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 Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, April 25
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 25.

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.
Today’s NYT Mini Crossword is a pretty easy one. 9-Across — the «dog-tor» clue — was a bit of a groaner, but I’ll take an easy answer over a witty, confusing clue any day. 4-Down was a little confusing, but once I filled in the other letters it made sense. (TEXAS and IOWA could’ve fit in 5-Across and 8-Across, with one T replaced in each answer.) Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.
The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. 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 at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.
Mini across clues and answers
1A clue: «Beware the ___ of March»
Answer: IDES
5A clue: Sends a message
Answer: TEXTS
7A clue: Pond scum
Answer: ALGAE
8A clue: Teeny-tiny bit
Answer: IOTA
9A clue: Doctor who might more aptly be called a «dogtor»
Answer: VET
Mini down clues and answers
1D clue: «Don’t call ___ comeback!»
Answer: ITA
2D clue: Supermarket section
Answer: DELI
3D clue: Arnold Schwarzenegger or Chris Christie, e.g., for short
Answer: EXGOV
4D clue: 5-Across or 8-Across, if you change the T’s in this answer
Answer: STATE
6D clue: Musical chairs need
Answer: SEAT
How to play more Mini Crosswords
The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.
Technologies
Razer Releases a Vertical Edition Ergonomic Mouse
Two new mice for productivity still look like they were made for gamers, and that’s okay.

Razer has unveiled the Pro Click V2 and the Pro Click V2 Vertical Edition — two PC mice with ergonomics in mind, complete with expected Razer Chroma RGB LEDs in tow. The latter mouse, revealed Thursday, is Razer’s first vertical mouse and is priced to go head to head with the likes of Logitech’s vertical mouse offerings like the Lift and MX Vertical.
As with almost any new tech product in 2025, the new Pro Click V2 mice will also ship with artificial intelligence features in the form of Razer’s AI Prompt Master, a productivity feature that will give you easier access to services like Microsoft Copilot.
Both mice are available starting Thursday for $100 for the V2, and $120 for the V2 vertical mouse.
Razer is going for a «do it all» mouse with the Pro Click V2
The Pro Click V2 and Pro Click V2 Vertical editions are shaped to fit your hand’s natural resting positions, making it more comfortable and easier to use for long periods of time. The Pro Click V2 is designed at a 30-degree angle and the Pro Click V2 Vertical is tilted at 71.7 degrees, which Razer says is the natural angle of a handshake.
Of course, these are «productivity meets gaming» mice, so you can also expect a host of Razer features that you’d find on its gaming mice offerings. That said, the updated mice do feel more gaming forward than their predecessors. Both include the Razer Focus Pro 30K Optical Sensors for ultra precision and the mice should be able to track easily on glass. The mechanical buttons are said to be up to 6x more durable than the industry average and should be able to take 60 million clicks in their lifecycles.
Both mice received the RGB treatment, with multi-zone lighting that can be customized further with Razer’s Synapse software. There you can also adjust DPI setting defaults and more.
Lastly, both mice should last a long time on a single charge: the Pro Click V2 offers up 3.5 months of battery life while the Vertical Edition can reach up to six months before needing to be charged again. Both mice can be charged via USB-C, and a 5-minute charge can give you 2 to 3 days of battery power when you’re in a pinch.
For more, don’t miss how tariffs are boosting the secondhand tech product market.
Technologies
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