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    Category Health/Medical

    ‘Molecular Surgery’ Reshapes Living Tissue with Electricity but no Incisions

    April 3, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    A new noninvasive process can alter the curve of a cornea from that seen in blue in a) to the new position seen in red in b) to fix vision problems.
    Credit: Rachel Qu, Anna Stokolosa, Charlotte Cullip

    Traditional surgery to reshape a nose or ear entails cutting and suturing, sometimes followed by long recovery times and scars. But now, researchers have developed a “molecular surgery” process that uses tiny needles, electric current and 3D-printed molds to quickly reshape living tissue with no incisions, scarring or recovery time. The technique even shows promise as a way to fix immobile joints or as a noninvasive alternative to laser eye surgery.

    “We envision this new technique as a low-cost office procedure done under local anesthesia,” says Michael Hill, Ph.D...

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    Next-Generation Single-Dose Antidotes for Opioid Overdoses

    April 2, 2019, Categories  Biology/Biotechnology, Health/Medical

    Next-generation single-dose antidotes for opioid overdoses
    Covalent nanoparticles (top) release naloxone (purple structures) slowly over 24 hours. Credit: Marina Kovaliov

    The U.S. opioid epidemic is being driven by an unprecedented surge in deaths from fentanyl and other synthetic opiates. Fentanyl’s powerful effects are long-lasting, and even tiny amounts of the drug can lead to an overdose. Antidotes, such as naloxone, do not last long enough in the body to fully counter the drug, requiring repeated injections. Now, scientists report that they are developing single-dose, longer-lasting opioid antidotes using polymer nanoparticles.

    The researchers will present their results today at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Spring 2019 National Meeting & Exposition.

    “We became interested in this problem while trying to make non-addictive pa...

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    Designer Organelles bring new Functionalities into Cells

    March 31, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    The authors see the newly developed synthetic host as a city. On the one hand, typical cellular processes — seen as encapsulated, isolated, and made up of non-interchangeable elements — are represented as repetitive structures: squared, isolated blocks which are always fenced, just like membranous organelles. On the other hand, the image highlights the making of a new organelle — a new building that is not fenced — which is accessible to the rest of the city while having its own identity, a building which is more dynamic and flexible.
    Credit: Gemma Estrada Girona

    Scientists create membraneless organelle to build proteins in living cell. For the first time, scientists have engineered the complex biological process of translation into a designer organelle in a living mammalian cell...

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    Researchers discover the Source of New Neurons in Brain’s Hippocampus

    March 31, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    The dentate gyrus of mouse hippocampus at postnatal day 7, blue is nuclei marker, green is progeny of HOPX-expressing progenitor cells, and red is marker of cell proliferation.
    Credit: Daniel A. Berg and Allison M. Bond

    Findings extend understanding of how a continuous supply of neurons throughout life is connected with learning and memory. Researchers have shown, in mice, that one type of stem cell that makes adult neurons is the source of this lifetime stock of new cells in the hippocampus. These findings may help neuroscientists figure out how to maintain youthful conditions for learning and memory, and repair and regenerate parts of the brain after injury and aging.

    “We’ve shown for the first time, in mammals, that neurons in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus grow and develo...

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