Category Biology/Biotechnology

3-D-bioprinted structure containing green algae (Chlamydomonas) in a hydrogel.
Credit: Anja Lode, TU Dresden

A new method enables non-invasive monitoring of oxygen metabolism in cells that are 3D-bioprinted into complex living structures. This has great implications for studies of cell growth and interactions e.g. under tissue-like conditions, as well as for the design of 3D printed constructs facilitating higher productivity of microalgae in biofilms or better oxygen supply for stem cells used in bone and tissue reconstruction efforts.

An international team of researchers led by Professor Michael Kühl at the Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen has just published a breakthrough in 3D bioprinting...

Artificial sweeteners are used in countless food products and soft drinks with reduced sugar content. Many people consume this added ingredient without their knowledge. NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.

FDA-approved artificial sweeteners and sport supplements were found to be toxic to digestive gut microbes, according to a new paper published in Molecules by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Israel and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

The collaborative study indicated relative toxicity of six artificial sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose, saccharine, neotame, advantame, and acesulfame potassium-k) and 10 sport supplements containing these artificial sweeteners...

This is a schematic representation of photocatalytic hydrogen production with InP/ZnS quantum dots in a typical assay.
Credit: Shan Yu

Researchers at the University of Zurich have developed a nanoparticle type for novel use in artificial photosynthesis by adding zinc sulfide on the surface of indium-based quantum dots. These quantum dots produce clean hydrogen fuel from water and sunlight – a sustainable source of energy. They introduce new eco-friendly and powerful materials to solar photocatalysis.

Quantum dots are true all-rounders. These material structures, which are only a few nanometers in size, display a similar behavior to that of molecules or atoms, and their form, size and number of electrons can be modulated systematically...

PET imaging studies reveal elevated glial activation, correlation with fatigue levels. A study by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers – collaborating with a team at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden – has documented for the first time widespread inflammation in the brains of patients with the poorly understood condition called fibromyalgia. Their report has been published online in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity.

“We don’t have good treatment options for fibromyalgia, so identifying a potential treatment target could lead to the development of innovative, more effective therapies,” says Marco Loggia, PhD, of the MGH-based Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, co-senior author of the report...