New Atlas

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Bioengineered spinal discs show promise – in goats

Ben Coxworth November 22, 2018

As the shock-absorbing cartilage discs between our vertebrae degenerate due to aging, accidents or overuse, severe back pain can result. While some scientists have developed purely synthetic replacement discs, a recent test on goats indicates that bioengineered discs may be a better way to go.

One of the goat-size eDAPS, prior to implantation

Medical

3D-printed nerve stem cells could help patch up spinal cord injuries

Michael Irving August 10, 2018

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have designed a silicone device, covered in 3D-printed neuronal stem cells, that can be implanted into a spinal injury. There it grows new connections between remaining nerves to let patients regain some motor control.

A 3D-printed device, loaded with neuronal stem cells, that can be implanted into an injured spinal ...

Medical

Bioengineered lungs successfully transplanted into pigs

Michael Irving August 2, 2018

What if doctors could grow new organs for transplant on demand from a patient’s own cells? In a major step towards this future, scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) have now transplanted bioengineered lungs into pigs, with no complications arising from the procedure.

Medical

Harvard's artificial heart parts beat like the real thing

Michael Irving July 23, 2018

It's difficult to study how the heart reacts to diseases and medications. Researchers at Harvard have now grown a model of a human left ventricle that spontaneously beats, marking a substantial step towards engineering entire hearts for more accurate testing of new treatments.

Harvard scientists have grown a beating human heart ventricle to help model disease and drug treatments

Biology

Oat-based protein acts like "demolition expert" in slaying cells

Michael Franco September 12, 2017

Biologists often concern themselves with preserving cells. However, it is also advantageous to learn how to kill them, without having their contents exploding into neighboring tissue. That's exactly what bioengineers have done by linking a "suicide" enzyme with a light-sensitive molecule.

UCSF has referred to the new technique as a "biological light saber"

Science

Scientists create first-ever lab-grown reptile skin

David Szondy June 27, 2017

We can grow human skin in the laboratory but it hasn't been possible to do the same with non-mammals – until now. Scientists have successfully reconstructed the skin of a green sea turtle as part of a study to learn more about a virus infection that threatens the endangered reptile species.

Green sea turtles are listed as threatened or endangered throughout their range

Biology

Listening to cellular conversations to grow better livers in the lab

Michael Irving June 14, 2017

Organ transplants save lives, but in terms of human donors, demand far exceeds supply. Current research is looking into how replacements could be grown in a lab, and now a team has found a way to control how different types of cells arrange themselves during development.

A three-day-old mini-liver, grown in a lab from human pluripotent stem cells

Medical

Scientists create bioengineered bone for marrow transplants

David Szondy May 8, 2017

A team of bioengineers at the University of California San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering has developed a type of artificial bone that may one day allow doctors to conduct bone marrow transplants with fewer side effects.

Biology

Reprogramming the immune system to reverse paralysis

Lisa-Ann Lee April 4, 2017

What if, like computers, the immune system could be reprogrammed to restore the body’s functions? Scientists at the University of Maryland have done just that with paralyzed mice, using an experimental treatment that might one day reverse the effects of autoimmune diseases in humans.

Before receiving treatment, the mouse (left) could only move by dragging its body with its forelimbs ...

Science

Eyeball transplanted onto tail lets blind tadpoles see again

Lisa-Ann Lee March 30, 2017

Eye transplants are yet to become a reality as scientists have not figured out how to reconnect them to the brain. However, a new study, in which blind tadpoles were able to use transplanted eyes on their tails to see, suggests there might be another way to restore sight in humans.

A blind tadpole with an eyeball grafted onto its tail