Category Health/Medical

This is a photograph of a 3-D hydrogel construct obtained through drop-on-drop multi-material bioprintinig. Credit: Osaka University

Researchers develop a finely tuned enzyme-driven crosslinking method to glue together biological ink droplets and extend the range of cell types that can be handled by inkjet bioprinting. Such printing holds strong promise for regenerative medicine, such as in use of iPS cells. Researchers refine method of making bio-ink droplets stick to each other, enabling 3D printing of highly complex biological structures with a wide variety of cell types using inkjet printers.

Before any real applications, “bioprinting” has always faced many technical challenges...

Team of researchers from the Gandia campus of Valencia’s Polytechnic University and the La Fe Health Investigation Institute have developed the Moosy 23 eNose

In much the same way as dogs can be trained to detect some diseases through their keen sense of smell, technology can help create electronic devices capable of performing this same task. This is precisely what Gandia campus of Valencia’s Polytechnic University and La Fe Health Investigation Institute have achieved, developing a prototype of an electronic nose that can distinguish between patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Moosy 32 eNose -can also tell whether the disease is active, with close to 90% accuracy...

Comparison of microRNA extraction using nanowires versus conventional collection (a) Scatterplot comparing normalized intensities of microRNAs extracted with the nanowire device versus conventional collection by ultracentrifugation. (b) Histogram showing the frequency of microRNA species at different fluorescent intensities collected by nanowires (red) and ultracentrifugation (blue). Both the scatterplot and histogram analyses show a notably greater abundance of extracted microRNAs using the nanowire technology. © Takao Yasui

Cells communicate with each other through a number of different mechanisms...

Demyelination by MS. The CD68 colored tissue shows several macrophages in the area of the lesion. Original scale 1:100. Credit: Marvin 101/Wikipedia

Gene expression in specific cells and in specific regions can provide a more precise, neuroprotective approach than traditional treatments for neurological diseases. For multiple sclerosis, increasing cholesterol synthesis gene expression in astrocytes of the spinal cord can be a pathway to repair nerves that affect walking.

MS patients differ markedly from each other regarding which disability affects them the most. Inflammation strips the myelin coating from axons, and connections at the ends of nerves, called synapses, are lost, together disrupting signaling and eventually causing permanent disability depending on where this occurs...