Tissue engineering

Researchers have created a synthetic “cellular glue” that bonds cells together to different degrees. The technique could speed up wound healing, even in tissues that don’t heal well naturally, and eventually allow scientists to build better organs.

A newfound understanding around the intricate architecture of lobster underbellies has provided MIT engineers with a model for a tough and stretchy new hydrogel, which features great durability and resistance to tearing.

While thin sheets of lab-grown biological tissue do show promise for applications such as the treatment of wounds, picking those delicate sheets up can be very difficult. That's where a new octopus-inspired gripper is designed to come in.

​One of the big challenges doctors face after patients suffer debilitating heart attacks is finding a way to repair the damage caused to the organ. To address this, a research team has developed a regenerative tissue patch​ that can be injected within the body without the need for invasive surgery.

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.

With the goal of finding ways to combat the adverse physiological effects of deep space exploration on the human body, NASA is now running a US$500,000 competition aimed at developing functional lab-grown tissue.