen-specific regulatory T cells (Tregs), the immune cells that play a central role in suppressing excessive immune responses.

22 Dec 2025

Vibration-induced local vortices enable low-cost biomolecular condensate engineering

A research group led by Professor Hiroaki SUZUKI and Takeshi HAYAKAWA from the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Chuo University, graduate student Zhitai HUANG, graduate students Kanji KANEKO (at the time) and Ryotaro YONEYAMA (at the time), together with Specially Appointed Assistant Professor Tomoya MARUYAMA from the Research Center for Autonomous Systems Materialogy (ASMat), Institute of Integrated Research (IIR), Institute of Science Tokyo, and Professor Masahiro TAKINOUE from the Laboratory for Chemistry and Life Science, Institute of Integrated Research, Institute of Science Tokyo, has developed a novel and highly accessible technology for producing uniform Biomolecular Condensates using a simple, low-cost vibration platform.

22 Dec 2025

Splicing regulator U2AF1 promotes angiogenesis in cardiac injury

A study published in Engineering shows that a protein called U2 small nuclear RNA auxiliary factor 1 (U2AF1), released by immune cells known as macrophages, helps grow new blood vessels in the heart after a myocardial infarction (MI) by altering how the gene Yap1 is spliced.

22 Dec 2025

Mucus-inspired hydrogel resists stomach acid and promotes gastrointestinal healing

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has developed an acid-resistant "ultra-stable mucus-inspired hydrogel" (UMIH), marking a breakthrough in the field of gastrointestinal medicine.

17 Dec 2025

Early embryos and the uterus engage in active communication during implantation

A new study shows that the embryo and the uterine lining conduct an active "conversation" from the very earliest stages of implantation. They engage in a back and forth of tiny packages called extracellular vesicles and lipid droplets, which carry metabolites and signals.

17 Dec 2025

Sino Biological wins 2025 Scientist.com’s Supplier Recognition Award

Sino Biological, Inc., a global leader in biological reagents and CRO services, recently announced that it has been honored with the “2025 Supplier Performance Recognition Award” by Scientist.com, the market-leading digital platform for outsourced R&D procurements.

From Sino Biological Inc. 16 Dec 2025

MEA-driven graph modeling identifies early connectivity changes linked to autism

Multi-electrode arrays (MEAs) provide a noninvasive interface with sub-millisecond temporal resolution and long-term, multi-site recordings, enabling mechanistic investigations of in vitro human brain development and disease-related dysfunction; nevertheless, conventional MEA pipelines largely rely on firing/burst statistics or channel-/waveform-level features, which can be insufficient to systematically characterize and interpret network-level organization and its subtle pathological deviations.

16 Dec 2025

Hydrogel-based treatment achieves innervation and pulp-dentin regeneration

The dental pulp is susceptible to microbial infection, which often results in inflammation, necrosis, and defects in the pulp-dentin complex. Traditional treatment strategies suffer from multiple limitations and do not promote neural regeneration.

16 Dec 2025

Study identifies molecular drivers of cerebral small vessel disease

A new study identifies molecular factors that promote small vessel disease - and an active drug that can restore impaired vascular functions.

16 Dec 2025

New in vitro platform predicts drug toxicity, improving cancer treatment safety

Overcoming acquired treatment resistance is one of the major challenges in the fight against cancer. While combination therapies hold promise, their toxicity to healthy tissue remains a major hurdle. To anticipate these risks, researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) have developed in vitro models of the kidneys, liver, and heart - three organs particularly sensitive to such therapies.

16 Dec 2025

Scientists map how cinnamon’s bioactives interact with cancer signaling

This review synthesizes preclinical evidence showing that cinnamon-derived compounds can modulate inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and angiogenesis through multiple cancer-related signaling pathways. While biologically plausible, the findings are largely limited to cell and animal models, underscoring the need for pharmacokinetic, safety, and clinical validation.

15 Dec 2025

Two compounds sourced from cannabis show promising anti-cancer effects

In the future, scientists could use drugs made from cannabis to fight ovarian cancer. A team of scientists testing the effects of two chemical compounds sourced from cannabis on ovarian cancer cells have found that both show promising anti-cancer effects.

15 Dec 2025

Atelerix enters agreement with Cherry Biotech to integrate non-cryogenic transport solutions with advanced organoid models

Atelerix, a biotech company revolutionizing cell preservation and biological transport with its pioneering hydrogel encapsulation technology, today announced it has entered a partnership with Cherry Biotech, a French company specializing in organ-on-chip and organoid technologies for biomedical research.

15 Dec 2025

New research reveals the impact of DNA-histone cross-links on genome stability

DNA–protein cross-links (DPCs) represent a severe form of DNA damage that can disrupt essential chromatin-based processes. Among them, DNA–histone cross-links (DHCs) occur frequently within nucleosomes, yet their structural and functional consequences remain poorly understood due to their instability and low natural abundance.

13 Dec 2025

Novel nanomedicine mPEG@ELA-11 shows potential in treating atherosclerosis

A pioneering study led by researchers from Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and Naval Medical University has unveiled a novel nanomedicine, mPEG@ELA-11, which demonstrates significant potential in treating atherosclerosis (AS), a leading cause of cardiovascular diseases globally.

12 Dec 2025