Muscle

Researchers at Salk Institute have uncovered a mechanism by which stem cells can help regenerate muscles. The discovery could provide a new drug target for repairing muscles after injury or rebuilding muscle mass lost during the normal aging process.

Tiny robots could serve useful functions, but shrinking actuators has proven challenging. Now researchers at the University of Wollongong have made artificial muscles that surpass your puny natural ones, inspired by the “supercoiling” of DNA strands.

Scientists in Spain have made a promising breakthrough in the field of regenerative medicine, developing a hydrogel that releases the chemical boron at the site of an injury to dramatically accelerate the formation of new muscle fibers.

New research has found one in five people have a genetic mutation that confers greater resilience to cold temperatures. The study shows people with a deficiency generating a skeletal muscle protein shiver less and hold higher core temperatures in the cold.

Scientists have combined a technique known as direct cell reprogramming with a new type of scaffold to ensure transplanted cells thrive in their new environment, demonstrating the potential of the technique by treating severe muscle loss in mice.

Researchers have discovered a novel protein that can trigger the proliferation of muscle stem cells and promote healing, offering hope not only to those who have torn a muscle, but also the elderly and those suffering severe muscle wasting diseases.

With an eye to improving quality of life for the elderly and frail, scientists at the National University of Singapore have discovered a molecule that can promote muscle health when subjected to weak magnetic fields.

Even though we're warned about the harmful effects of ultraviolet (UV) rays in sunlight, they're essential for the production of vitamin D in the body. Now, scientists are claiming that UV LEDs could serve as a safe alternative to sunlight.

The results of an interesting experiment in which muscled-up mice were sent into space has shed some new light on how the low-gravity environment impacts physiology, with the rodents retaining muscle mass when engineered to lack a certain protein.

By triggering receptors on a fast-burning form of fat, researchers were able to give older mice less fat and more muscle, making them as healthy as much younger mice. And better yet, humans seem to have a similar pathway.

A new study has delved into the mechanics of muscle maintenance, finding that even short stints on a bike can boost the activity of “death marker protein,” which clears out damaged muscle proteins to keep things in working order.

Adding to our pool of knowledge around exercise and aging is a team of medical scientists at Stanford University, which has demonstrated how regular exercise can breathe new life into the stem cells responsible for muscle repair in old mice.