News from the editors of Nature Biomedical Engineering, a journal for researchers, engineers and clinicians interested in human health. Launched in Jan 2017.
A swallowable X-ray dosimeter detects the absolute absorbed radiation dose alongside changes in pH and temperature in the gastrointestinal tract of rabbits.
In tendon cells under shear stress, the induction of an influx of calcium by the mechanosensitive ion channel PIEZO1 upregulates collagen crosslinking, which increases tendon stiffness.
[N&V]
[Paper]
Extracellular vesicles encapsulating mRNA encoding for extracellular-matrix collagen and delivered intradermally via microneedles led to the replacement of collagen in the dermis of mice with photoaged skin.
Graph neural networks and transformers taking advantage of contextual information and large unannotated multimodal datasets are redefining what is possible in computational medicine.
The most-read Review Articles and Perspective in 2022 (1/2)
1. The evolution of commercial drug delivery technologies
2. CRISPR-based diagnostics
3. Artificial intelligence in healthcare
A machine-learning pipeline identifies potent antimicrobial peptides by gradually narrowing down the search space of polypeptide chain sequences.
[N&V]
[Paper]
The November cover illustrates a wearable electrochemical biosensor for the continuous detection of trace levels of metabolites and nutrients in sweat.
[Paper]
A wearable electrochemical biosensor can continuously detect, in sweat during physical exercise and at rest, trace levels of multiple metabolites and nutrients, including all essential amino acids and vitamins.
Cancer cells enriched in cholesterol in their plasma membrane impair T-cell-mediated cytotoxicity, which can be augmented by stiffening the cancer cells via cholesterol depletion, as shown in mouse models of adoptive T-cell immunotherapy.
A deeper understanding of the myriad ways that the mechanics of cellular and tissue microenvironments trigger or exacerbate disease will open up pathways for new interventions.
A machine-learning model identifies cell-type-specific predictors of the pathogenic effects of promoter and enhancer mutations in the human genome.
[N&V]
[Paper]
The June cover illustrates a wireless and battery-free millimetric endovascular implant for the stimulation of peripheral nerves that are difficult to reach by surgery.
[Paper]
Durable antitumour responses can be triggered by maximizing the cooperative phagocytic potency of macrophages through the disruption of the CD47–SIRPα macrophage checkpoint and by delivering a tumour-opsonizing monoclonal antibody.
A machine-learning pipeline identifies potent antimicrobial peptides by gradually narrowing down the search space of polypeptide chain sequences.
[N&V]
[Paper]
In scientific storytelling, the punch line should not be left to the end, and hinting at or hiding key elements should not be used as a way to keep the reader’s attention.
Biomaterial structures can be printed with near-infrared light within the tissues of living animals by using photosensitive polymer hydrogels.
[N&V]
[Paper]
A polymer patch that rapidly and robustly adheres to diabetic wounds and contracts in a pre-programmed manner
promotes wound closure and re-epithelialization, as shown in mouse and human skin, in mini-pigs and in humanized
mice.
Inflamed heart tissue after myocardial infarction can be repaired via an intravascularly infusible degradable matrix that binds to leaky vasculature.
[N&V]
[Paper]
The November cover illustrates that the viscoelasticity of extracellular matrices can be altered to generate functionally distinct T-cell populations from T cells that received the same stimulation.
[Paper]
The May cover illustrates that a peptide identified via screening aids the delivery of CRISPR ribonucleoprotein into cells, increasing the yield of edited primary human lymphocytes.
[Paper]
A high-throughput method leveraging peptide-encoding mRNA barcodes for the in vivo screening of libraries of nanoparticle formulations allows for the rapid optimization of a lipid nanoparticle for the delivery of mRNA to the liver.
In tendon cells under shear stress, the induction of an influx of calcium by the mechanosensitive ion channel PIEZO1 upregulates collagen crosslinking.
[N&V]
[Paper]
Amphiphilic peptides can aid the delivery of CRISPR ribonucleoproteins into primary human lymphocytes at low toxicity, boosting editing yields with respect to the use of electroporation.
[N&V]
[Paper]
A machine-learning pipeline identifies potent antimicrobial peptides by gradually narrowing down the search space of polypeptide chain sequences.
[N&V]
[Paper]
Amphiphilic peptides can aid the delivery of CRISPR ribonucleoproteins into primary human lymphocytes at low toxicity, boosting editing yields with respect to the use of electroporation.
[N&V]
[Paper]
The December cover illustrates that graph deep learning applied to whole-slide images of tumours can leverage information in the tumour microenvironment to derive histopathological features with prognostic value.
[Paper]
A wearable electrochemical patch for the real-time monitoring of the biomarker C-reactive protein in sweat detects elevated concentrations of the protein in patients with acute or chronic inflammation.
A machine-learning pipeline identifies potent antimicrobial peptides by gradually narrowing down the search space of polypeptide chain sequences.
[N&V]
[Paper]
This Perspective highlights notable milestones from the past two decades of research in cardiac tissue engineering, and outlines opportunities and challenges for further advancement.
Patterned organoids and bioprinted tissues can be generated by simultaneously co-differentiating pluripotent stem cells into distinct cell types via the forced overexpression of transcription factors, independently of culture-media composition.
Regardless of whether they are labelled as ‘delivery problems’ or ‘delivery opportunities’, strategies to overcome the biological barriers to drug delivery should be at the forefront of basic and translational nanomedicine. [Editorial]
“In clearing drugs for human trials the agency should rely more heavily on computer modeling, “organ chips,” and other nonanimal methods that have been developed over the past 10 to 15 years.”
The September cover illustrates that the tagging of tumour cells with an amphiphilic ligand for a chimaeric antigen receptor on T cells allows for the universal redirection of the cells against solid tumours.
[Paper]
"A two-sided biomaterial can firmly attach to injured tendons with one of its surfaces, while allowing for normal gliding of regenerating tendons on its opposite low friction surface."
#BehindThePaper
[Paper]
This Review Article discusses how delivery challenges associated with small molecules, nucleic acids, peptides, proteins and cells led to the development of commercial products and are now informing the delivery of live-cell therapeutics.
Ovarian cancer can be predicted with high sensitivity and specificity via a fingerprint obtained, via machine learning, from near-infrared fluorescence emissions of an array of carbon nanotube sensors in serum samples.
A rapid one-pot isothermal assay that leverages rolling-circle amplification and the endonuclease Cas12a can accurately detect specific miRNAs in extracellular vesicles in patient plasma.
Strain maps of cardiomyocyte nuclei during contraction indicate that, by integrating environmental mechanical cues, the nuclei of cardiomyocytes stabilize the fate of the cells through the reorganization of epigenetically marked chromatin.
Durable antitumour responses can be triggered by maximizing the cooperative phagocytic potency of macrophages through the disruption of the CD47–SIRPα macrophage checkpoint and by delivering a tumour-opsonizing monoclonal antibody.
Extracellular vesicles encapsulating mRNA encoding for extracellular-matrix collagen and delivered intradermally via microneedles led to the replacement of collagen in the dermis of mice with photoaged skin.
Research on disease mechanisms will increasingly be supported by progressively more sophisticated engineered tissues serving as in vitro models of human disease. [Editorial]
Amphiphilic peptides can aid the delivery of CRISPR ribonucleoproteins into primary human lymphocytes at low toxicity, boosting editing yields with respect to the use of electroporation.
[N&V]
[Paper]
RNA-binding proteins acting as decoys for pathogenic expanded CUG RNA repeats reverse the toxicity of the mutant transcripts in muscle cells derived from a patient with myotonic dystrophy type 1 and in a mice with the disease.
Extracellular vesicles encapsulating mRNA encoding for extracellular-matrix collagen and delivered intradermally via microneedles led to the replacement of collagen in the dermis of mice with photoaged skin.
The editing of single DNA bases in the genome is being optimized for higher editing precision and versatility. [Editorial highlighting three papers by
@davidrliu
’s team and collaborators]