Research Highlights |
Featured
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Research Highlights |
Polymers bolster printed tissue
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News |
Karolinska’s vice-chancellor resigns over case of controversial surgeon
Swedish institute reopens misconduct investigation into Paolo Macchiarini.
- David Cyranoski
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News |
Nobel official resigns over Karolinska surgeon controversy
Geneticist Urban Lendahl steps down because of involvement in Macchiarini investigation.
- David Cyranoski
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News |
Karolinska Institute to cut ties with controversial surgeon
Swedish institute has “lost confidence” in artificial-windpipe pioneer Paolo Macchiarini after allegations of ethical breaches.
- David Cyranoski
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News |
Artificial-windpipe pioneer under scrutiny again
Karolinska Institute may reopen investigation into Paolo Macchiarini, whom it cleared of research misconduct last year.
- David Cyranoski
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Research Highlights |
Shielded cells treat diabetes
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Letter |
Bioresorbable silicon electronic sensors for the brain
Electronic implants are often used in diagnosing and treating human illness, but permanent implants come with problems; here, devices are described that can sense temperature, pressure, pH or thermal characteristics, and—crucially—are fully resorbable by the body.
- Seung-Kyun Kang
- , Rory K. J. Murphy
- & John A. Rogers
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News |
Bionic roses implanted with electronic circuits
Materials scientists nonplussed by wired-up plants with colour-changing leaves.
- Katherine Bourzac
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Letter |
Peptoid nanosheets exhibit a new secondary-structure motif
Some peptoids—synthetic structural relatives of polypeptides—can assemble into two-dimensional nanometre-scale sheets; simulations and experimental measurements show that these nanosheets contain a motif unique to peptoids, namely zigzag Σ-strands, which interlock and enable the nanosheets to extend in two dimensions only.
- Ranjan V. Mannige
- , Thomas K. Haxton
- & Stephen Whitelam
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Research Highlights |
A trap for roving cancer cells
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News |
Nanoparticles disguised as blood-cell fragments slip past body's immune defence
Drug-delivery systems coated in platelets used to repair damaged blood vessels.
- Elizabeth Gibney
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News |
Artificial-windpipe pioneer cleared of misconduct
Decision follows a preliminary, external report in May that found that Paolo Macchiarini had committed misconduct.
- David Cyranoski
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Research Highlights |
Printed spider webs get tough
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News |
Artificial-windpipe surgeon committed misconduct
Papers authored by Paolo Macchiarini misrepresented success of pioneering procedure.
- David Cyranoski
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News |
The printed organs coming to a body near you
From kidneys to hands, 3D printers are churning out made-to-order bones and rudimentary organs.
- Heidi Ledford
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Outlook |
Perspective: Special delivery for the gut
Wanted: biomaterials for a risky journey. Giovanni Traverso and Robert Langer explain the gastrointestinal frontier.
- Giovanni Traverso
- & Robert Langer
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Outlook |
Learning from nature's best
Materials researchers are taking cues from specific plants and animals that make substances that could endow humans with superhero powers.
- Julie Gould
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Outlook |
Polymers: Secrets from the deep sea
The mechanism used by mussels to stick to slippery rocks is the idea behind glue that could mend broken bones.
- Andrew R. Scott
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Outlook |
Structure: Artificial armour
Researchers are borrowing tricks from armadillo shells and mother-of-pearl to create replacements for human bone and to develop a new generation of protective clothing.
- Katharine Sanderson
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Outlook |
Textiles: Fabrics of life
Bioinspired fibres and coatings that can repel water, oil and other liquids form the basis of cutting-edge cloth.
- Elie Dolgin
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Outlook |
Spiders: Web of intrigue
The sturdy, stretchy, sticky silks spun by spiders have inspired engineers to design pioneering medical devices such as artificial tendons and corneas.
- Katherine Bourzac
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Outlook |
Artificial organs: Honey, I shrunk the lungs
Miniature versions of hearts, lungs and other organs are heralding a bright future for drug research and discovery.
- Michael Eisenstein
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Outlook |
Synthetic coatings: Super surfaces
Characteristics adapted from lizards, ivy and other natural materials could help to engineer everyday objects with remarkable properties.
- Neil Savage
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Research Highlights |
DNA-based gel for printing organs
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Letter |
Hierarchical organization of chiral rafts in colloidal membranes
Inclusions dissolved in a colloidal membrane assemble into highly uniform finite-sized liquid droplets or rafts consisting of thousands of molecules.
- Prerna Sharma
- , Andrew Ward
- & Zvonimir Dogic
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Letter |
Structure-based programming of lymph-node targeting in molecular vaccines
An amphiphile vaccine consisting of a peptide antigen or adjuvant cargo linked to a lipophilic tail is shown to have improved potency and safety in mice by targeting the lymph nodes.
- Haipeng Liu
- , Kelly D. Moynihan
- & Darrell J. Irvine
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Outlook |
Cancer vaccines: Material breach
An experimental vaccine implanted beneath the skin could usher in biomaterial-based immunotherapies for cancer.
- Elie Dolgin
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Outlook |
Regenerative medicine: Rebuilding the backbone
Surgeons can help fix damaged vertebrae, but could an infusion of cells in a bioengineered material grow to replace a damaged spinal column?
- Mike May
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Letter |
Towards practical, high-capacity, low-maintenance information storage in synthesized DNA
An efficient and scalable strategy with robust error correction is reported for encoding a record amount of information (including images, text and audio files) in DNA strands; a ‘DNA archive’ has been synthesized, shipped from the USA to Germany, sequenced and the information read.
- Nick Goldman
- , Paul Bertone
- & Ewan Birney
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News & Views |
Spontaneous flows and self-propelled drops
The construction of in vitro assemblies of biological components that exhibit properties of living matter may shed light on the physical aspects of the dynamic reorganization that continuously occurs inside cells. See Letter p.431
- M. Cristina Marchetti
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Research Highlights |
Super-reflective fish skin
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Research Highlights |
Different webs snag different prey
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News |
Biodegradable electronics here today, gone tomorrow
Dissolvable electronic materials could be used in medical implants and environmentally friendly gadgets.
- Katherine Bourzac
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News & Views |
Liposomes derived from molecular vases
Liposomes are ubiquitous components of skin moisturizers and other personal-care products. Modified liposomes prepared from receptor-like molecules open up fresh opportunities for therapeutic and industrial applications.
- Cyrus R. Safinya
- & Kai K. Ewert
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Research Highlights |
Why barnacles stick around
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Research Highlights |
Smart way to seal cuts
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News |
Prosthetic retina helps to restore sight in mice
Scientists crack the code that tells the brain what the eye has seen.
- Geoff Brumfiel
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News |
Seizure detector treats epilepsy in rats
Minimally invasive brain stimulator reduces duration of seizures.
- Duncan Graham-Rowe
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News & Views |
Longer life for artificial joints
Drug candidates that are related to a common metabolite called adenosine inhibit inflammation and reduce bone destruction in artificial joints. The finding suggests a potential approach to increasing the durability of prosthetic implants.
- Joel Linden
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Letter |
Synthetic homeostatic materials with chemo-mechano-chemical self-regulation
A bilayer material comprising catalyst-bearing microstructures embedded in a responsive gel and actuated into and out of a reactant-containing ‘nutrient’ layer continuously interconverts chemical, thermal and mechanical energy and thereby shows autonomous, self-sustained homeostatic behaviour, which regulates the temperature of the system in a narrow range.
- Ximin He
- , Michael Aizenberg
- & Joanna Aizenberg
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Research Highlights |
Synthetic silk inspired by insect
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Research Highlights |
High-voltage plant proteins
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Research Highlights |
Solar panel in the eye
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News |
Restoring sight with wireless implants
A combination of video goggles and photovoltaic retinal implants could make vision restoration more practicable.
- Leigh Phillips
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Research Highlights |
On-demand drug release
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Research Highlights |
Butterfly-inspired reflectors
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Research Highlights |
Snail drives implanted fuel cell
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Research Highlights |
Sterilization-ready transistors