tissue repair tagged posts

Fibroblasts are specialised connective tissue cells that play a key role in wound healing and tissue regeneration. The recent scientific publication from the University of Leipzig Medical Center shows that fibroblasts respond differently depending on the organ and disease context. Their functions are shaped by their embryonic origin, tissue-specific signals, and pathological stimuli...

Sandcastle worm (Phragmatopoma californica) Credit: Fred Hayes

It has the potential for biomedical and non-biological applications. Areas such as tissue repair, dental adhesives and other surface adhesion applications, industrial and commercial – which are often required under adverse conditions, such as salty sea water and in aqueous solutions containing organic impurities – could benefit from this glue, which replicates the adhesion strategy of the Sandcastle worm (Phragmatopoma californica), a segmented marine invertebrate commonly found along the California coast.

Known for constructing hive-like shelters in colonies out of grains of sand glued together by a protein adhesive, sandcastle worms, along with mussels and other glue-secreting inhabitants of the intertidal zone, have served a...