Hydrogel News and Research

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Researchers provide insight into how breast tissue stiffening promotes cancer development

A study provides new insight into how the stiffening of breast tissue plays a role in breast cancer development. By examining how mammary cells respond in a stiffness-changing hydrogel, bioengineers at the University of California San Diego discovered that several pathways work together to promote the transformation of breast cells into cancer cells.

13 Feb 2019

New method produces hydrogels that have properties similar to cells’ environment

Scientists at Linköping University have developed a new method to produce hydrated materials, hydrogels, that have properties similar to the natural environment of cells in the body.

13 Feb 2019

New technique uses acoustic waves to measure the stiffness of living cells

MIT engineers have devised a new, noninvasive way to measure the stiffness of living cells using acoustic waves. Their technique allows them to monitor single cells over several generations and investigate how stiffness changes as cells go through the cell division cycle.

11 Feb 2019

New hydrogel-based muscles manipulate and stimulate biological tissue

Human tissues experience a variety of mechanical stimuli that can affect their ability to carry out their physiological functions, such as protecting organs from injury.

11 Feb 2019

Soft pill to track the insides of the stomach developed

Engineers from MIT have successfully developed a soft pill that is indigestible. Once ingested it swells within the stomach and becomes a soft ping pong ball that can stay within the stomach for a long period of time.

3 Feb 2019

New method to collect tiny droplets may help detect disease-causing bacteria

In a single sneeze or a cough, as many as 40,000 tiny droplets are forcibly propelled from our mouth and nose into the air.

1 Feb 2019

Expanding pill could be used to monitor stomach conditions for up to one month

Engineers have developed a Jell-O-like pill that quickly expands on reaching the stomach and uses an embedded sensor to monitor health status over an extended period of time.

30 Jan 2019

Researchers identify why heart attack triggers arrhythmia in some people

A team of researchers led by the University of California San Diego has identified a genetic pathway that causes some individuals to develop an abnormal heart rhythm, or arrhythmia, after experiencing a heart attack. They have also identified a drug candidate that can block this pathway.

29 Jan 2019

Scientists develop smart microrobots that can change shape depending on their surroundings

One day we may be able to ingest tiny robots that deliver drugs directly to diseased tissue, thanks to research being carried out at EPFL and ETH Zurich.

21 Jan 2019

Microrobots could one day deliver drugs inside the body

Researchers have developed highly advanced miniaturized smart robots designed to change their shape as they encounter different bodily fluids.

18 Jan 2019

Novel sunlight-powered microtube pump transports water droplets over long distances

Driven by natural or artificial sunlight, a novel “microtube pump” transports water droplets over long distances. As reported by Chinese researchers in the Journal Angewandte Chemie, the pump consists of a tube whose properties can be changed asymmetrically through irradiation.

18 Dec 2018

A new type of 'painless' adhesive for biomedical applications

Pulling off a Band-Aid may soon get a lot less painful. Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Xi'an Jiaotong University in China have developed a new type of adhesive that can strongly adhere wet materials -- such as hydrogel and living tissue -- and be easily detached with a specific frequency of light.

14 Dec 2018

Researchers design starch and graphene hydrogel geared towards electrodes for brain implants

Hydrogels are physical and chemical polymer networks capable of retaining large quantities of liquid in aqueous conditions without losing their dimensional stability.

28 Nov 2018

Simple device could provide secure new source of drinking water in remote arid regions

A simple device that can capture its own weight in water from fresh air and then release that water when warmed by sunlight could provide a secure new source of drinking water in remote arid regions, new research from KAUST suggests.

26 Nov 2018

EPFL researchers develop new hydrogel that firmly adheres to soft tissues

EPFL researchers have developed a hydrogel - made up of nearly 90% water - that naturally adheres to soft tissue like cartilage and the meniscus. If the hydrogel carries repair cells, it could help damaged tissue to heal.

22 Nov 2018

Silk adhesive leads to development of epidermal electronics

Producing effective epidermal electronics requires a strong, biocompatible interface between a biological surface and a sensor. Here, a KAIST team employed a calcium-modified silk fibroin as a biocompatible and strong adhesive.

21 Nov 2018

New low-cost injectable hydrogel could help wounds heal faster

Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have created an easy-to-make, low-cost injectable hydrogel that could help wounds heal faster, especially for patients with compromised health issues.

21 Nov 2018

CityU develops first microarrayed 3D neuronal culture platform

Neuronal development is often regulated by the graded distribution of guidance molecules, which can either attract or repel the neuronal migration or neurite projection when presented in a format of concentration gradients, or chemotaxis. However, many details about the process is largely unexplored.

14 Nov 2018

First fully personalized tissue implant engineered from patient's own materials and cells

In a new study, Tel Aviv University researchers reveal how they invented the first fully personalized tissue implant, engineered from a patient's own materials and cells. The new technology makes it possible to engineer any kind of tissue implant from one small fatty tissue biopsy.

13 Nov 2018

The Human Mini Heart-in-a-Jar That Could One Day Replace Animal Testing

An interview with Dr. Kevin Costa, discussing the miniaturized heart-in-a-jar model developed by Novoheart, and its applications in personalized medicine.

12 Nov 2018