Credit: Stupp Lab / Northwestern University
Imagine if surgeons could transplant healthy neurons into patients living with neurodegenerative diseases or brain and spinal cord injuries. And imagine if they could grow these neurons in the laboratory from a patient s own cells using a synthetic, highly bioactive material that is suitable for 3D printing.
By discovering a new printable biomaterial that can mimic properties of brain tissue, Northwestern University researchers are now closer to developing a platform capable of treating these conditions using regenerative medicine.
A key ingredient to the discovery is the ability to control the self-assembly processes of molecules within the material, enabling the researchers to modify the structure and functions of the systems from the nanoscale to the scale of visible features. The laboratory of Samuel I. Stupp published a 2018 paper in the journal
Date Time
New technology enables predictive design of engineered human cells
Northwestern University synthetic biologist Joshua Leonard used to build devices when he was a child using electronic kits. Now he and his team have developed a design-driven process that uses parts from a very different kind of toolkit to build complex genetic circuits for cellular engineering.
One of the most exciting frontiers in medicine is the use of living cells as therapies. Using this approach to treat cancer, for example, many patients have been cured of previously untreatable disease. These advances employ the approaches of synthetic biology, a growing field that blends tools and concepts from biology and engineering.
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Nanotherapy shows potential for treating severe Crohn s disease
Scientists from the Stanley Manne Children s Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children s Hospital of Chicago demonstrated that a nanotherapy reduces intestinal inflammation and shrinks lesions in a rodent model of severe Crohn s disease. This approach could become an alternative to biologic antibody therapies that carry many side effects, including increased risk of certain cancers. It might also prevent the need for surgery in the future. Findings were published in the journal
Advanced Therapeutics.
Crohn s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the digestive tract, most often in the small intestine. It can lead to intestinal obstruction and perforation, bleeding, abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss and malnutrition leading to growth abnormalities in children.
New Potential Therapy for Crohn s Disease in Children newswise.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from newswise.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.