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    Category Health/Medical

    Pedal to the metal: Speeding up Treatments for ALS

    February 13, 2020, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    TDP-43 is the red protein being expressed in yeast. Some of it is being sent to inside an organelle called the vacuole in yeast (lysosome in humans), which is the blue circle. Buchan describes the lysosome as the trash compactor/recycling depot of the cell that endocytosis and autophagy send their substrates too. (Courtesy: Ross Buchan)
    TDP-43 is the red protein being expressed in yeast. Some of it is being sent to inside an organelle called the vacuole in yeast (lysosome in humans), which is the blue circle. Buchan describes the lysosome as the trash compactor/recycling depot of the cell that endocytosis and autophagy send their substrates too. (Courtesy: Ross Buchan)

    A therapeutic intervention for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, could be on the horizon thanks to unexpected findings by University of Arizona researchers.

    ALS is the progressive degeneration of motor neurons that causes people to lose the ability to move and eventually speak, eat and breathe.

    Within the neuronal cells of patients with ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases, two proteins – TDP-43 and FUS – a...

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    Human Textiles to Repair Blood Vessels

    February 11, 2020, Categories  Biology/Biotechnology, Health/Medical

    Made entirely from biological material, these blood vessels would have the advantage of being well tolerated by all patients.© Nicolas L’Heureux

    What if we could replace a patient’s damaged blood vessels with brand new ones produced in a laboratory? This is the challenge set by Inserm researcher Nicolas L’Heureux, who is working on the human extracellular matrix – the structural support of human tissues that is found around practically all of the body’s cells.

    In a study published in Acta Biomaterialia, L’Heureux and his colleagues at the Tissue Bioengineering unit (Inserm/Université de Bordeaux) describe how they have cultivated human cells in the laboratory to obtain extracellular matrix deposits high in collagen – a structural protein that constitutes the mechanical scaffold...

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    Superior ‘Bio-Ink’ for 3D Printing pioneered

    February 11, 2020, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    This 3D printing system would print gel scaffolds, or support structures, for growing human tissues. The system would include hyaluronic acid and polyethylene glycol as the basic “ink cartridges” and other cartridges featuring inks with different cells and ligands that serve as binding sites for cells.
    Image: Madison Godesky

    Researchers are developing materials to help grow human tissues. Rutgers biomedical engineers have developed a “bio-ink” for 3D printed materials that could serve as scaffolds for growing human tissues to repair or replace damaged ones in the body.

    Bioengineered tissues show promise in regenerative, precision and personalized medicine; product development; and basic research, especially with the advent of 3D printing of biomaterials that could serve as scaf...

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    Natural Compound in Vegetables Helps fight Fatty Liver Disease

    February 11, 2020, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    New research shows how indole can reduce inflammation, fatty deposits. A new study led by Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists shows how a natural compound found in many well-known and widely consumed vegetables can also be used to fight fatty liver disease.

    The study demonstrates how non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD, can be controlled by indole, a natural compound found in gut bacteria – and in cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, kale, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. It also addresses how this natural compound may lead to new treatments or preventive measures for NAFLD.

    The study was recently published in Hepatology...

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