Research team develops new class of soft materials

Innovation opens new possibilities for 3D-printing human tissue

2021-05-19

(Press-News.org) "I think you're on mute." This was the most-used phrase of 2020, according to Human Resources Online. Emblazoned on T-shirts and embossed on coffee-mugs, we used the meme to make fun of ourselves while learning video-conferencing tools like Zoom and Microsoft's Teams.

But for the more than 7 million Americans who suffer from vocal disorders, not being heard is a serious matter. Many people who have normal speaking skills have great difficulty communicating when their voice box, the larynx, fails. This can occur if the vocal cords, the two bands of smooth muscle tissue in the larynx, suffer damage from an accident, surgical procedure, viral infection or cancer.

There is no replacement for the vocal cords when the damage is severe or permanent. Now, a team of materials scientists at the University of Virginia School of Engineering has developed a soft material with promise of new treatments in the future. Their novel soft material, called an elastomer, is very stretchable and 10,000 times softer than a conventional rubber, matching the mechanical properties of vocal cords. The elastomer can be 3D printed for use in health care.

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Modeling can predict mutation "hotspots" and antibody escapers in SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

2021-05-19

SARS-CoV-2 has evolved to acquire mutations on the spike protein--the part of the virus that protrudes from its surface and latches onto cells to infect them--that enhance the coronavirus' ability to bind to human cells or evade antibodies. A new study from the Centers for Genomics and Systems Biology at New York University and NYU Abu Dhabi uses computational modeling to assess the biological significance of spike protein mutations, uncovering versions of the virus that bind more tightly or resist antibodies and offering a promising public health surveillance tool. The study, which appears in the Journal of Molecular Biology, also suggests that these mutations on the spike protein are a key ...

New expert statement confirms strong links between our hormones and COVID-19

2021-05-19

Press release - ESE statement: COVID-19 and endocrine and metabolic diseases. An updated statement from the European Society of Endocrinology New expert statement confirms strong links between our hormones and COVID-19 The endocrine system is strongly involved in SARS-Cov-2 infection - so much so that evidence of an "endocrine phenotype" of COVID-19 has emerged, according to a statement by the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) published in the journal Endocrine in April 2021. Leading endocrinology researchers looked into the evidence that has accumulated over the past year since the pandemic emerged, and consistently found evidence ...

Researchers use 'hole-y' math and machine learning to study cellular self-assembly

$Researchers use hole-y math and machine learning to study cellular self-assembly$

2021-05-19

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- The field of mathematical topology is often described in terms of donuts and pretzels. To most of us, the two differ in the way they taste or in their compatibility with morning coffee. But to a topologist, the only difference between the two is that one has a single hole and the other has three. There's no way to stretch or contort a donut to make it look like a pretzel -- at least not without ripping it or pasting different parts together, both of which are verboten in topology. The different number of holes make two shapes that are fundamentally, inexorably different. In recent years, researchers have drawn on mathematical topology to help explain a range of phenomena like phase transitions in matter, aspects of Earth's climate and even how zebrafish ...

Study examines young athletes' knee health after returning to sport following ACL reconstruction

2021-05-19

One-quarter to one-third of young, active patients who undergo anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction experience a second ACL injury after they return to sport (RTS). New research indicates that young athletes who feel confident about their knee health at the time of medical clearance for sports participation after ACL surgery have a higher likelihood of meeting all RTS criteria related to physical function but also have a higher likelihood of experiencing a second ACL injury within 2 years after RTS. The study, which included 159 participants with an average age of 17 years, is published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research. "These data suggest that as health care providers, we may need to re-evaluate the tools we currently use to determine readiness to return ...

Magnetically propelled cilia power climbing soft robots and microfluidic pumps (video)

2021-05-19

The rhythmic motions of hair-like cilia move liquids around cells or propel the cells themselves. In nature, cilia flap independently, and mimicking these movements with artificial materials requires complex mechanisms. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have made artificial cilia that move in a wave-like fashion when a rotating magnetic field is applied, making them suitable for versatile, climbing soft robots and microfluidic devices. Watch a video of the artificial cilia here. Replicating movements found in nature -- for example, the small, whip-like movements of cilia -- could ...

Alzheimer protein APP regulates learning and social behavior in the healthy brain

2021-05-19

While the APP protein is well-known for its key role in Alzheimer's disease, its contribution to healthy brain function, by contrast, has remained largely unknown until now. Recently, an international research team, led by molecular biologist Prof. Dr Ulrike Müller from Heidelberg University, gained new insights on the physiological functions of the APP protein family by using a mouse model lacking APP. The absence of APP during brain development was shown to result in the malformation of important brain regions implicated in learning and memory. Consequently, these mice were severely impaired in their learning abilities and exhibited autistic-like ...

COVID-19 pandemic has created the "perfect storm" for family violence

2021-05-19

In an article published in the International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, experts stress that the COVID-19 pandemic presents the "perfect storm" for family violence, where a set of rare circumstances have combined to aggravate intimate partner violence, domestic abuse, domestic violence, and child abuse. Factors during the pandemic that have come together to contribute to family violence may include increased stress and trauma, economic hardship, imposed isolation, and decreased access to community and faith-based support. The authors note that public health officials and mental health professionals need to be aware of the impact of disasters on family violence, and they should strive to identify those at risk and provide ...

What are the effects of inappropriate prescriptions in older adults?

2021-05-19

Individuals are often prescribed increasing numbers of medications as they age, and while many of these prescriptions are justifiable, some may be inappropriate. A recent analysis published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology examined the results of all studies investigating associations between potentially inappropriate prescribing--which includes prescribing medications that may not produce benefits relative to harm and not prescribing medications that are recommended--and outcomes of older adults. Potentially inappropriate prescribing was significantly associated with a range of health-related and system-related outcomes, including functional decline, falls, ...

Researchers estimate COVID-19-positive rate in Stockholm during first year of pandemic

2021-05-19

By the end of the first year of the pandemic in metropolitan Stockholm, investigators estimate that one-fifth of adults in the region previously had COVID-19. The findings, which are published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, come from analyses of anti-viral antibody responses in healthy blood donors and pregnant women. For the study, researchers examined blood from 2,600 blood donors and 2,500 pregnant women taken between March 14th 2020 and February 28th 2021. Blood donors and pregnant women had a similar rate of past infection, approaching 19% of the study group by the end of February 2021, shortly ...

New antimicrobial surface reduces bacteria build-up on medical instruments

2021-05-19

Monash University researchers have engineered new antimicrobial surfaces that can significantly reduce the formation of bacteria on medical instruments, such as urinary catheters, and reduce the risk of patient infection while in hospital. This world-first study demonstrates the potential for 3D engineered surfaces in preventing the initial formation of microcolonies of Escherichiacoli (E.coli), Klebsiellapneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa - the three most common urinary tract bacterial infections (UTIs) associated with catheters. The study team, led by Dr Victor Cadarso, from Monash University's Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the ...

Research team develops new class of soft materials

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