Contractions News and Research

RSS

Harvard researchers develop ink that enables 3D printing of beating heart tissues

Over the last decade, advances in 3D printing have unlocked new possibilities for bioengineers to build heart tissues and structures.

27 Jul 2023

Cervical fibroblasts in cervical insufficiency patients show impaired responses to progesterone

The study described in Scientific Reports highlights an impaired response to the hormone progesterone (P4) in cervical fibroblasts from patients with refractory cervical insufficiency (CI).

26 Jul 2023

Surgical breakthrough allows amputees to control bionic hands with single-finger precision

For the first time, a person with an arm amputation can manipulate each finger of a bionic hand as if it was his own.

13 Jul 2023

Intelligent suit aims to improve rehabilitation after spinal cord injury

An intelligent suit is hoped to significantly improve rehabilitation after a serious spinal cord injury. The AI-supported solution will be developed over the next three years by researchers from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) working in collaboration with Heidelberg University and Heidelberg University Hospital.

30 Jun 2023

World's largest map of breast tissue provides an unprecedented understanding of mammary biology

A new study led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer, University of California, Irvine and Baylor College of Medicine has created the world's largest and most comprehensive map of normal breast tissue, providing an unprecedented understanding of mammary biology that may help identify therapeutic targets for diseases such as breast cancer.

28 Jun 2023

Spinal neural circuit dysfunction mediates movement symptoms in dystonia

Many neurological conditions that involve involuntary muscle contractions have long been considered as diseases of the brain.

6 Jun 2023

Research shows how exercise helps improve brain health

Physical activity is frequently cited as a means of improving physical and mental health. Researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology have shown that it may also improve brain health more directly.

19 Apr 2023

The neural mechanisms causing long-COVID fatigue

Researchers investigated the neural mechanisms underlying post-coronavirus disease fatigue.

14 Apr 2023

Study elucidates the genetics of preterm birth and pregnancy length

New knowledge of the genetic factors behind premature delivery and gestational duration has now emerged.

3 Apr 2023

Wearable devices could be used to detect higher risk of heart failure and arrhythmia

Wearable devices such as smart watches could be used to detect a higher risk of developing heart failure and irregular heart rhythms in later life, suggests a new study led by UCL researchers.

3 Apr 2023

Pregnant women involved in road traffic collisions have higher risks of birth complications

Pregnant women involved in road traffic collisions—even those with minor injuries—are at heightened risk of potentially serious birth complications, including dislodgement of the placenta (placental abruption), very heavy bleeding, and the need for a cesarean section, finds a Taiwanese study published online in the journal Injury Prevention.

21 Mar 2023

New imaging tool creates real-time, 3D images and maps of contractions during labor

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a new imaging tool, called electromyometrial imaging (EMMI), to create real-time, three-dimensional images and maps of contractions during labor.

14 Mar 2023

Researchers optically evoke tachycardia enhanced anxiety-like behaviour

In a recent study published in the journal Nature, researchers devised a non-invasive optogenetic and wearable cardiac pacemaker for accurate and specific control of cardiac rhythm for ≤900 beats per minute (bpm), enabled by micro-light-emitting display (LED) harness and systemic channelrhodopsin delivery.

6 Mar 2023

Researchers discover a new mutation that leads to arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy

Researchers from the group of Eva van Rooij in collaboration with the UMC Utrecht identified a new mutation that leads to the cardiac disease arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM).

5 Mar 2023

New book unravels the greatest mysteries of menstruation

A new book from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign anthropology professor Kathryn Clancy takes an unflinching look at the many ways humans have struggled – and often failed – to understand one of the greatest mysteries of human biology: menstruation.

1 Mar 2023

Custom, 3D-printed robotic heart could help doctors to tailor patient-specific treatments

No two hearts beat alike. The size and shape of the the heart can vary from one person to the next. These differences can be particularly pronounced for people living with heart disease, as their hearts and major vessels work harder to overcome any compromised function.

22 Feb 2023

Ingestible sensor could offer an alternative to invasive procedures used to diagnose motility disorders

Engineers at MIT and Caltech have demonstrated an ingestible sensor whose location can be monitored as it moves through the digestive tract, an advance that could help doctors more easily diagnose gastrointestinal motility disorders such as constipation, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and gastroparesis.

13 Feb 2023

Biology underlying pair bonding and parenting may not be dictated by oxytocin receptors, study shows

Turning a decades-old dogma on its head, new research from scientists at UC San Francisco and Stanford Medicine shows that the receptor for oxytocin, a hormone considered essential to forming social bonds, may not play the critical role that scientists have assigned to it for the past 30 years.

27 Jan 2023

Study shows mechanical tearing as a novel mechanism during neurite pruning

Nerve cells communicate with one another via long processes known as axons and dendrites, or, more generally, neurites.

26 Jan 2023

Nitrate boost causes an increase in muscle force during exercise

A new study has found that consuming dietary nitrate – the active molecule in beetroot juice – significantly increased muscle force while exercising.

23 Jan 2023