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IMAGE: a, An illustrative image for a typical three-dimensional direct laser writing process. A femoto second later was tightly focused into a photosensitive material (hydrogel in our case). b, Fabrication. view more
Credit: by Haoyi Yu, Haibo Ding, Qiming Zhang, Zhongze Gu, and Min Gu
Three-dimensional (3D) direct laser writing (DLW) based on two-photon polymerisation (TPP) is an advanced technology for fabricating precise 3D hydrogel micro- and nanostructures for applications in biomedical engineering. Particularly, the use of visible lasers for the 3D DLW of hydrogels is advantageous because it enables high fabrication resolution and promotes wound healing. Polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGda) has been widely used in TPP fabrication owing to its high biocompatibility. However, the high laser power required in the 3D DLW of PEGda microstructures using a visible laser in a high-water-content environment limits its applications to only those below the biolog
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IMAGE: Pictorial representation of joint experimental and computational study of materials. The study utilized the Advanced Photon Source (upper panel) and Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (lower panel). The team addressed the. view more
Credit: Emmanuel Gygi, University of California, San Diego
Computer simulations hold tremendous promise to accelerate the molecular engineering of green energy technologies, such as new systems for electrical energy storage and solar energy usage, as well as carbon dioxide capture from the environment. However, the predictive power of these simulations depends on having a means to confirm that they do indeed describe the real world.
Such confirmation is no simple task. Many assumptions enter the setup of these simulations. As a result, the simulations must be carefully checked by using an appropriate validation protocol involving experimental measurements.
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Renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, could help decrease the world s reliance on fossil fuels. But first, power companies need a safe, cost-effective way to store the energy for later use. Massive lithium-ion batteries can do the job, but they suffer from safety issues and limited lithium availability. Now, researchers reporting in ACS
Nano Letters have made a prototype of an anode-free, zinc-based battery that uses low-cost, naturally abundant materials.
Aqueous zinc-based batteries have been previously explored for grid-scale energy storage because of their safety and high energy density. In addition, the materials used to make them are naturally abundant. However, the rechargeable zinc batteries developed so far have required thick zinc metal anodes, which contain a large excess of zinc that increases cost. Also, the anodes are prone to forming dendrites crystalline projections of zinc metal that deposit on the anode during charging that can sh
Pseudonocardia and
Streptomyces bacteria are their farmhands, producing metabolites that protect the crop from pathogens. Surprisingly, these metabolites lack common structural features across bacteria from different geographic locations, even though the ants share a common ancestor. Now, researchers report in
ACS Central Science they have identified the first shared antifungal compound among many of these bacteria across Brazil. The compound could someday have medical applications.
Attine ants originated as one species at a single location in the Amazon 50 million years ago. They have evolved to 200 species that have spread their farming practices throughout South and Central America. In exchange for food, bacteria at these farms produce small molecules that hold pathogenic fungi such as
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IMAGE: Biomedical engineers have developed a technique to observe wound healing in real time, discovering a central role for cells known as fibroblasts. The work is the first demonstration of a. view more
Credit: Jeroen Eyckmans, Juliann B. Tefft
WASHINGTON, January 19, 2021 Biomedical engineers developed a technique to observe wound healing in real time, discovering a central role for cells known as fibroblasts. The work, reported in
APL Bioengineering, by AIP Publishing, is the first demonstration of a wound closure model within human vascularized tissue in a petri dish.
Prior investigations of wound healing have used animal models, but healing in humans does not occur the same way. One difference is that wounds in mice and rats, for example, can heal without granulation tissue, a type of tissue critical to the healing of human wounds.