Category Biology/Biotechnology

Step toward ‘Ink’ development for 3D Printing a Bioprosthetic Ovary

Schematic of (a) processing the porcine ovary with a tissue slicer, prior to qPCR analysis, decellularization then proteomics analysis and iPCR validation. (b) Ovaries were sliced axially and sagittally. SDS, sodium dodecyl sulfate; decell’ed, decellularized; LC MS/MS, liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry; iPCR, immuno PCR. Credit: Scientific Reports (2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-56454-3

Findings a huge step forward in fertility preservation and hormone restoration. For the first time, scientists identified and mapped the location of structural proteins in a pig ovary. Ongoing development of an “ink” with these proteins will be used for 3-D printing an artificial (or bio-prosthetic) ovary that could be implanted and allow a woman to have a child...

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Fat-Dissolving Bile Acids may help regulate Gut Immunity and Inflammation

fat cells in stomach
The acids that break down fat in our intestines may also play a role in gut immunity and inflammation
Image: Ugreen/iStock / Getty Images Plus

Could bile acids—the fat-dissolving juices churned out by the liver and gallbladder—also play a role in immunity and inflammation? The answer appears to be yes, according to two separate Harvard Medical School studies published in Nature.

The findings of the two studies, both conducted in mice, show that bile acids promote the differentiation and activity of several types of T cells involved in regulating inflammation and linked to intestinal inflammatory conditions. They also reveal that gut microbes are critical for converting bile acids into immune-signaling molecules.

The work suggests possible therapeutic pathways for modulating ...

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New Radiotracer offers opportunities for Earlier Intervention after Heart Attack

 Binding specificity test. (A) PET/CT axial views, autoradiographs, and corresponding H&E stainings of 10-micron cross-sections prepared from MI nonblocked, blocked, and sham-operated rats. Autoradiographs and H&E stainings from nonblocked hearts show increased Ga-68-FAPI-04 uptake in infarcted area at 7 days after MI, whereas uptake is negligible after sham operation or injection of nonlabeled FAPI-04 (blocked). Infarcted areas in H&E stainings are identified with arrows. (B) PET image–derived infarct-to-noninfarct uptake ratio (derived from 6 nonblocked and 3 blocked rat hearts subjected to coronary ligation). (C) Autoradiography image–derived infarct-to-noninfarct uptake ratio (derived from 3 nonblocked and 3 blocked MI hearts). QL = quantum level.

New radiotracer offers opp...

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Alzheimer ‘Tau’ protein far surpasses Amyloid in predicting toll on brain tissue

Brain MRI scans
Tau PET brain scans (green) in early clinical-stage Alzheimer’s patients accurately predict the location of brain atrophy measured by MRI 1–2 years later (magenta). Amyloid PET imaging (blue) does not predict the location of either tau or future brain atrophy.

Tau PET brain imaging could launch precision medicine era for Alzheimer’s disease. Brain imaging of pathological tau-protein “tangles” reliably predicts the location of future brain atrophy in Alzheimer’s patients a year or more in advance, according to a new study by scientists at the UC San Francisco Memory and Aging Center...

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