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. A few years ago, a French daily newspaper published an article titled "Korea's Utilization of Algae as a food ingredient for the Earth." The article highlighted the ecological potential of algae, which Westerners typically find unappealing due to its soft and pulpy consistency. Algae possesses the ability to absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide and generate significantly less carbon emissions. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-algae-combined-visible-ink-cultured.html Biotechnology Wed, 24 May 2023 14:51:03 EDT news604158661 A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket beat the rain and launched at 5:08 a.m. Tuesday from Kennedy Space Center to bring 6,500 pounds of cargo that includes a variety of medical experiments to the International Space Station. https://phys.org/news/2021-12-skin-cell-band-aid-monoclonal-antibodies.html Space Exploration Wed, 22 Dec 2021 11:00:04 EST news559392398 Bioprinting is currently used to generate model tissues for research and has potential applications in regenerative medicine. Existing bioprinting techniques rely on printing cells embedded in hydrogels, which results in low-cell-density constructs that are well below what is required to grow functional tissues. Maneuvering different kinds of cells into position to replicate the complex makeup of an organ, particularly at organlike cell densities, is still beyond their capabilities. https://phys.org/news/2021-02-bioprinting-technique-complex-microtissues.html Biotechnology Wed, 17 Feb 2021 08:20:59 EST news532772456 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists have developed a new method for 3-D printing living microbes in controlled patterns, expanding the potential for using engineered bacteria to recover rare-earth metals, clean wastewater, detect uranium and more. https://phys.org/news/2021-02-lab-d-microbes-biomaterials.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:58:48 EST news531651524 Fiber-shaped supercapacitors are a desirable high-performance energy storage technology for wearable electronics. The traditional method for device fabrication is based on a multistep approach to construct energy devices, which can present challenges during fabrication, scalability and durability. To overcome these restrictions, Jingxin Zhao and a team of scientists in physics, electrochemical energy, nanoscience, materials, and chemical engineering in China, the U.S., and Singapore, developed an all-in-one coaxial fiber-shaped asymmetric supercapacitor (FASC) device. The team used direct coherent multi-ink writing, three-dimensional (3-D) printing technology by designing the internal structure of the coaxial needles and regulating the rheological property and feed rates of the multi-ink. The device delivered a superior areal energy and power density with outstanding mechanical stability. The team integrated the fiber-shaped asymmetric supercapacitor (FASC) with mechanical units and pressure sensors to realize high performance and self-powered mechanical devices to monitor systems. The work is now published on Science Advances. https://phys.org/news/2021-01-coherent-multi-ink-fabric-supercapacitors.html Nanophysics Fri, 29 Jan 2021 09:30:02 EST news531129094 Hernias are one of the most common soft tissue injuries. Hernias form when intra-abdominal content, such as a loop of the intestine, squeezes through weak, defective or injured areas of the abdominal wall. https://phys.org/news/2021-01-d-biomesh-minimizes-hernia-complications.html Materials Science Mon, 25 Jan 2021 16:19:30 EST news530813965 3-D bioprinted algae can be harnessed as a sustainable source of oxygen for human cells in engineered vascularized tissues, researchers report November 18 in the journal Matter. They embedded the bioprinted photosynthetic algae, along with human liver-derived cells, in a 3-D hydrogel matrix to create honeycomb-shaped tissues with lobules, similar to the human liver. In the future, the researchers say, the eco-friendly, cost-effective 3-D bioprinting approach may hold potential for applications such as disease modeling, drug development, regenerative and personalized medicine, and even food engineering. https://phys.org/news/2020-11-algae-life-d-tissues.html Materials Science Wed, 18 Nov 2020 11:00:06 EST news524905229 Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine scientists (WFIRM) have developed a method to bioprint a type of cartilage that could someday help restore knee function damaged by arthritis or injury. https://phys.org/news/2020-11-scientists-hybrid-tissue-cartilage-regeneration.html Materials Science Mon, 09 Nov 2020 03:09:02 EST news524113724 Growing meat without the need to grow a whole animal has been the dream of agriculturalists and foodies everywhere for decades. More and more companies are jumping on the bandwagon to recreate the experience of eating meat without the downsides so often associated with its creation. One of those companies is Aleph Farms, based in Israel, which just announced its newest program—Aleph Zero, an effort to grow meat in industrial quantities in space. https://phys.org/news/2020-11-astronauts-explorers-mars-lab-grown-steaks.html Space Exploration Wed, 04 Nov 2020 08:06:45 EST news523699603 The eventual creation of replacement biological parts requires fully three-dimensional capabilities that two-dimensional and three-dimensional thin-film bioprinting cannot supply. Now, using a yield stress gel, Penn State engineers can place tiny aggregates of cells exactly where they want to build the complex shapes that will be necessary to replace bone, cartilage and other tissues. https://phys.org/news/2020-10-gel-instrumental-d-bioprinting-biological.html Condensed Matter Fri, 16 Oct 2020 12:45:35 EDT news522071129 How do you test, in early-stage research, whether a potential pharmaceutical effectively targets a human tumor, organ, or some other part of the body? How do you grow a new hand or another body part? Researchers are in the early stages of using 3-D cell printing technology to make developments like these happen. A standard way—currently unavailable—to fix the cells in place after printing would help researchers avoid having to 'reinvent the wheel' in every new investigation. https://phys.org/news/2020-10-silk-fibers-bioink-d-printed-artificial.html Materials Science Thu, 08 Oct 2020 08:36:10 EDT news521364966 A research group led by Daniel Aili, associate professor at Linköping University, has developed a bioink to print tissue-mimicking material in 3-D printers. The scientists have developed a method and a material that allow cells to survive and thrive. https://phys.org/news/2020-07-bioink-cell-bioprinting-d.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 13 Jul 2020 11:28:05 EDT news513858483 A team of researchers with members from several institutions in China, one in the U.S. and one in Belgium, has developed a method for 3-D printing an ear inside of the body. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes their method and how well it worked on test mice. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-near-infrared-d-ear-body.html Polymers Mon, 08 Jun 2020 08:46:19 EDT news510824766 Microscopically small cages have been produced at TU Wien (Vienna) with grid openings only a few micrometers in size, making them ideal for holding cells and allowing living tissue to grow in a very specific shape. This new field of research is called biofabrication. https://phys.org/news/2020-05-biofabrication-d-sonic-tweezers-creation.html Biotechnology Mon, 04 May 2020 09:46:41 EDT news507804398 Researchers from Cambridge University and University of California San Diego have 3-D printed coral-inspired structures that are capable of growing dense populations of microscopic algae. Their results, reported in the journal Nature Communications, open the door to new bio-inspired materials and their applications for coral conservation. https://phys.org/news/2020-04-d-printed-corals-bioenergy-coral-reefs.html Materials Science Thu, 09 Apr 2020 05:00:01 EDT news505622593 A new method of bioprinting uses aspiration of tiny biologics such as spheroids, cells and tissue strands, to precisely place them in 3-D patterns either on scaffolding or without to create artificial tissues with natural properties, according to Penn State researchers. https://phys.org/news/2020-03-machine-tiny-tissue-spheroids-precisely.html Biotechnology Fri, 06 Mar 2020 14:00:02 EST news502690752 An international team of scientists have discovered a new material that can be 3-D printed to create tissue-like vascular structures. https://phys.org/news/2020-03-biomaterial-discovery-enables-d-tissue-like.html Nanomaterials Wed, 04 Mar 2020 05:00:02 EST news502519027 For the first time, researchers have managed to make intact human organs transparent. Using microscopic imaging, they revealed complex underlying structures of the transparent organs at the cellular level. The resulting organ maps can serve as templates for 3-D bioprinting technologies. In the future, this could lead to the creation of on-demand artificial organs for many patients in need. The findings have been published in Cell. https://phys.org/news/2020-02-transparent-human-d-cellular.html Biotechnology Fri, 14 Feb 2020 08:53:02 EST news500892779 Researchers at EPFL have developed a new, high-precision method for 3-D-printing small, soft objects. The process, which takes less than 30 seconds from start to finish, has potential applications in a wide range of fields, including 3-D bioprinting. https://phys.org/news/2020-02-tiny-high-precision-seconds.html Materials Science Thu, 13 Feb 2020 08:46:52 EST news500806007 The way research in bioprinting will be taken forward has been laid out in a roadmap for the field. https://phys.org/news/2020-02-future-bioprinting.html Biotechnology Fri, 07 Feb 2020 19:00:01 EST news500303857 Who ever said bioengineers can't get their groove on? The Rice University team led by Antonios Mikos says otherwise with its development of a groovy method to seed sophisticated, 3-D-printed tissue-engineering scaffolds with living cells to help heal injuries. https://phys.org/news/2020-02-grooves-sophisticated.html Materials Science Tue, 04 Feb 2020 12:49:32 EST news500042965 Using human blood cells, Brazilian researchers have obtained hepatic organoids ("mini-livers") that perform all of the liver's typical functions, such as producing vital proteins, storing vitamins and secreting bile, among many others. The innovation permits the production of hepatic tissue in the laboratory in only 90 days and may in the future become an alternative to organ transplantation. The study was conducted at the Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center (HUG-CELL). https://phys.org/news/2019-12-functional-mini-liver-d-bioprinting.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 18 Dec 2019 06:50:08 EST news495874205 3-D bioprinting is a highly-advanced manufacturing platform that allows for the printing of tissue, and eventually vital organs, from cells. This could open a new world of possibilities for the medical field, while directly benefiting patients who need replacement organs. https://phys.org/news/2019-12-complexities-bioprinting-multicellular-tissues.html Biochemistry Wed, 11 Dec 2019 08:09:01 EST news495274139 In a new paper, researchers at North Carolina State University lift the veil on the "conductor" plant root stem cell gene that helps orchestrate and coordinate stem cell division of different root stem cell types, ensuring the harmonic communication necessary for plant growth and maintenance. https://phys.org/news/2019-12-conductor-gene-root-stem-cell.html Biotechnology Fri, 06 Dec 2019 06:20:03 EST news494835599 Syringe-injectable biomaterials, medical devices and engineered tissues have attracted great attention as minimally-invasive implants for diagnosis, therapy and regenerative medicine. https://phys.org/news/2019-10-syringe-injectable-self-expandable-ultraconformable-magnetic-nanosheets.html Nanomaterials Wed, 30 Oct 2019 10:35:34 EDT news491650529 Tissue growth and the behavior of cells can be controlled and investigated particularly well by embedding the cells in a delicate 3-D framework. This is achieved using additive 3-D printing methods—so called "bioprinting" techniques. However, this involves a number of challenges: Some methods are very imprecise or only allow a very short time window in which the cells can be processed without being damaged. In addition, the materials used must be cell-friendly during and after the 3-D biopriting process. This restricts the variety of possible materials. https://phys.org/news/2019-10-cells-fine-d-printer.html Materials Science Mon, 21 Oct 2019 10:18:39 EDT news490871879 The prospect of astronauts tucking into a roast dinner has grown slightly closer after a successful experiment used a 3D printer to create meat on the International Space Station. https://phys.org/news/2019-10-small-nibble-d-printer-meat.html Space Exploration Wed, 09 Oct 2019 09:02:17 EDT news489830528 Bioengineers study the development of organ-specific tissues in the lab for therapeutic applications. However, the process is highly challenging, since it requires the fabrication and maintenance of dense cellular constructs composed of approximately 108 cell/mL. Research teams have used organ building blocks (OBBs) composed of patient-specific-induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived organoids as a pathway to achieve the requisite cell density, microarchitecture and tissue function. However, OBBs hitherto remain to be assembled into 3-D tissue constructs. In a recent report, Mark A. Skylar-Scott and an interdisciplinary research team at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University, developed a new biomanufacturing method. https://phys.org/news/2019-09-bioengineering-organ-specific-tissues-high-cellular.html Biotechnology Tue, 17 Sep 2019 06:56:50 EDT news487922198 Thomas E. Angelini, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida and his research group, the Soft Matter Engineering lab have successfully fabricated living micro-beams from glioblastoma cells and extra-cellular material (ECM) embedded in a packed microgel support medium. They subsequently characterized the physical properties of the beams and compared their results against traditional mechanical engineering models. To their surprise, these microscopic, delicate structures behave a lot like the massive beams used in everyday building construction. "We were pleased and excited to see that our micro-beams, only 50 to 200 µm in diameter, acted in accordance with the mechanical principles for other models such as large steel beams," said S. Tori Ellison. Ellison is a Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Ph.D. student who is mentored by Dr. Angelini and is the co-first author on the published paper that resulted from this research. https://phys.org/news/2019-08-team-aims-drug-d-printed-tissues.html Materials Science Fri, 30 Aug 2019 11:22:46 EDT news486382953 Tissue engineers create artificial organs and tissues that can be used to develop and test new drugs, repair damaged tissue and even replace entire organs in the human body. However, current fabrication methods limit their ability to produce free-form shapes and achieve high cell viability. https://phys.org/news/2019-08-bioprinting-complex-tissue-seconds.html Materials Science Fri, 23 Aug 2019 12:26:46 EDT news485781997