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. This week, researchers reported that mild dietary stress supports healthy aging. Engineers created artificial neurons that can communicate directly with living cells. And dark energy observations suggest that the universe could end in a "big crunch" at 33 billion years old. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-saturday-citations-bird-news-vultures.html Other Sat, 04 Oct 2025 08:30:01 EDT news678707485 Researchers at the University of California, Irvine and Japan's Okayama and Toho universities have conducted a first-of-its-kind study to understand how chitons, mollusks that feed on algae growing on intertidal rocks, develop such hard, wear-resistant and magnetic teeth. What they learned is inspiring new ways to produce advanced materials for a variety of applications. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-nature-hardest-teeth-chitons-blueprint.html Materials Science Thu, 07 Aug 2025 14:00:04 EDT news673714375 When children lose their baby teeth, there is an adult set already growing beneath the gums, ready to emerge. But if we lose our permanent teeth, there aren't any more waiting in the wings. Right now, the options for replacing these lost teeth are either dentures or titanium implants, neither of which provide the same function and feedback as a real, living tooth. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-pigs-regrow-adult-teeth-humans.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 25 Apr 2025 17:05:20 EDT news664819509 Scientists have developed copper oxide nanoparticles which can be coated onto implanted medical devices to reduce the risk of infection after operations. A team at Nottingham Trent University has led the work, which it is hoped will also help to tackle over-reliance on and resistance to antibiotics. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-implanted-medical-devices-coated-copper.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 27 Feb 2025 14:17:11 EST news659888228 If you think oysters are just delicious seafood, think again. Freshwater oysters produce an adhesive that may hold the secret to developing more environmentally friendly glues with applications from dental care to construction and shipping. An international research team recently used the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) to determine what the unique adhesive is made of. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-freshwater-oysters-key-stronger-greener.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 17 Sep 2024 16:44:05 EDT news645810239 Prof. Amit Bandyopadhyay's group from Washington State University presents a knowledge-based discussion of the challenges and possible future directions for the fabrication and application of porous metallic implants. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-porous-metals-orthopedic-implants.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 13 Jul 2023 16:49:03 EDT news608485741 Materials scientists from MISIS University have presented antibacterial nano-coatings with up to 99.99% efficiency against microbial and fungal pathogens. A material based on boron nitride and ultrafine metallized silver or iron oxide nanoparticles does not have typical negative side effects and therefore can become a safe alternative to antibiotics in traumatology, surgery and implantology. The results of the work have been published in the journal Applied Surface Science. https://phys.org/news/2022-08-prickly-safe-boron-nitride-antibiotics.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 18 Aug 2022 09:46:29 EDT news580034785 Scientists from the Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) used photoelectrochemical measurement and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to clarify the source of titanium's biocompatibility when implanted into the body, as with hip replacements and dental implants. They find that its reactivity with the correct ions in the extracellular fluid allows the body to recognize it. This work may lead to new generation medical implants that last longer. https://phys.org/news/2022-05-exploring-titanium-implants-remarkable-biocompatibility.html Biochemistry Tue, 24 May 2022 13:53:36 EDT news572619212 Infections linked to medical devices such as catheters, dental implants, orthopedics and wound dressings could be dramatically reduced using a simple technique, according to new research. https://phys.org/news/2022-02-antibacterial-bioactive-glass-microbial-resistance.html Biochemistry Thu, 24 Feb 2022 12:59:23 EST news564929956 Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a new biomaterial made entirely from discarded bullfrog skin and fish scales that could help in bone repair. https://phys.org/news/2021-05-scientists-aquaculture-biomaterial-tissue.html Materials Science Thu, 27 May 2021 10:18:56 EDT news541329530 A technological advancement that may prove crucial in the long-term success of dental implants has been developed by University of Queensland researchers. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-advanced-nanotechnology-success-dental-implants.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 11 Jun 2020 09:36:42 EDT news511086999 Graphite nanoplatelets integrated into plastic medical surfaces can prevent infections, killing 99.99 per cent of bacteria which try to attach—a cheap and viable potential solution to a problem which affects millions, costs huge amounts of time and money, and accelerates antibiotic resistance. This is according to research from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, in the journal Small. https://phys.org/news/2020-03-graphite-nanoplatelets-medical-devices-bacteria.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 23 Mar 2020 11:52:14 EDT news504183124 Anatomy, Modeling and Biomaterial Fabrication for Dental and Maxillofacial Applications provides readers with information about dental implants and biomaterial fabrication for maxillofacial procedures and dental bone / tissue repair. It will also provide valuable insights into the application and production of bioactive materials for any researchers and students in materials science and biomedical engineering. https://phys.org/news/2018-10-valuable-insights-application-production-bioactive.html Materials Science Thu, 18 Oct 2018 11:00:12 EDT news459075817 Research carried out recently at the Canadian Light Source (CLS) in Saskatoon has revealed promising information about how to build a better dental implant, one that integrates more readily with bone to reduce the risk of failure. https://phys.org/news/2018-07-bond-implants-bone.html Materials Science Wed, 04 Jul 2018 07:32:19 EDT news449908327 Molecules that are more often known for their potential to cause cancer may have a new, health-promoting role. Scientists are now discovering how these "radicals" may be used to prevent infections and promote the long-term success of dental implants. https://phys.org/news/2018-01-radical-methods-infected-implants.html Biochemistry Tue, 09 Jan 2018 08:42:14 EST news434709726 The quest for surfaces capable of preventing bacterial colonisation and adhesion around dental implants is a subject of research interest, according to Beatriz Palla, a researcher in the Biomaterials Group of the UPV/EHU's Department of Polymer Science and Technology. About 10 percent of implants have to be removed due to osseointegration problems or to the onset of infections. https://phys.org/news/2016-12-dental-implants-antibacterial.html Materials Science Wed, 28 Dec 2016 05:52:35 EST news402126747 Titanium is used medically in applications such as artificial joints and dental implants. While it is strong and is not harmful to tissues, the metal lacks some of the beneficial biological properties of natural tissues such as bones and natural teeth. Now, based on insights from mussels—which are able to attach themselves very tightly to even metallic surfaces due to special proteins found in their byssal threads—scientists from RIKEN have successfully attached a biologically active molecule to a titanium surface, paving the way for implants that can be more biologically beneficial. https://phys.org/news/2016-07-mussel-scientists-biologically-titanium-surface.html Materials Science Fri, 08 Jul 2016 08:00:04 EDT news387183595 One million dental implants are inserted every year in Germany, and often they need to be replaced due to issues such as tissue infections caused by bacteria. In the future, these infections will be prevented thanks to a new plasma implant coating that kills pathogens using silver ions. https://phys.org/news/2015-11-dental-implant-infections.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 02 Nov 2015 07:40:40 EST news365672433 A research group at Uppsala University, Sweden has developed a new responsive coating for implants used in surgery to improve their integration into bone and to prevent rejection. Neutron scattering experiments at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble, France have shown how a protein that promotes bone growth binds to this surface and can be released in a controlled way. https://phys.org/news/2014-03-gel-bone-growth-implants-surgical.html Materials Science Sun, 30 Mar 2014 20:00:01 EDT news315396218 Researchers in Japan and China tested a novel urease fabrication process for coating titanium implants with bioactive CaP/gelatin composites. Published in Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, the research suggests that titanium implants coated with CaP and gelatin have great potential in clinical joint replacement or dental implants. https://phys.org/news/2013-10-titanium-implants-bioactive-composite-coatings.html Materials Science Fri, 04 Oct 2013 07:40:09 EDT news300087796 A brighter, better, longer-lasting dental implant may soon be on its way to your dentist's office. https://phys.org/news/2013-09-nanotube-surface-dental-implants-faster.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 23 Sep 2013 09:25:34 EDT news299147121 (Phys.org) —Newcastle University scientists have revealed the mechanism that causes a slime to form, making bacteria hard to shift and resistant to antibiotics. https://phys.org/news/2013-04-reveals-secrets-bacterial-slime.html Biochemistry Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:43:56 EDT news284989429 (Phys.org)—Interest mounts in stretchable electronics, seen as the future direction in mobile electronics. How long before manufacturing giants load retail shelves with devices that have stretchable electronics is anyone's guess, but beyond stretchy tablets and foldable pocket phones, think about a range of applications such as wearable computing, materials that could improve medical techniques, and even dental implants. Progress is being made in labs to figure out practical ways to develop bendable and stretchy products. A research area in interesting substrates and elastomeric materials is growing up; a notable research feat presents a solution to resolve the nagging problem in making stretchy electronics practical—that problem is breakage. https://phys.org/news/2012-12-checkerboard-surface-flexible-electronics.html Materials Science Thu, 13 Dec 2012 04:52:26 EST news274596731 A small crack in a metal wheel caused Germany's worst-ever rail accident—the 1998 Eschede train disaster. The problem: it was practically impossible to detect damage of that nature to a metal by inspecting it externally. But now scientists have succeeded in making material fatigue visible. They designed new synthetic materials that emit light to report high mechanical stress. https://phys.org/news/2012-11-fatigue-nanocrystals-reveal-material.html Materials Science Thu, 29 Nov 2012 13:23:11 EST news273417777 What if, instead of waiting days or weeks for a cast to be produced and prosthetic dental implants, false teeth and replacement crowns to be made, your dentist could quickly scan your jaw and "print" your new teeth using a rapid prototyping machine known as a 3D printer? https://phys.org/news/2011-07-teeth.html Engineering Thu, 14 Jul 2011 09:53:31 EDT news229855991 Using a moving 3D computer model based on the skull and teeth of a New Zealand reptile called tuatara, a BBSRC-funded team from the University of Hull, University College London and the Hull York Medical School has revealed how damage to dental implants and jaw joints may be prevented by sophisticated interplay between our jaws, muscles and brain. This research will appear in a future edition of the Journal of Biomechanics. https://phys.org/news/2010-09-zealand-reptile-false-teeth.html Plants & Animals Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:21:57 EDT news203077302 (PhysOrg.com) -- A prosthodontist from Egypt is helping Lehigh researchers develop bioactive glass that mimics the behavior of living tissue. https://phys.org/news/2010-04-glass-bone-regenerate.html Materials Science Tue, 13 Apr 2010 02:00:02 EDT news190321029 (PhysOrg.com) -- A "metal foam" that has a similar elasticity to bone could mean a new generation of biomedical implants that would avoid bone rejection that often results from more rigid implant materials, such as titanium. Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed the metal foam, which is even lighter than solid aluminum and can be made of 100 percent steel or a combination of steel and aluminum. https://phys.org/news/2010-02-material-mimics-bone-biomedical-implants.html Materials Science Tue, 16 Feb 2010 10:12:36 EST news185537540 (PhysOrg.com) -- Any one of the 8 million Americans who suffer bone fractures each year knows how hard it is to wait for the bones to knit, or heal. Bone healing is also important for integration of dental implants for people with missing or damaged teeth. https://phys.org/news/2009-10-broken-bones.html Materials Science Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:40:02 EDT news174731260