Medical

Frank inspiration: Hot dogs inspire 3D-printed bioceramic structure to repair bone

By April Gocha / October 8, 2019

An international team of scientists developed a unique 3D printing process to fabricate bioceramic structures—reminiscent of hot dogs—that frankly could be a fantastic solution to repair large bone defects.

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Keeping the beat—carbon nanotube fibers show promise to restore electrical conduction in damaged hearts

By April Gocha / October 1, 2019

Scientists at Rice University and Texas Heart Institute developed the first materials-based solution to repair electrical conduction defects in hearts—surgically sewing carbon nanotube fibers directly onto hearts to transmit electrical signals across damaged tissue.

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No bones about it—clay-enhanced hydrogel shows promise for treating bone defects

By Lisa McDonald / September 13, 2019

For hydrogels to promote tissue formation, they must be suitably porous to allow transplanted cells to move around. Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, created clay-enhanced hydrogels to increase pore size.

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Get inked with ceramics—or maybe not

By Lisa McDonald / September 6, 2019

Titanium dioxide is the second most common pigment used in tattoo inks. Yet researchers of two studies warn nano-TiO2 could travel to your lymph nodes—and bring metal particles from the needle along with it.

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Nanoscale bottles protect fatty acid payloads

By Lisa McDonald / August 23, 2019

Fatty acids, although biodegradable and biocompatible, experience poor dispersibility and stability under physiological conditions, hindering their application as drug-carrying materials. Researchers at Georgia Tech and Shandong University created silica-based nanocapsules that safely carry drug-containing fatty acids to a targeted destination.

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Additive manufacturing offers fast and simple way to fabricate bioactive glass-ceramics

By Jonathon Foreman / May 17, 2019

An international team of researchers found they could use 3D printing to create Biosilicate® glass-ceramic scaffolds. This method offers low-cost fabrication of bioactive glass-ceramics for biomedical applications.

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Coal-derived quantum dots offer basis for effective antioxidant

By Lisa McDonald / May 14, 2019

Coal can cause serious health issues when burned as a fuel. But when used as a source of graphene quantum dots, it could help treat traumatic injuries, as Rice University researchers and their colleagues show in new research.

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Improving point-of-care diagnostics for low-resource settings: Cerium oxide enables first rapid detector of dopamine

By Lisa McDonald / March 29, 2019

Researchers at the University of Central Florida used cerium oxide nanoparticles to create the first-ever rapid detector of dopamine. Such a device could improve point-of-care diagnostics for use in low-resource settings.

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Bioactive glass exudes copper ions to control infection, stimulate repair in bone

By April Gocha / March 1, 2019

Researchers developed a multifunctional bioactive glass scaffold that can simultaneously prevent infection, stimulate bone repair, and prompt the body to heal supportive tissues—an intriguing possible all-in-one solution to heal diseased bone.

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Video: 3-D printed ‘Hyperelastic Bone’ regenerates bone tissue

By Faye Oney / August 15, 2018

Researchers have developed a flexible ceramic 3-D printed bone implant. Called ‘Hyperelastic Bone,’ the implant can regenerate bone tissue growth, ultimately becoming part of the patient’s own bone.

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