Technologies

Scientists Develop ‘Cellular Glue’ That Could Heal Wounds, Regrow Nerves

One day, these special synthetic molecules could also help mitigate the organ shortage crisis.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco announced a fascinating innovation on Monday. They call it «cellular glue» and say it could one day open doors to massive medical achievements, like building organs in a lab for transplantation and reconstructing nerves that’ve been damaged beyond the reach of standard surgical repair.

Basically, the team engineered a set of synthetic molecules that can be manipulated to coax cells within the human body to bond with one another. Together, these molecules constitute the so-called «cellular glue» and act like adhesive molecules naturally found in and around cells that involuntarily dictate the way our tissues, nerves and organs are structured and anchored together.

Only in this case scientists can voluntarily control them.

«The properties of a tissue, like your skin for example, are determined in large part by how the different cells are organized within it,» Adam Stevens, a researcher at UCSF’s Cell Design Institute and first author of a paper in the journal Nature, said in a statement. «We’re devising ways to control this organization of cells, which is central to being able to synthesize tissues with the properties we want them to have.»

Doctors could eventually use the sticky material as a viable mechanism to mend patients’ wounds, regrow nerves otherwise deemed destroyed and potentially even work toward regenerating diseased lungs, livers and other vital organs.

That last bit could lend a hand in alleviating the crisis of donor organs rapidly running out of supply. According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, 17 people in the US die each day while on the waitlist for an organ transplant, yet every 10 minutes, another person is added to that list.

«Our work reveals a flexible molecular adhesion code that determines which cells will interact, and in what way,» Stevens said. «Now that we are starting to understand it, we can harness this code to direct how cells assemble into tissues and organs.»

Ikea cells

Right after babies are born (and even when they’re still in the womb) their cells essentially find it easy to reconnect with one another when a bond is lost. This is primarily because kids are still growing, so their cells are still actively coming together. But as a consequence, that’s also why their scratches and scrapes tend to heal quite quickly.

In other words, think of children’s cell molecules as having lots of clear-cut instructions on how to put themselves together to make tissues, organs and nerves. They’re like sentient little pieces of Ikea furniture with the store’s building booklet in hand.

As people get older, however, those biological Ikea instructions get put in the attic, the team explains. That’s because, for the most part, the body is pretty solidified — and this is sometimes a problem. For instance, when someone’s liver gets really damaged, their liver cell molecules may need to refer back to those Ikea instructions but can’t find them.

But that’s where «cellular glue» molecules come in. These rescuers can essentially be primed with those Ikea instructions before being sent into the body, so their blueprint is fresh. Scientists can load them up with information on which cell molecules to bond with and even how strongly to bond with them.

Then, these glue molecules can guide relevant cells toward one another, helping along the healing and regeneration processes.

«In a solid organ, like a lung or a liver, many of the cells will be bonded quite tightly,» explains a UCSF description of the new invention. «But in the immune system, weaker bonds enable the cells to flow through blood vessels or crawl between the tightly bound cells of skin or organ tissues to reach a pathogen or a wound.»

To make this kind of customization possible, the researchers added two important components to their cellular glue. First, part of the molecule acts as a receptor. It remains on the outside of the cell and determines which other cells the molecule is allowed to interact with. Second, there’s the bond-strength-tuner. This section exists within the cell. Mix and match those two traits and, the team says, you can create an array of cell adhesion molecules prepped to bond in various ways.

«We were able to engineer cells in a manner that allows us to control which cells they interact with, and also to control the nature of that interaction,» Wendell Lim, director of UCSF’s Cell Design Institute and senior author of the paper, said in a statement.

In fact, the team says the range of potential molecules is wide enough that they could inform the academic stage of medical studies, too. Researchers could make mock tissues, for example, to deepen understanding of the human body as a whole.

Or as Stevens put it, «These tools could be really transformative.»

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 5, #500

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 5, No. 500.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. As an old-school Minnesota Twins fan, I was excited to see the last name of our most legendary player on the grid. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: QB is another one.

Green group hint: Hit it out of the park.

Blue group hint: Great gridiron signal-callers.

Purple group hint: Half of a thousand.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Football positions, abbreviated.

Green group: Members of the 500-HR club.

Blue group: First names of QBs to throw 500 career TDs.

Purple group: ____500.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is football positions, abbreviated. The four answers are CB, OT, S and TE.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is members of the 500-HR club. The four answers are Banks, Bonds, Foxx and Killebrew.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is first names of QBs to throw 500 career TDs. The four answers are Aaron, Drew, Peyton and Tom.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____500. The four answers are ATP, Daytona, Indy and WTA.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, Feb. 5

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 5

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? The Across clues were kind of tricky today, but the Down clues helped me fill in the grid. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Battery warning from a smoke detector
Answer: CHIRP

6A clue: Word that can precede «book» or «tour»
Answer: AUDIO

7A clue: Extreme edge
Answer: BRINK

8A clue: Like a wobbly screw
Answer: LOOSE

9A clue: Type in
Answer: ENTER

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Alternative to streaming
Answer: CABLE

2D clue: One of the Great Lakes
Answer: HURON

3D clue: Dummy
Answer: IDIOT

4D clue: Wash under a tap
Answer: RINSE

5D clue: Game in which Paul Newman successfully cons a crime boss in «The Sting»
Answer: POKER

Technologies

Fitbit Launches Luffu, AI-Powered Health Tracking for the Whole Family

Soon, you may be able to access every family member’s health data in one place.

If you’ve ever wanted a way to keep all of your family’s health records in place, Fitbit may have come up with a solution. Fitbit, well-known for its fitness wearables, announced the launch of its own health care system on Wednesday.

Luffu, which translates to the Old English word for «love,» uses AI to create what it calls an «intelligent family care system.» The platform allows family members to share all their health information through an app.

It’s unclear when Luffu will be officially available, but you can sign up for the waitlist to get access to the limited public beta. Pricing or other details have not been announced.

Luffu will allow families to keep track of everyone’s doctor’s appointments, test results, vaccine records, medications, symptoms, diet and more. The platform uses AI to learn your family’s health history and patterns, and to alert you to any changes that should be addressed, such as missed medications or abnormal vitals. The AI function organizes the data submitted into the system. The app will also connect to third-party apps and wearables, such as the Fitbit.

Luffu is meant to lighten the mental load of family care by organizing all this health data in one place, its co-founder said.

«I was caring for my parents from across the country, trying to piece together my mom’s health care across various portals and providers, with a language barrier that made it hard to get a complete, timely context from her about doctor visits,» said Luffu co-founder James Park.

Luffu will include alerts and a space to log health and medication information via voice, text, photos, and other health portals and devices. The key medical information can be shared across the platform with spouses, caregivers and parents.

A representative for Fitbit did not immediately respond to a request for comment.