Bioengineered soft microfibers improve T-cell production
Columbia Engineering researchers have developed a new method for improving T cell manufacture by focusing on the materials involved in this process. Their study uses a polymer mesh to activate the T cells, a critical step for their production. This approach simplifies processing compared to systems in use today. In addition, making the fibers out of a mechanically soft material improved T cell growth, outperforming the current gold standard on several fronts. (Advanced Biosystems)
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-01/cuso-bsm011718.php
The brain's creativity controls
Scientists studying brain scans of people who were asked to come up with inventive uses for everyday objects found a specific pattern of connectivity that correlated with the most creative responses. Researchers were then able to use that pattern to predict how creative other people's responses would be based on their connections in this network.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-01/hu-tbc011718.php
Dulling cancer therapy's double-edged sword
Researchers have discovered a very promising new pathway to preventing tumor recurrence -- 'resolvins' could be used in complement with chemotherapy, radiation and targeted therapies to stave off the tumor-promoting effects of dead cancer cell debris.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-01/bch-dct011718.php
Brain protein changes could explain how concussions affect patients
Traumatic brain injuries, whether suffered from a blow on the football field or the battle field, can be devastating, leading to disability and shortened lives. However, little is known about how different levels of injury and time affect the brain, hindering efforts to develop effective treatments. Scientists now report results from rodent studies in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research showing that signaling molecules are likely involved in mild cases, also known as concussions.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-01/acs-bpc011718.php
How your brain remembers what you had for dinner last night
Confirming earlier computational models, researchers at University of California San Diego and UC San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in Arizona and Louisiana, report that episodic memories are encoded in the hippocampus of the human brain by distinct, sparse sets of neurons.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-01/uoc--hyb011718.php
A step toward ridding register receipts of BPA
Although the US and other countries have banned or restricted the use of bisphenol A (BPA) because of environmental and health concerns, it is still used in thermally printed receipts and labels. Now researchers report in a study in the ACS journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research that they have developed potentially safer polymers that could replace BPA for printed papers.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-01/acs-ast011718.php
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/
