Category Health/Medical

Tests showed that subcutaneous implants, left, of a hydrogel developed at Rice University encouraged blood vessel and cell growth as new tissue replaced the degrading gel. Credit: Hartgerink Research Group/Rice University

A synthetic, injectable hydrogel developed to deliver drugs and encourage tissue growth turns out to have therapeutic properties all its own. Researchers in the Rice lab of chemist and bioengineer Jeffrey Hartgerink had just such an experience with the hydrogels they developed as a synthetic scaffold to deliver drugs and encourage the growth of cells and blood vessels for new tissue.

To do so, they often tested the gels by infusing them before injection with bioactive small molecules, cells or proteins...

University of Houston optometrist Nimesh Patel has quantified the changing eye structure of returning International Space Station astronauts.

Findings examine pre- and post-flight space station astronauts. Astronauts who spend time aboard the International Space Station return to Earth with changes to the structure of their eyes which could impact their vision. NASA has studied the phenomenon, known as space flight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS), for several years, and now a University of Houston optometrist has quantified some of the changes using optical coherence tomography imaging, reporting his findings in JAMA Ophthalmology...

Hollow pumpkin-shaped molecules with allyloxy tails self-assemble into vesicles which can carry drugs into cancer cells. Then a laser breaks the vesicles which facilitates the release of the drug in a timely and location-specific manner. Credit: IBS

Light-responsive vesicles carry and release drugs to cancer cells at specific time and position. With the goal of minimizing the side effects of chemotherapy on healthy tissues, scientists have developed novel nanocontainers able to deliver anticancer drugs at precise timing and location. They combines uniquely designed molecules and light-dependent drug release, which may provide a new platform to enhance the effect of anticancer therapeutics.

Thanks to a serendipitous observation, IBS researchers at POSTECH found out that tailed pumpkin-shape...

This is gut bacteria in culture. Credit: Tao Liu and Xiaoyan Pang/Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Dietary fibers promote gut bacteria that benefit blood glucose control. The fight against type 2 diabetes may soon improve thanks to a pioneering high-fiber diet study led by a Rutgers University-New Brunswick professor. Promotion of a select group of gut bacteria by a diet high in diverse fibers led to better blood glucose control, greater weight loss and better lipid levels in people with type 2 diabetes, according to research published today in Science.

The study, underway for six years, provides evidence that eating more of the right dietary fibers may rebalance the gut microbiota, or the ecosystem of bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract that help digest food and are important for overall ...