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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Despite outward appearances, plants and animals share surprising similarities in their vascular network structures. So what if there was a way to take advantage of these similarities to grow human cardiac tissue using leaves? The WPU researchers have done just that.
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Earlier this month, bad weather in Spain caused a vegetable shortage crisis in the UK, leading some supermarkets to ration the number of certain greens that customers could buy. Could creating a new line of broccoli for all seasons help avert another climate-induced veggie crisis?
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While the act of picking up an object is something most of us take for granted, for prostheses users, it can be an exercise in frustration. Could a new robotic arm that detects motor neuron signals nudge researchers closer to creating an artificial limb that resembles the real thing?
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At the recent SUNZ Summit we met up with Dr Amy Fletcher and asked her whether we should consider bioengineering animals that could live in the world we're creating, rather than in the one we're destroying?
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