bioengineering

Recommended reads: Dux, 3D printed ear brings Vacanti mouse to mind, AMD, more

June 4, 2022 / By / 2 Comments
Vacanti Mouse

Eight years ago two new Nature papers broke on the scene reporting supposed STAP cells with one of the senior authors, Charles Vacanti of Harvard, most well known previously for making the so-called “Vacanti mouse” along with his brother Joseph. The Vacanti mouse had a bioengineered human ear growing on its back. While STAP cells …

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Xenobots: can you really make living robots from stem cells?

April 22, 2021 / By / 2 Comments
pnas 2020 xenobots paper figure4 1

Can you really make living robots from stem cells called xenobots? How would this work? You take frog stem cells, supercomputers to tell you what to do with them, and you get xenobots? Well, kind of yes and no at this point. It’s a fascinating area. What are xenobots? What does the name “xenobot” bring …

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Stem cells seed a new thymus, clinical hope?

February 1, 2021 / By / 3 Comments
thymus, stem cells, bioengineering

Imagine receiving a smidgeon of thymus gland along with a donated heart or kidney, to fool the immune system into accepting the transplant. Authors of a new study argue that might be possible, based on their new proof-of-principle experiments. The team from the Epithelial Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine lab at the Francis Crick …

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Will bioengineered body parts cost an arm and a leg?

February 1, 2021 / By / 3 Comments
deka-arm1

The idea that we could bioengineer new human body parts to replace old, faulty ones is exciting, and such parts could include limbs, digits, or even entire organs. Such replacements might be produced using stem cells, 3-D printers, and other rapidly evolving, cutting edge technologies. Sci-fi is becoming a reality. Remember in Star Wars when …

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Want to 3D Print Yourself a New Organ? Key Challenges

February 1, 2021 / By / 8 Comments
3D-printer-300x2751

Need a new liver, pancreas, or other vital organ, then I’ll 3D print one right up for you…that is in about 10 years. My intern Lakshmi did a great job on her guest piece last week on the promise of 3D printing in stem cell-based bioengineering including organ and tissue production. It’s an incredibly exciting area of …

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Applications of 3D Printing in Stem Cells & Bioengineering

February 1, 2021 / By / 8 Comments
Fantasticvoyage-300x2181

Imagine a world in which doctors send microscopic biological machines made by 3D printing—biobots—inside our bodies to heal disease and fix injuries. A few decades ago, this kind of technology was only manifesting as the fanciful gadgets of science fiction movies. For example, the 1966 movie ‘Fantastic Voyage’ featured miniaturized objects performing a range of …

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