Bioengineering News and Research

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Laser-based fabrication method reduces costs for cancer screening and research

In a move that slashes 90 percent of the cost of mass-producing metastatic microtumors and therapeutic microtissues for screening and research, Rice University bioengineers have adapted techniques from the "maker" movement to reprogram a commercial laser cutter to etch up to 50,000 tiny "microwells" per hour into sheets of silicone.

27 Jan 2016

Children with sensory processing disorder have altered pathways for brain connectivity

Researchers at UC San Francisco have found that boys and girls with sensory processing disorder (SPD) have altered pathways for brain connectivity when compared to typically developing children, and the difference predicts challenges with auditory and tactile processing.

27 Jan 2016

UC San Diego researchers develop rapid susceptibility test for Staphylococcus aureus

A team of biologists and biomedical researchers at UC San Diego has developed a new method to determine if bacteria are susceptible to antibiotics within a few hours, an advance that could slow the appearance of drug resistance and allow doctors to more rapidly identify the appropriate treatment for patients with life threatening bacterial infections.

25 Jan 2016

New Georgia Tech research center launched to manufacture living cells for cell-based therapies

A $15.7 million grant from the Atlanta-based Marcus Foundation has helped launch a new Georgia Institute of Technology research center that will develop processes and techniques for ensuring the consistent, low-cost, large-scale manufacture of high-quality living cells used in cell-based therapies.

20 Jan 2016

Electrical stimulation could regulate, synchronize beating properties of nascent heart muscle cells

Columbia Engineering researchers have shown, for the first time, that electrical stimulation of human heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) engineered from human stem cells aids their development and function.

20 Jan 2016

Innovative microfiber pad could improve diagnosis of Urinary Tract Infection in infants and elderly patients

Contamination of urine samples from infants and the elderly is so common that physicians often needlessly prescribe broad-spectrum antibiotics prophylactically. Now, a team at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem's BioDesign: Medical Innovation program has developed an innovative microfiber pad that can save time and money in the collection of sterile samples.

18 Jan 2016

Study illuminates ways to better treat knee meniscus tears, other injuries

Fibrocartilage tissue in the knee is comprised of a more varied molecular structure than researchers previously appreciated, according to a new study by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Delaware.

11 Jan 2016

Wyss Institute scientists develop better assay for testing hemostasis

Scientists at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have devised a better assay for testing blood's clotting tendency, also known as hemostasis, which could one day prove lifesaving in a variety of clinical situations in which a patient's health is jeopardized by abnormal blood coagulation and platelet function.

11 Jan 2016

Drexel biomedical engineer identifies immune cell as potential strategy for growing blood vessels

In what could be a pivotal step toward repairing non-healing wounds and damaged organs, a Drexel University biomedical engineer has identified an immune cell as a potential strategy for growing blood vessels.

7 Jan 2016

New CRISPR technology can be used to make designer babies

How should we handle the new CRISPR technology that can both advance science and medicine, but also be used to make designer babies? Scientist and author Paul Knoepfler tackles this and other difficult questions related to this revolutionary technology in his new book, GMO Sapiens: The Life-Changing Science of Designer Babies, targeted at a broad, lay audience.

7 Jan 2016

Combining NELL-1 with BMP2 therapy may promote bone development

Bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP2) is used clinically to promote bone repair. However, the high BMP2 concentrations required to stimulate bone growth in humans may produce life-threatening adverse effects such as cervical swelling in spinal fusion procedures, a problem that prompted an FDA warning in 2008.

7 Jan 2016

Lipoprotein nanoplatelets important for imaging biological molecules and cells

An interdisciplinary research team from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed a new material composite derived from quantum dots. These lipoprotein nanoplatelets are rapidly taken up by cells and retain their fluorescence, making them particularly well-suited for imaging cells and understanding disease mechanisms.

6 Jan 2016

Study lays foundation for better therapeutic strategies to halt progression of tissue degeneration

Injury and degeneration of fibro-cartilaginous tissues, such as the knee meniscus and the intervertebral disc, have significant socioeconomic and quality-of-life costs. But the development of effective treatment strategies to address pathologies in these load-bearing tissues has been hindered by a lack of understanding of the relationships between their structure and their function.

5 Jan 2016

Collaborative team to determine mechanisms that cause traumatic brain injuries due to shockwaves

Nearly 300,000 soldiers have returned from service in Iraq and Afghanistan with symptoms of traumatic brain injuries due to blast shockwaves. Such injuries often go untreated because they are undetected by brain scans despite the symptoms' presence.

24 Dec 2015

Ultrafast near-infrared lasers deliver gene therapy to treat macular degeneration

Millions of adults over age 50 struggle each year with vision loss caused by damage to the retina or common macular degeneration.

24 Dec 2015

Small airway-on-a-chip enables analysis of human COPD and asthma

A research team at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University leveraged its organ-on-a-chip technology to develop a model of the human small airway in which lung inflammatory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the third leading cause of mortality worldwide, and asthma can be studied outside the human body.

22 Dec 2015

QMUL-led scientists develop new type of synthetic bone graft

Scientists led by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) have developed a new type of synthetic bone graft that boosts the body's own ability to regenerate bone tissue and could produce better outcomes for patients.

18 Dec 2015

Synthetic biomaterial aids in regeneration of skin cells to improve wound healing

Some skin wounds, such as diabetic ulcers, are chronic and may never heal; others, such as burn wounds, are often large and difficult to treat, resulting in pain, infection and scarring. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, funded by the National Institutes of Health, have developed a synthetic biomaterial that fills wounds and aids in regeneration of skin cells, which ultimately improves wound healing.

18 Dec 2015

Central thalamus tunes the brain to different states of activity and arousal

Scientists showed that they could alter brain activity of rats and either wake them up or put them in an unconscious state by changing the firing rates of neurons in the central thalamus, a region known to regulate arousal.

18 Dec 2015

Slow eating keeps childhood obesity at bay, study finds

Waiting 30 seconds in between bites of food allows children to realize they're no longer hungry before they overeat--preventing excessive weight gain. That's the conclusion of a study published in the Dec. 15 issue of the journal Pediatric Obesity by an international team of researchers, including bioengineers at the University of California, San Diego.

17 Dec 2015

Bioengineering News and Research

Laser-based fabrication method reduces costs for cancer screening and research

Children with sensory processing disorder have altered pathways for brain connectivity

UC San Diego researchers develop rapid susceptibility test for Staphylococcus aureus

New Georgia Tech research center launched to manufacture living cells for cell-based therapies

Electrical stimulation could regulate, synchronize beating properties of nascent heart muscle cells

Innovative microfiber pad could improve diagnosis of Urinary Tract Infection in infants and elderly patients

Study illuminates ways to better treat knee meniscus tears, other injuries

Wyss Institute scientists develop better assay for testing hemostasis

Drexel biomedical engineer identifies immune cell as potential strategy for growing blood vessels

New CRISPR technology can be used to make designer babies

Combining NELL-1 with BMP2 therapy may promote bone development

Lipoprotein nanoplatelets important for imaging biological molecules and cells

Study lays foundation for better therapeutic strategies to halt progression of tissue degeneration

Collaborative team to determine mechanisms that cause traumatic brain injuries due to shockwaves

Ultrafast near-infrared lasers deliver gene therapy to treat macular degeneration

Small airway-on-a-chip enables analysis of human COPD and asthma

QMUL-led scientists develop new type of synthetic bone graft

Synthetic biomaterial aids in regeneration of skin cells to improve wound healing

Central thalamus tunes the brain to different states of activity and arousal

Slow eating keeps childhood obesity at bay, study finds

Biotechnology eBook

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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