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Category: bioengineering – Page 21

Tissue Engineering: Current Strategies and Future Directions

Patients suffering from diseased and injured organs are often treated with transplanted organs, and this treatment has been in use for over 50 years. In 1955, the kidney became the first entire organ to be replaced in a human, when Murray transplanted this organ between identical twins. Several years later, Murray performed an allogeneic kidney transplant from a non-genetically identical patient into another. This transplant, which overcame the immunologic barrier, marked a new era in medicine and opened the door for use of transplantation as a means of therapy for different organ systems.

As modern medicine increases the human lifespan, the aging population grows, and the need for donor organs grows with it, because aging organs are generally more prone to failure. However, there is now a critical shortage of donor organs, and many patients in need of organs will die while waiting for transplants. In addition, even if an organ becomes available, rejection of organs is still a major problem in transplant patients despite improvements in the methods used for immunosuppression following the transplant procedure. Even if rejection does not occur, the need for lifelong use of immunosuppressive medications leads to a number of complications in these patients.

These problems have led physicians and scientists to look to new fields for alternatives to organ transplantation. In the 1960s, a natural evolution occurred in which researchers began to combine new devices and materials sciences with cell biology, and a new field that is now termed tissue engineering was born. As more scientists from different fields came together with the common goal of tissue replacement, the field of tissue engineering became more formally established. Tissue engineering is now defined as an interdisciplinary field which applies the principles of engineering and life sciences towards the development of biological substitutes that aim to maintain, restore or improve tissue function.

Restoring nervous system structure and function using tissue engineered living scaffolds

Neural tissue engineering is premised on the integration of engineered living tissue with the host nervous system to directly restore lost function or to augment regenerative capacity following nervous system injury or neurodegenerative disease. Disconnection of axon pathways – the long-distance fibers connecting specialized regions of the central nervous system or relaying peripheral signals – is a common feature of many neurological disorders and injury. However, functional axonal regeneration rarely occurs due to extreme distances to targets, absence of directed guidance, and the presence of inhibitory factors in the central nervous system, resulting in devastating effects on cognitive and sensorimotor function.

Bioengineering & Nanotechnology

Bioengineers apply engineering and design principles to develop innovative solutions for biological and medical problems. Our researchers are creating tools and technologies to eliminate bottlenecks and reduce the time it takes for discoveries in stem cell research to reach the clinic as life-saving therapies. This includes everything from creating biodegradable scaffolds that can help stem cells Cells that have the ability to differentiate into multiple types of cells and make an unlimited number of copies of themselves. stem cells Cells that have the ability to differentiate into multiple types of cells and make an unlimited number of copies of themselves. regenerate damaged tissue to engineering materials that can make the immune-boosting effects of vaccines last longer.

Nanotechnology is the field of science focused on creating and manipulating structures and materials at the nanometer scale (one billionth of a meter). The application of nanotechnology in medicine recreates the natural scale of biological phenomena, enabling more precise and less invasive approaches for preventing, diagnosing and treating disease. Together with scientists from the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA, our researchers are creating nanomaterials that enable targeted drug and gene delivery, more efficient production of cells for use as therapies and better models of human disease. Because nanotechnology-based methods enhance efficiency, require less material and use up less space, they can offer low cost, high-accuracy solutions for the study, diagnosis and treatment of disease.

By leveraging the combined strengths of nanotechnology and bioengineering, our researchers are accelerating the development of more effective and affordable stem cell-based therapies for a host of intractable medical conditions.

DNA Nanorobots Unlock New Frontiers in Targeted Drug Delivery

Scientists develop DNADNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a molecule composed of two long strands of nucleotides that coil around each other to form a double helix. It is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms that carries genetic instructions for development, functioning, growth, and reproduction. Nearly every cell in a person’s body has the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA). tabindex=0 DNA nanorobots capable of modifying artificial cells.

Macquarie To Invest Up To $5 Billion In Applied Digital AI Data Centers

In today’s AI news, Macquarie will invest up to $5 billion in data centers being built by artificial-intelligence infrastructure company Applied Digital, adding to the Australian bank’s substantial AI-related investments.

And, President Joe Biden will issue an executive order on Tuesday to provide federal support to address massive energy needs for fast-growing advanced artificial intelligence data centers, the White House said.

The order calls for leasing federal sites owned by Defense and Energy departments to host gigawatt-scale AI data centers and new clean power facilities — to address enormous power needs on a short time frame.

Then, Microsoft is creating a new engineering group that’s focused on artificial intelligence. Led by former Meta engineering chief Jay Parikh, the new CoreAI – Platform and Tools division will combine Microsoft’s Dev Div and AI platform teams together to focus on building an AI platform and tools.

S strategy to enhance its AI capabilities across hybrid cloud environments.” + In videos, Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy announces a new “upskill” initiative on AI as they work to address a global skills shortage. He joins Caroline Hyde on “Bloomberg Technology” to discuss the companies investment in educating people on AI skills.

Then Eleven Labs’ Louis Jordan demonstrates a conversational AI voice agent that can be integrated with Stripe to promote purchases, issue refunds, apply coupons and credits as well as many other payment related transactions with customers. Louis remarks that this is the future of in-app customer service.

And, did you know the U.S. nurse labor market is over $600 billion annually, but the dedicated software market for nurses is almost zero? In this episode, a16z General Partners Alex Rampell, David Haber, and Angela Strange discuss how AI is revolutionizing labor by automating tasks traditionally done by humans.

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DNA nanorobots that can alter artificial cells offer a new tool for synthetic biology

The shape and morphology of a cell play a key role in the biological function. This corresponds to the principle of “form follows function,” which is common in modern fields of design and architecture. The transfer of this principle to artificial cells is a challenge in synthetic biology. Advances in DNA nanotechnology now offer promising solutions. They allow the creation of novel transport channels that are large enough to facilitate the passage of therapeutic proteins across cell membranes.

In this emerging field, Prof. Laura Na Liu, Director of the 2nd Physics Institute at the University of Stuttgart and Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research (MPI-FKF), has developed an innovative tool for controlling the shape and permeability of lipid membranes in synthetic cells. These membranes are made up of that enclose an aqueous compartment and serve as simplified models of biological membranes. They are useful for studying membrane dynamics, protein interactions, and lipid behavior.

The work is published in Nature Materials.

Speed Unleashed: How a Tiny Quantum Switch Is Supercharging Data Centers

Researchers at the university of pennsylvania.

The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) is a prestigious private Ivy League research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1740 by Benjamin Franklin, Penn is one of the oldest universities in the United States. It is renowned for its strong emphasis on interdisciplinary education and its professional schools, including the Wharton School, one of the leading business schools globally. The university offers a wide range of undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs across various fields such as law, medicine, engineering, and arts and sciences. Penn is also known for its significant contributions to research, innovative teaching methods, and active campus life, making it a hub of academic and extracurricular activity.

Synthetic beads mimic critical process in cell division, opening new paths for biomachines

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.

Discovery of new skeletal tissue advances regenerative medicine potential

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.

A new era in genetic engineering: Researchers present single tool with multiple gene editing functions

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).