Tag: "scaffolding" at biology news

Tiny scaffolding allows stem cells to become working fat cells

Researchers here have used a new microscopic, three-dimensional scaffolding to coax mouse stem cells to transform themselves into fat cells, and then to function identical to how fat cells naturally do in the body. . .. This discovery offers hope of a new approach to growing fat tissue for use in breast reconstruction...

Microscopic scaffolding offers a 'simple' solution to treating skin injuries

A revolutionary dissolvable scaffold for growing new areas of skin could provide a safer, more effective way of treating burns, diabetic ulcers and similar injuries. . This ultra-fine, 3-dimensional scaffold, which is made from specially developed polymers, looks similar to tissue paper but has fibres 100 times finer. Before it is placed over a wound, the patient's skin cells (obtained via a bio...

Bedsores and bald hides: Novel roles revealed for a 'scaffolding' protein

A protein long thought to provide only mechanical support for keeping cells and tissues from literally falling apart turns out to have much wider utility. In a pair of reports, the protein K17 has been found to also influence wound healing and maintain the structural integrity of hair follicles, according to Johns Hopkins researchers. . The wound-healing work, published in the May 18 issue of Nat...

Tissue engineered scaffolding allows reproduction of cartilage tissue

A new study examines the use of tissue-engineered scaffolding made of cartilage cells, which have a limited ability to heal naturally, to replace defective cartilage tissue. Cartilage cells are extracted and seeded to the scaffold which is implanted into the body, where new cartilage tissue is grown along the structure. The study appears in the journal Artificial Organs. . The procedure was extre...