Complex lattices that change in response to stimuli open a range of applications in electronics, robotics, and medicine By Leah Burrows, SEAS Communications What would it take to transform a flat sheet into a human face? How would the sheet need to grow and shrink to form eyes that are concave into the face and …
Lopsided microcapsules release cargo at lower osmotic pressures required for drug delivery By Lindsay Brownell (CAMBRIDGE, Mass.) — Cracking an egg to release its yolk requires applying external force (like being smacked against the edge of a bowl) to overcome the strength of the eggshell. Similarly, delivering microcapsule-contained therapeutic biomolecules into the human body requires …
10th International Wyss Institute Symposium will focus on novel ways to identify disease By Benjamin Boettner and Lindsay Brownell What is Next-Generation Diagnostics? For all the progress that has been made over the last century in treating previously fatal diseases – pneumonia, tetanus, and hepatitis C, to name a few – modern science still lags …
Action-PAINT enables manipulation of single molecules at their natural locations with super-resolution precision to facilitate the study of biological processes By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — To understand how individual molecules play their roles in biological processes inside the cells they are synthesized in, researchers have developed super-resolution microscopy methods to visualize them at the single-molecule …
New venture’s platform technology can rapidly diagnose and treat a broad range of antibiotic-resistant infectious diseases The technology that BOA has licensed from the Wyss Institute physically removes bacteria and other pathogens from the blood, which helps to avert sepsis, allows for faster identification of the infectious agent, and can help combat antibiotic resistance. Credit: …
Sacrificial ink-writing technique allows 3D printing of large, vascularized human organ building blocks By Lindsay Brownell (CAMBRIDGE, Mass.) — 20 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant in the United States, and while more than 30,000 transplants are now performed annually, there are over 113,000 patients currently on organ waitlists. Artificially grown human …
Wyss Institute-launched startup company will develop probiotics that have potential to enhance athletic performance By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Today the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University announced that its athlete microbiome-based technology will be commercialized by Fitbiomics Inc., a recently formed startup company, to develop highly validated probiotics based on elite …
New ultra-soft underwater gripper safely catches and releases jellyfish without damage By Lindsay Brownell (CAMBRIDGE, Mass.) — Jellyfish are about 95% water, making them some of the most diaphanous, delicate animals on the planet. But the remaining 5% of them have yielded important scientific discoveries, like green fluorescent protein (GFP) that is now used extensively …
Organ-on-chip study reveals mechanism by which the disease destroys and replaces nearby blood vessels, driving malignancy By Lindsay Brownell (BOSTON) — Pancreatic cancer is one of the most insidious forms of the disease, in which an average of only 9% of patients are alive five years after diagnosis. One of the reasons for such a …
Antigen-containing scaffold can attract and activate T cells that promote revascularization of ischemic tissues By Lindsay Brownell (CAMBRIDGE, Mass) — Roughly 8.5 million people in the United States suffer from peripheral artery disease (PAD), a narrowing of the arteries in the legs or arms (frequently due to the buildup of fatty plaque) that can cut …