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Archive for the ‘biotech/medical’ category: Page 2415

May 18, 2017

A Bioengineered ‘Pancreas’ Has Ended One Diabetic’s Need For Insulin

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical

Even the most exciting breakthrough medical treatment can be rendered obsolete by a particularly insurmountable obstacle: time.

If a treatment only works temporarily, it has little chance of making a significant difference in the lives of patients, which is why the latest news from the University of Miami’s Diabetes Research Institute is so exciting.

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May 17, 2017

Bizarre Mini Brains Offer a Fascinating New Look at the Brain

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

Brain balls sound like something straight out of a Tim Burton movie: starting as stem cells harvested from patients, they eventually develop into masses of living neurons, jumbled together in misshapen blobs.

Just like the developing brain, these neurons stretch and grow, reaching out skinny branches that grab onto others to form synapses—junctions where one neuron talks with the next.

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May 17, 2017

3D Printed Medical Implants That Fit the Body Perfectly Are on the Way

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, bioprinting, biotech/medical

Bioprinting new organs and tissues could make transplants available and affordable for all, but is still decades away. In the meantime, scientists have re-purposed the technology to 3D print biocompatible high-precision silicone implants instead.

Soft materials like biological material or silicone are difficult to 3D print because they can’t support themselves like the more rigid plastics typically used by 3D printers. In 2015, Tommy Angelini’s lab at the University of Florida developed a new way of 3D printing soft materials by injecting them into a granular gel similar to hand sanitizer that supports them as they are deposited.

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May 17, 2017

This Plant-Based ‘Molecular Condom’ Is Our Latest Shot at a Male Contraceptive

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Researchers have come up with yet another candidate for a male contraceptive — this time in the form of a chemical found in certain traditional arthritis remedies.

The team identified molecules that stop sperm from reaching the necessary speed to charge into the egg cell, opening the way for both a new kind of emergency contraceptive and prophylactic that anybody could use.

The target of these molecules is a small gate found throughout the sperm’s tail called Catsper (a combination of cation channel and sperm), which was identified in 2001 by researchers studying male infertility.

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May 17, 2017

Lab-grown blood stem cells produced at last

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Two research teams cook up recipe to make long-sought cells in mice and people.

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May 17, 2017

Researchers Are Using Stem Cell Tech to End Neurological Disorders

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

  • Researchers have constructed a laboratory model for a unique neurological disorder by transforming patients’ own cells using stem cell technology.
  • This innovation could also benefit the research of other neurological disorders that may also have roots in a dysfunctional blood-brain barrier, like Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s disease.

The human body is a melding of different systems designed to function well together. In some cases, however, a mechanism that protects the body can also cause it harm, like with the specialized shield of endothelial cells — called the blood-brain barrier — that keeps toxins in the blood from entering the brain.

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May 17, 2017

Bronze Age beaker culture invaded Britain 4,000 years ago

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

New research carried out one of the biggest ever studies of ancient genomes…


A Bronze Age ‘beaker culture’ invaded Britain 4,000 years ago: Intruders forced out ancient farmers that built famous relics such as Stonehenge.

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May 17, 2017

Scientists are close‘ to creating blood using a patient’s own SKIN

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

End of donations? Scientists are ‘tantalisingly close’ to creating human blood using a patient’s own SKIN…


Ground-breaking research could pave the way for blood cells to be generated from a patient’s own skin, spelling the end for blood donations.

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May 17, 2017

A bioprosthetic ovary created using 3D printed microporous scaffolds restores ovarian function in sterilized mice

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, bioengineering, biotech/medical, cyborgs

3D printed ovaries restore fertility to mice. Another step towards more complex organs.


There is a clinical need to develop a bioengineering system to support ovary transplantation. Here, the authors generate a bioprosthetic ovary using 3D printed scaffolds of varying pore architectures to support follicle survival and ovarian function in sterilized mice.

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May 16, 2017

New 3D-printing method may allow for fast, low-cost, more-flexible medical implants for millions

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, biotech/medical

University of Florida (UF) researchers have developed a method for 3D printing soft-silicone medical implants that are stronger, quicker, less expensive, more flexible, and more comfortable than the implants currently available. That should be good news for the millions of people every year who need medical devices implanted.

Model 3D-printed silicone trachea implant (credit: University of Florida)

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