All articles tagged with #bioengineering
Scientists have turned commercially available silkworm silk into a near-Kevlar-strength material by hot-pressing and fusing fibers at precise temperatures and pressures, preserving silk’s natural structure while boosting toughness, with potential for sustainable, scalable applications in sensors, implants, and lightweight protective materials.
Scientists at NUS bioengineered spinach-derived photosynthetic machinery to function in mammalian corneal cells via eye drops, using light to generate anti-inflammatory chemicals and combat oxidative stress in dry eye disease, a condition affecting about 1.5 billion people; the work, published in Cell, explores a novel, plant-based approach to treating dry eye by harnessing light-driven chemistry in eye tissues (still at early model stages).
Chinese researchers embedded dormant Bacillus subtilis spores in polycaprolactone to create a 'living plastic' with a built-in kill switch. When exposed to warm nutrient broth (~50°C), the spores activate and two enzyme-producing strains—Candida antarctica lipase and Burkholderia cepacia lipase—cooperate to cut long polymer chains and then digest the fragments, fully degrading the film in about six days without leaving microplastics. A wearable electrode prototype showed the material could form recoverable electronics before dissolving; however, the approach uses a relatively easy-to-degrade polymer and requires a lab-like trigger, limiting practicality for real-world plastics or consumer use.
Tufts and Wyss Institute researchers embedded neural precursor cells into self-assembling frog-cell xenobots to create neurobots with functional neural networks that move more complexly and stay active longer than non-neural bots; drug testing showed neural activity shapes movement, and transcriptomics revealed upregulation of vision-related genes, opening questions about nervous system formation in a novel biological context.
BioFluff, a Paris/New York fashion-tech startup, is making plant-based faux fur as a sustainable alternative to animal pelts, inspired by a 2022 meeting with a bioengineer and a textile recycler, signaling a shift toward field-grown, plant-derived luxury materials.
Pi underpins a wide range of applications—from NASA spacecraft calculations and signals to bioengineering uses like creating microdroplets for antibody research and rapid disease tests—showing how this constant shapes space exploration and health, celebrated annually on Pi Day.
Hagfish slime rapidly expands into a dense gel when seawater is present, using ultra-thin protein threads that self-assemble into a fibrous network and can clog predators’ gills in seconds. Produced at room temperature in seawater with no toxic byproducts, this slime is inspiring researchers to develop sustainable biomaterials—self-assembling fibers that could rival spider silk. Scientists aim to isolate the slime proteins’ genes for production in microbes, but scaling, control of assembly, and durability remain key hurdles.
Researchers combine multiple donor liver cell types to form in vitro liver assembloids that recapitulate periportal tissue, moving toward miniature human livers for faster drug testing and personalized therapies.
Researchers have 3D-printed microstructures inside living cells using two-photon polymerization by injecting a light-sensitive resin and curing it with a femtosecond laser; the resulting structures, including a 10 μm Elephant-like model, float in the cytoplasm and can be inherited when cells divide. Viability after 24 hours is about 55% for printed cells, with most losses due to membrane damage from the injection rather than the printing itself. Demonstrations include barcodes, diffraction gratings, and microlasers, signaling potential for intracellular tagging and sensing, while challenges in viability and integration remain.
Scientists at UC San Diego have developed a groundbreaking method to produce large quantities of xanthommatin, a pigment responsible for octopus camouflage, using engineered bacteria, which could revolutionize material production and have applications in cosmetics, coatings, and sensors.
Researchers from Stanford and the Arc Institute have used AI to design and successfully produce viruses that target bacteria, demonstrating the potential of AI in bioengineering, though ethical concerns about misuse remain.
Scientists worldwide are discussing the potential risks and benefits of creating mirror life, synthetic cells made from molecules that are mirror images of natural ones, due to concerns about environmental and health dangers versus potential medical and scientific benefits. The conference in Manchester aims to establish guidelines for safe research in this emerging field.
Scientists at Kobe University have engineered bacteria to produce a biodegradable plastic called PDCA, which is stronger than PET and has potential for sustainable manufacturing, overcoming previous production challenges through innovative metabolic engineering.
Scientists have developed autonomous living materials using synthetic lichens that can turn Martian soil into building structures, potentially enabling sustainable construction on Mars without heavy materials from Earth, using a self-growing microbial system that only requires local resources like regolith, air, and light.
Researchers from Tufts University have developed a bioengineered dental implant that not only fills the gap but also reconnects with nerves to restore sensory feedback, mimicking real teeth. The implant uses stem cells and growth proteins within a biodegradable coating, and is installed via a less invasive press-fit method, showing promising results in rats. This innovation could significantly improve dental restoration by restoring natural sensation and function, with future plans for larger animal trials and human clinical trials.