https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Nanomedicine uses ultra-small particles to deliver drugs directly to the tissues and cells that need them, improving treatment effectiveness while reducing side effects. This approach underpins some clinically approved RNA-based technologies and chemotherapy drugs. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-protein-coatings-nanoparticles-ability-immune.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 16 Oct 2025 12:05:04 EDT news679835101 Beneath a cloak of darkness, illuminated only by glow sticks and red-filtered flashlights, researchers waited underwater off Key Largo hoping to witness one of the rarest events of sex in the sea. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-scientists-witness-successful-spawn-rare.html Plants & Animals Mon, 18 Aug 2025 07:50:01 EDT news674721804 A new process could help to treat liver disease without needing an organ transplant, a new study reveals. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-sugar-coated-sticky-stem-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 10 Jul 2025 05:00:07 EDT news671267462 Researchers in Japan have successfully generated lung cells similar to alveolar epithelial type 2 (AT2) cells from mouse embryonic fibroblasts without using stem cell technology. The AT2-like cells were generated in just 7 to 10 days—a significant reduction compared to the approximately one month typically required by conventional stem cell-based differentiation methods. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-lung-cells-generated-mouse-fibroblasts.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 03 Jul 2025 12:28:03 EDT news670764481 In Antarctica's freezing depths, tiny creatures have mastered survival tactics that could unlock secrets to extreme cold resistance, with implications for science and medicine. Some of the most intense battles against the environment are waged by the smallest of creatures. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-insects-smallest-animals-survive-antarctica.html Plants & Animals Mon, 14 Apr 2025 14:10:01 EDT news663856557 UCLA scientists have identified a protein that plays a critical role in regulating human blood stem cell self-renewal by helping them sense and interpret signals from their environment. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-scientists-piece-required-blood-stem.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 05 Jun 2024 12:01:04 EDT news636807662 University of Central Florida College of Medicine researcher Renee Fleeman is on a mission to kill drug-resistant bacteria, and her latest study has identified a therapy that can penetrate the slime that such infections use to protect themselves from antibiotics. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-antimicrobial-peptide-cows-potential-hypervirulent.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 02 May 2024 09:34:34 EDT news633861271 Scientists have solved a cellular murder mystery nearly 25 years after the case went cold. Following a trail of evidence from fruit flies to mice to humans revealed that cannibalistic cells likely cause a rare human immunodeficiency. Now the discovery shows promise for enhancing an up-and-coming cancer treatment. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-bad-cells-good-harnessing-cellular.html Cell & Microbiology Sun, 07 Jan 2024 06:18:22 EST news623830682 Bacillus anthracis lethal toxin (LT) is a determinant of lethal anthrax. Its function in myeloid cells is required for bacterial dissemination, and LT itself can directly trigger dysfunction of the cardiovascular system. The interplay between LT and the host responses is important in the pathogenesis, but our knowledge of this interplay remains limited. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-anthrax-lethal-toxin-tumor-necrosis.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 27 Dec 2023 08:54:38 EST news622889675 A microbial sensor that helps identify and fight bacterial infections also plays a key role in the development of blood stem cells, providing a valuable new insight in the effort to create patient-derived blood stem cells that could eliminate the need for bone marrow transplants. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-crucial-blood-stem-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 19 Dec 2023 13:06:52 EST news622213607 Researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA are one step closer to developing stem cell therapies to regenerate skeletal muscle in humans. Working in mice, the UCLA team discovered how to make lab-grown muscle stem cells persist within muscle tissue and form new muscle. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-stem-cell-paves-regenerating-skeletal.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 02 Nov 2023 16:40:50 EDT news618162046 A readily available, inexpensive, small molecule drug can improve the fitness of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) that are modified outside the body, potentially improving the success of procedures such as ex vivo gene therapy, according to a new study by researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). https://phys.org/news/2023-09-cells-cell-transplants.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 27 Sep 2023 10:22:27 EDT news615028944 A team of bioengineers and biomedical scientists from the University of Sydney and the Children's Medical Research Institute (CMRI) at Westmead have used 3D photolithographic printing to create a complex environment for assembling tissue that mimics the architecture of an organ. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-method-future-3d-human-tissues.html Biotechnology Fri, 11 Aug 2023 06:43:15 EDT news610954988 Fungal infections are killing thousands of Americans each year, some with a morbidity rate of nearly 80%. To make matters worse, only a handful of antifungal treatments are available, and even those are becoming less effective as fungi become more resistant. However, University of Oklahoma researchers have recently published findings in the Journal of Natural Products indicating that a novel breakthrough treatment may have been discovered. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-antifungal-molecule.html Biochemistry Mon, 07 Aug 2023 16:38:44 EDT news610645118 In a step forward in the development of genetic medicines, researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a proof-of-concept model for delivering gene editing tools to treat blood disorders, allowing for the modification of diseased blood cells directly within the body. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-scientists-vivo-rna-based-gene-blood.html Biotechnology Thu, 27 Jul 2023 14:00:01 EDT news609672100 There is a need for new drugs. For example, many of the antibiotics that we have been using for a long time are becoming less effective. Chemists and pharmaceutical scientists are frantically searching for new active substances, especially those that can penetrate cell membranes, as these are the only ones that patients can take orally in the form of a tablet or syrup. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-simulations-deepen-drugs-blood.html Biochemistry Thu, 13 Apr 2023 09:02:04 EDT news600595321 Cells in the blood such as immune cells, red blood cells and other vital cell types are constantly renewed from stem cells, the so-called hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Certain diseases of the blood system, such as genetic diseases or leukemias, can be effectively treated by stem cell transplants, but suitable, genetically matched donors are not always available. https://phys.org/news/2023-02-pluripotent-stem-cells-blood-future.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 17 Feb 2023 10:08:33 EST news595850910 Stem cells from umbilical cords in Skåne are improved with nanotubes. By cross-pollinating nanotechnology with stem cell biology, researchers are creating gentle methods to ensure that more cells perform better. Blood stem cells are altered without showing that they have been modified. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-kind-methods-happy-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 03 Jan 2023 10:50:01 EST news591963728 Researchers from City of Hope, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States, have identified how a protein receptor targeted by about 33% of all federally approved medication works. The discovery could facilitate pharmaceutical research because how and why this protein chooses to link to other proteins is critical to how cells will respond to medicines. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-g-protein-coupled-receptor-cancer-treatments.html Biochemistry Mon, 05 Dec 2022 12:23:03 EST news589465381 Every day in the United States, 17 people die waiting for an organ transplant, and every nine minutes, another person is added to the transplant waiting list, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration. One potential solution to alleviate the shortage is to develop biomaterials that can be three-dimensionally (3D) printed as complex organ shapes, capable of hosting cells and forming tissues. Attempts so far, though, have fallen short, with the so-called bulk hydrogel bioinks failing to integrate into the body properly and support cells in thick tissue constructs. https://phys.org/news/2022-08-granular-hydrogel-bioink-possibilities-tissue.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 25 Aug 2022 10:24:03 EDT news580641841 Enhancement of adhesion molecules improves the ability of blood-forming stem cells to take root in transplant recipients. https://phys.org/news/2022-08-sticky-stem-cells-transplants.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 25 Aug 2022 10:10:06 EDT news580641001 Australian scientists have taken the first step towards improved storage of human cells, which may lead to the safe storage of organs such as hearts and lungs. https://phys.org/news/2022-06-storage-closer-cryopreservation-discovery.html Biochemistry Wed, 22 Jun 2022 13:14:04 EDT news575122441 The origins of our blood may not be quite what we thought. Using cellular "barcoding" in mice, a groundbreaking study finds that blood cells originate not from one type of mother cell, but two, with potential implications for blood cancers, bone marrow transplant, and immunology. Fernando Camargo, Ph.D., of the Stem Cell Program at Boston Children's Hospital led the study, published in Nature on June 15. https://phys.org/news/2022-06-upends-blood.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 15 Jun 2022 12:17:24 EDT news574514238 Whether there are endogenous adult heart progenitors that can replenish damaged muscle cells remained controversial. Now researchers at Karolinska Institute in Sweden show that the outermost layer of the heart, called epicardium, acts as a source of cardiac muscle cells through formation of an intriguing honeycomb-like structure. https://phys.org/news/2022-05-heart-progenitors-spontaneously-regenerate-cardiac.html Plants & Animals Mon, 16 May 2022 10:06:22 EDT news571914380 Blood-forming stem cells found in bone marrow are the life-saving component used in bone marrow transplants. However, suitable donors cannot be found in many cases. A new study reveals how the human embryo develops the precursor to blood-forming stem cells, which researchers say can be used in the novel method they developed to generate blood-forming stem cells from cells in a tissue culture. https://phys.org/news/2022-04-reveals-human-embryo-precursor-blood-forming.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 28 Apr 2022 12:22:58 EDT news570367374 Interspecies chimerism is a phenomenon of an organism consisting of tissue and genetic information from two different species. Currently, many studies investigate the use of interspecies chimerism with human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) to generate functional human cells, tissues or organs in large animals, which is expected to solve the shortage of functional tissues and organs for transplant. However, hPSCs interspecies chimerism faces barriers due to the extremely low chimeric contribution of hPSCs. https://phys.org/news/2022-04-functional-human-blood-cells-interspecies.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 19 Apr 2022 10:37:07 EDT news569583425 Individuals living with Type 1 diabetes must carefully follow prescribed insulin regimens every day, receiving injections of the hormone via syringe, insulin pump or some other device. And without viable long-term treatments, this course of treatment is a lifelong sentence. https://phys.org/news/2022-01-nanotherapy-treatment-diabetes.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 17 Jan 2022 11:00:02 EST news561629703 Realizing the vision of culturing organs for use in life-saving transplantation procedures is still a long way off. However, the work of Prof. Jacob Hanna on stem cells is paving the way for this to become a reality. https://phys.org/news/2021-12-closer-human-transplantation.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 30 Dec 2021 14:02:41 EST news560095354 Scientists have found a way to prove that biochemical signals sent from cell to cell play an important role in determining how those cells develop. https://phys.org/news/2021-12-cells-major-role-fate.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 23 Dec 2021 08:27:57 EST news559470470 Biomedical engineers at Duke University have devised a pouch designed to create temporary chimeras—mixed species—to treat diseases. In a proof-of-concept study, the device protected transplanted human liver cells from mice's immune systems for six months while they produced crucial biomolecules. https://phys.org/news/2021-10-device-human-liver-cells-critical.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 12 Oct 2021 09:22:58 EDT news553249373