New Atlas

Medical Audio available

"Welded" stem cells may help heal wounds

Ben Coxworth April 23, 2019

For many years now, scientists have been seeking methods of helping to heal chronic wounds such as those suffered by diabetics. One of the latest possible techniques involves re-engineering the membranes of stem cells, so that those cells essentially get welded together.

An artist's impression of two mesenchymal stem cells being welded together

Biology Audio available

Genetic mutation allows Scottish woman to resist pain and heal faster

Michael Irving March 28, 2019

A woman in Scotland has been found to have a previously-unknown genetic mutation that makes her almost completely immune to pain. Her wounds heal faster and she seems to have less anxiety and fear. Geneticists are now studying the genes responsible to uncover new potential treatments for pain relief

A new genetic study has identified gene mutations that appear to allow a Scottish woman to ...

Medical Audio available

Dynamic healing molecules change their tune along the road to recovery

Nick Lavars January 7, 2019

Scientists have come up with a molecule that can spur different cells into action throughout different stages of wound healing, enabling a new kind of dynamic technology that could be channeled into materials that respond to the task at hand.

Broken bones are just one example of an injury that could one day be treated using ...

Medical

Motion-powered electric bandage speeds healing by zapping wounds

Ben Coxworth November 30, 2018

For some time now, scientists have known that electrical currents can help heal chronic wounds. And while there are electrotherapy units that are in use, they can be quite bulky and complex. That's why researchers have created an "electric bandage" that's powered by the motion of the body.

Prof. Xudong Wang fits one of the bandages around the wrist of graduate student Yin Long

Medical Audio available

Highly adhesive hydrogel sticks to the task of tissue regeneration

Nick Lavars November 22, 2018

Scientists in Switzerland have developed a new form of hydrogel they say has unparalleled adhesive properties, a characteristic that could prove particularly useful in trying to repair cartilage and meniscus.

Scientists in Switzerland have developed a new hydrogel that remains adhered to broken tissues for longer ...

Medical

New healing hydrogel is full of holes

Ben Coxworth November 20, 2018

Although we've already heard about hydrogels that help to heal chronic wounds, the University of New Hampshire's Asst. Prof. Kyung Jae Jeong states that most of them aren't porous enough. An inexpensive micro-hole-filled gel made by his team, however, is claimed to perform much better.

An electron microscope image of the porous hydrogel

Medical

Could silk and gold replace stitches and staples?

Ben Coxworth November 2, 2018

If you need to close up an injury or incision in human body tissue, you use sutures, staples or a surgical adhesive … right? Well, if technology that's currently being developed at Arizona State University gets commercialized, liquid silk combined with gold may eventually be a better way to go.

The LANS technology incorporates liquid silk obtained from silkworm cocoons

Medical

Cell-laden contact lens being developed to treat eye injuries

Ben Coxworth November 2, 2018

Currently, if someone has a damaged cornea (the surface of the eye), it's covered with a "bandage" made from the amniotic membrane of human placentas. While this helps repair the eye, an Australian scientist is developing what he believes may be a better alternative – a wound-healing contact lens.

A conventional scleral contact lens, this one used to treat dry eye

Medical Audio available

Cell reprogramming converts open wounds into healthy skin

Nick Lavars September 5, 2018

Tapping into the machinery of a cell and rewiring it to take on another identity is an exciting capability that scientists are just beginning to explore. Now researchers at the Salk Institute report another groundbreaking advance, converting open wounds into healthy skin.

Salk Institute scientists converted one type of cell (seen in red) into basal keratinocytes (green), a ...

Medical

Healing lamp lights the way for improved treatment of chronic ulcers

Ben Coxworth July 26, 2018

Chronic skin ulcers such as those associated with diabetes are notoriously difficult to treat. As a result, we've seen experimental approaches such as spray-on skin, ultrasound band-aids, and silver-laced dressings. Now, scientists are getting very good results using a high-tech lamp.

Plans call for the lamp to be tested on diabetic ulcers within 12 months