Category Biology/Biotechnology

Rice University researchers Jeffrey Hartgerink, left, and Vivek Kumar led research that combines a derivative of snake venom with their nanofiber hydrogel to help encourage blood clotting in wounds, even for patients who take anti-coagulant medications. Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University

A nanofiber hydrogel infused with snake venom may be the best material to stop bleeding quickly, according to Rice University scientists. The hydrogel called SB50 incorporates batroxobin, a venom produced by two species of South American pit viper. It can be injected as a liquid and quickly turns into a gel that conforms to the site of a wound, keeping it closed, and promotes clotting within seconds...

a) This image shows loading clay nanotubes with drug from saturation solution. b,c) Mixing with drug solution, pumping out air, and pulling in drug molecules, washing, and loaded tubes. Credit: Yuri Lvov, Wencai Wang, Liqun Zhang, Rawil Fakhrullin

Halloysite is a natural biocompatible nanomaterial available in thousands of tons at low price, which makes it a good candidate for nanoarchitectural composites. In vitro and in vivo studies on biological cells and worms indicate the safety of halloysite, and furthermore, it can store and release molecules in a controllable manner, making these tiny containers attractive for applications in drug delivery, antimicrobial materials, self-healing polymeric composites, and regenerative medicine.

In chemical composition they are similar to kaolin and c...

By studying the banana lectin molecule (top left) and what made it bind to both viruses and immune system cells (bottom left), the team was able to figure out how to change the way cells bind it, to make a new version (top right) that still binds viruses but doesn’t cause inflammation (bottom right). Credit: University of Michigan

The process used to create the virus-fighting form may help scientists develop even more drugs, by harnessing the “sugar code” that our cells use to communicate. That code gets hijacked by viruses and other invaders. The new research focuses on a protein called banana lectin, or BanLec, that “reads” the sugars on the outside of both viruses and cells...

Within 3 weeks, mice that received topical ruxolitinib or tofacitinib had regrown nearly all their hair (right photo; drug was applied only to the right side of the mouse). Little to no hair growth occurred in control mice during the same timeframe (left photo). Credit: From S. Harel et al., Sci. Adv. 1, e1500973 (2015). Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC). 10.1126/sciadv.1500973

2 FDA-approved drugs reawaken dormant hair follicles. Inhibiting a family of enzymes inside hair follicles that are suspended in a resting state restores hair growth, a new study has found...