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Category: bioengineering – Page 11

In a study that could help scientists better understand and manipulate cell division, RIKEN biologists have engineered artificial structures that replicate one of life’s most crucial processes—the precise division of packages of DNA known as chromosomes.

When a cell starts splitting into two , its align. The process of chromosome alignment can be likened to a high-stakes game of tug-of-war.

In a healthy cell, chromosomes line up at the center, each pulled by fibers extending from opposite sides of the cell. These fibers attach to kinetochores—anchors that ensure chromosomes are evenly pulled apart during —at the center of the dividing structures.

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An international research team led by the University of California, Irvine has discovered a new type of skeletal tissue that offers great potential for advancing regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.

Most cartilage relies on an external extracellular matrix for strength, but “lipocartilage,” which is found in the ears, nose and throat of mammals, is uniquely packed with fat-filled cells called “lipochondrocytes” that provide super-stable internal support, enabling the tissue to remain soft and springy—similar to bubbled packaging material.

The study, published in the journal Science, describes how lipocartilage cells create and maintain their own lipid reservoirs, remaining constant in size. Unlike ordinary adipocyte fat cells, lipochondrocytes never shrink or expand in response to food availability.

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Influential inventions often combine existing tools in new ways. The iPhone, for instance, amalgamated the telephone, web browser and camera, among many other devices.

The same is now possible in . Rather than employ separate tools for editing genes and regulating their expression, these distinct goals can now be combined into a single tool that can simultaneously and independently address different genetic diseases in the same cell.

In a new paper in Nature Communications, researchers in the Center for Precision Engineering for Health (CPE4H) at the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science (Penn Engineering) describe minimal versatile genetic perturbation technology (mvGPT).

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Just like your body has a skeleton, every cell in your body has a skeleton—a cytoskeleton to be precise. This provides cells with mechanical resilience, as well as assisting with cell division. To understand how real cells work, e.g. for drug and disease research, researchers create artificial cells in the laboratory.

However, many artificial cells to date cannot be used to study how cells respond to forces as they don’t have a . TU/e researchers have designed a polymer-based network for artificial cells that mimics a real cytoskeleton, thus making it possible to study with greater accuracy in artificial cells how cells respond to forces.

The research is published in the journal Nature Chemistry.

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UC Riverside scientists have developed a nanopore-based tool that could help diagnose illnesses much faster and with greater precision than current tests allow, by capturing signals from individual molecules.

Since the molecules scientists want to detect—generally certain DNA or protein molecules—are roughly one-billionth of a meter wide, the they produce are very small and require specialized detection instruments.

“Right now, you need millions of molecules to detect diseases. We’re showing that it’s possible to get useful data from just a ,” said Kevin Freedman, assistant professor of bioengineering at UCR and lead author of a paper about the tool appearing in Nature Nanotechnology. “This level of sensitivity could make a real difference in disease diagnostics.”

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Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have developed an innovative technology inspired by the synchronization mechanism of WWI fighter aircraft, which coordinated machine gun fire with propeller movement. This breakthrough allows precise, real-time control of the pH in a cell’s environment to influence its behavior. Detailed in Nano Letters, the study opens exciting possibilities for developing new cancer and heart disease therapies and advancing the field of tissue engineering.

“Every cell is responsive to pH,” explains Jinglei Ping, associate professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at UMass Amherst and corresponding author of the study. “The behavior and functions of cells are impacted heavily by pH. Some cells lose viability when the pH has a certain level and for some cells, the pH can change their physiological properties.” Previous work has demonstrated that changes of pH as small as 0.1 pH units can have physiologically significant effects on cells.

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A dietary supplement may offer a novel way to enhance the effectiveness of CAR T cell therapy, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine and the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Although this method requires validation through clinical trials, early findings—recently presented during a press briefing at the 66th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition—suggest a potentially affordable and accessible strategy to improve CAR T cell functionality and cancer-fighting capabilities.

CAR T cell therapy, first developed at Penn Medicine, is a personalized cancer treatment that reprograms a patient’s immune cells to target and destroy cancer cells.

“Thousands of patients with blood cancers have been successfully treated with CAR T cell therapy, but it still doesn’t work for everyone,” said co-lead author Shan Liu, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow who presented the study at ASH. “We took an outside-the-box approach to improve CAR T cell therapy, by targeting T cells through diet rather than further genetic engineering.”

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Middlemen get a bad rap for adding cost and complications to an operation. So, eliminating the go-betweens can reduce expense and simplify a process, increasing efficiency and consumer happiness.

James Dahlman and his research team have been thinking along those same lines for . They’ve created a technique that eliminates noisome middlemen and could lead to new, less-invasive treatments for blood disorders and . It sidesteps the discomfort and risks of current treatments, making life easier for patients.

“This would be an alternative to invasive hematopoietic stem cell therapies—we could just give you an IV drip,” said Dahlman, McCamish Early Career Professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering. “It simplifies the process and reduces the risks to patients. That’s why this work is important.”

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