Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Artificial heart tissue could replace and regrow the real thing
One of the things that makes heart disease so problematic is the fact that after a heart attack occurs, the scar tissue that replaces the damaged heart tissue isn’t capable of expanding and contracting – it doesn’t “beat,” in other words. This leaves the heart permanently weakened. Now, however, scientists from Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have developed artificial heart tissue that may ultimately provide a solution to that problem. Read More
You’ve gotta love those Pomphorhynchus laevis worms. Although the parasites may feed on fish by attaching themselves to the inside of the host animal’s intestines, they’ve also provided the inspiration for a new system of keeping skin grafts secured over wound sites. Read More
Porcupine quills inspire new medical innovations
If you’ve known a dog that’s been quilled by a porcupine, then you’ll know that while those quills go in all-too-easily, it’s very difficult to pull them out. As part of a new research project, however, a team of scientists are looking at replicating those very characteristics in things like hypodermic needles and surgical adhesives. It turns out that what’s a bane to overly-inquisitive dogs may be a boon to medical technology. Read More
U.S. study quantifies the effects of exercise on life expectancy
The benefits of regular exercise are well known, but what exactly are you getting in return for your efforts? A research a collaboration between the U.S.-based Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the National Cancer Institute has attempted to answer this question by quantifying how much longer people live depending on the levels of exercise they engage in. Read More
