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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.»

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Technologies

Grounded 2 and These Other Games Are Coming to Xbox Game Pass Soon

Game Pass subscribers will also be able to play the new horror game Abiotic Factor.

The award-winning, quirky survival game Grounded is like the game version of the classic ’80s comedy film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. And on July 29, Xbox Game Pass subscribers can get early access to that game’s sequel, Grounded 2. 

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a CNET Editors’ Choice award pick, offers hundreds of games you can play on your Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One and PC or mobile device for $20 a month. A subscription gives you access to a large library of games, with new titles, including Doom: The Dark Ages, added monthly, plus other benefits such as online multiplayer and deals on non-Game Pass titles.

Here are the games Microsoft is bringing to Game Pass soon. You can also check out all the games the company added to the service recently, like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4.

RoboCop: Rogue City

Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Standard subscribers can play on July 17.

Serve the public, protect the innocent and uphold the law as the cyborg RoboCop. You’ll investigate crimes in Old Detroit before using your cyborg strength, cybernetic implants and arsenal of weapons to eradicate gangs from the area. This game is a whole new RoboCop story based on the film series, and Peter Weller, the original RoboCop himself, returns to voice the titular character.

My Friendly Neighborhood

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play on July 17.

Something’s going on with everyone’s favorite Saturday morning puppet show, and it’s up to you to figure out what in this survival horror game. You’ll solve puzzles and use tools and improvised weapons to fend off your multicolored foes. So if you have anything against Barney or Big Bird, you can take out your feelings on them with this game. 

Back to the Dawn

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play on July 18. 

This game is like if the series Prison Break took place in the Zootopia universe. You’ll play as either a fox named Thomas or a black panther named Bob as they try to navigate the prison system and escape with their lives. With multiple escape routes and over 100 quests you can complete, you can replay this game numerous times and have a different experience each time.

Abiotic Factor

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play on July 22.

Science meets violence in this 1990s-inspired sci-fi survival game. You and up to five other players can choose your areas of expertise, build your scientist and explore a massive, top-secret underground complex filled with artifacts and supernatural horrors that could tear you limb from limb. And remember, safety, security and secrecy are of the utmost importance… usually. 

Wheel World

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play on July 23.

If you want to take a nice, relaxing bike ride, this game is for you. Previously known as Ghost Bike, this game puts you behind the handlebars of one of the last ghost bikes around. These bikes can traverse between the lands of the living and the dead. You can explore these lands at your leisure while you race other riders and upgrade your ride with treasures you find along the way.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play on July 24.

This souls-like RPG is set during the final days of the Ming Dynasty. You play as an amnesiac pirate warrior named Wuchang on a quest to uncover the truth behind a world full of chaos. You’ll fight monstrous creatures in forgotten temples and overgrown ruins, unlock new weapons and master devastating techniques in order to bring peace to yourself and others. 

Grounded 2 (game preview)

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play on July 29.

You’ve been shrunk to the size of an ant — again — and you’ll have to survive the dangerous, miniature world. You’ll fight spiders and wasps, craft weapons and homes and even ride on your own insect friends to get around. You’ll unravel new mysteries along the way, but be careful. Something else is out there, and it hasn’t forgotten about you. 

Farming Simulator 25

Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Standard subscribers can play on Aug. 1.

Farming isn’t always as simple as games like Stardew Valley might make it out to be, but it can still be very rewarding. If you want a taste of what goes into building and maintaining your own farm, give Farming Simulator 25 a try. You’ll grow diverse crops, raise different animals and with the weather-changing, ground-deforming atmosphere, you’ll face all kinds of challenges along the way. 

Games leaving Game Pass on July 31

While Microsoft is adding those games to Game Pass soon, it’s also removing three other games on July 31. So you still have some time to finish your campaign or complete any side quests before you have to buy these games separately.

Gigantic: Rampage Edition
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
Turnip Boy Robs a Bank

For more on Xbox, discover other games available on Game Pass now, read our hands-on review of the gaming service and learn which Game Pass plan is right for you. You can also check out what to know about upcoming Xbox game price hikes.

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Technologies

‘Donkey Kong Bananza’ Gives Our Favorite Ape His Big Moment

Available exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2, ‘Donkey Kong Bananza’ offers stunning graphics and hours of punch-throwing fun.

In 1981’s Donkey Kong, the «jumpman» characters chased a humongous gorilla through a construction site to rescue a damsel in distress. The video game is now best remembered as the introduction of jumping and the introduction of a lovable plumber named Mario, who would go on to make billions of dollars in the Super Mario Bros franchise.

Despite Donkey Kong being a popular playable character in games like Mario Party, Super Smash Bros., and Mario Kart, the villain-turned-goofy ape has arguably never quite gotten his own time to shine. The new, explosively popular Nintendo Switch 2 is changing that: DK is the headliner of Donkey Kong Bananza, which goes on sale July 17 and is only available on the Switch 2. (You can pre-order it now at Best Buy.)

CNET’s Scott Stein says Bananza is the Switch 2’s «new must-get game» – «full of its own styles and surprises that are utterly fresh.»

Explore an enormous world fueled by the Switch 2’s graphics

Donkey Kong can run, jump, and climb through a world of vibrant colors and creatures that are impressively realized in 4K on the Nintendo Switch 2. The character himself gets an upgrade with expressive eyes and textured hair. And he’ll sound familiar to anyone who watched The Super Mario Bros. Movie, as he’s once again voiced by Seth Rogen.

Since Banaza was made by the minds behind Super Mario Odyssey, an immensely enjoyable Mario title that revealed we were all hungry to see a T-Rex with a mustache and a tiny red cap, exploring the map is vital to the gameplay. You can wander endlessly through levels, collecting Banandium gems and competing in ancient ruin challenges. (If you haven’t noticed, there are a lot of banana references in this game). For gamers overwhelmed by too many options and not enough directions, maps and arrows can guide you and bypass some of the wanderlust.

Donkey Kong likes punching, and so do we

Of course, this wouldn’t be a Donkey Kong game without showcasing his mighty fists. Donkey Kong can punch in any direction and destroy almost anything, unearthing treasures and paths hidden under the surface of walls and the ground. Make no mistake: this is where the fun is. It’s like a classic Nintendo brawling game. Or a room that you have the green light to demolish before renovating.

The punching isn’t just pure chaos. Donkey Kong can dig tunnels to get somewhere or find hidden bananas, which means hours of gameplay for the obsessive completists among us. You also often have to use debris to solve a puzzle, throw at a bad guy, or as a tool to get through the level. It’s a high level of game design that uses «voxels» – which are kind of like big pixels, so that the scattering of debris feels real in Donkey Kong’s world.

Play as a damsel no longer in distress

Pauline, the original damsel in distress in the 1981 game, returned in Odyssey as the mayor of New Donk City. In Bananza, she’s in her teens and sits on Donkey Kong’s shoulder as his sidekick. (Apologies to the much-maligned character Diddy Kong, you were a real one.) Pauline is a singer whose melodious voice can transform Donkey Kong into a more powerful ape. Read: he can now punch through more things. He can also transform into a muscular speedy zebra or a beefy flying ostrich.

The game also features a nifty two-player co-op mode, so a friend can use the Switch 2 Joy-Con’s mouse-like pointer feature to control Pauline. She shoots words at enemies (yes, actual words like Wow! Yeah! Ha!). The targeting is reminiscent of classic shooters like GoldenEye, a fun bonus for a Donkey Kong game. But it also underscores how Donkey Kong lives in a world with real people – and gives Bananza a surprisingly human touch.

Pre-order Donkey Kong Bananza now at Best Buy

Donkey Kong Bananza retails for $70 and releases on July 17. Preorder it today at Best Buy and get ready to throw some punches.

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iPhone 17 Colors: A Surprising Hue Could Be Coming for Pro Models

Rumors about the iPhone 17 colors continue to pour in, but the latest leak isn’t one I saw coming.

The rumored iPhone 17 color lineup includes a shocking twist for the iPhone 17 Pro models. 

Last week, a Korean blogger named yeux1122 published two images of camera covers that could be the full lineup from iPhone 17 base model and the rumored iPhone 17 Air, and leaker Majin Bu posted that the rumored Sky Blue color would be scrapped for the Pro models. And now, another leaker has posted this week the possible color lineup for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. We’ll get to the surprise in that photo below. 

We’ve already heard plenty of rumors that the iPhone 17 base model could come in purple, green and blue. Two to three other familiar colors are now said to be included in the options — totaling five (or maybe six) possibilities for the base model. The rumored iPhone 17 Air could come in four, while the Pro and Pro Max are expected to have five. 

The rumored iPhone 17 is likely to drop in September. As the month draws closer, we’re hearing plenty of rumors and leaks, but we’re still playing the guessing game. Here’s what we’re hearing about possible iPhone 17 colors. 

The rumored full color lineup 

Here’s the full lineup for the rumored iPhone 17 base and Air models, according to Sonny Dickson, a consumer tech reviewer, who shared an image on X on Monday:

The iPhone 17 base model could come in these colors:

  • Black
  • Gray
  • Silver
  • Light blue 
  • Light green 
  • Light purple

The iPhone 17 Air could be released in these colors:

  • Black
  • Blue gray 
  • Light gold
  • Silver

The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max could come in these colors: 

  • Black 
  • Gray 
  • Silver 
  • Dark blue 
  • Orange

Yeux1122 has a similar lineup in their post, but the base options don’t include gray. 

Black and silver aren’t surprising since we’ve seen both neutral colors in earlier iPhone models and generations. However, if you use a colored phone cover instead, like I do, this possibility could be welcome. 

The iPhone color I didn’t see coming

Purple, blue and green are all part of the same color palette. The neutral colors don’t quite surprise me since they’re standard for iPhones at this point. But the color orange is shocking. Dickson expects that the color will only be for the Pro and Pro Max models. 

Dickson also noted the orange shade may end up being a dark gold or copper. 

Sky blue could be old to Apple, but a new iPhone hue 

The early rumored color for the iPhone 17 was sky blue. 

Well-known leaker Majin Bu posted the rumor of the new color on their blog, calling it «a refined, bright, and modern shade.» But why sky blue?

Perhaps because the latest M4 MacBook Air currently comes in sky blue, an iPhone in the same color could be an aesthetic win for sky blue MacBook owners. 

Bu initially wrote that the sky blue color could be for the iPhone 17 Pro, but recently scrapped that rumor to say sky blue would be for the iPhone 17 Air. 

It seems like there’s a possibility for different shades of blue, as we see in the lineup above. Rumor has it that there could be a blue option for the iPhone 17 base model and a dark blue for the iPhone 17 Pro. But based on Bu’s post, there’s a possibility of the iPhone 17 Air getting a sky blue hue. We’ll have to wait and see which — if any — blues will be available for iPhone 17.

The possibility of purple 

Bu posted on X and their blog on June 20 that Apple is testing purple and green, but that purple could be another new color for the iPhone 17’s base models.

Bu said that purple could meet Apple’s rumored demand for more personalization while blending into Apple’s ecosystem for its other products. 

If green is added to the iPhone 17 lineup, Bu says it could be a «fresh and natural tone, ideal for a minimalist yet striking aesthetic.» Yeux1122 and Dickinson included both purple and green in their rumored lineups this month. 

Could an aluminum iPhone design bring more colors?

The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max have a titanium frame, but analyst Jeff Pu predicted that the iPhone 17 could usher in the return of the aluminum frame for both the Pro and baseline models, as we’ve seen with earlier versions like the iPhone 14 lineup. Considering the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max’s colors are based on titanium, it raises the question: Will an aluminum frame mean new colors? 

The one phone in the iPhone 17 lineup that could have a titanium frame is the rumored slimmer iPhone 17 Air, according to Pu. We’ll have to wait and see what Apple decides. 

Read more: WWDC Bored Me. I Need Apple’s iPhone 17 Launch to Make a Splash

A look at past iPhone colors

Apple likes to release both new and familiar colors for every new iPhone release. 

Usually, we see more color variations for the basic models, and more neutral colors for the Pro and Pro Max iPhone models. For instance:

The iPhone 14 came in six colors: midnight, starlight, red, blue, purple and yellow. However, the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models only came in black, silver gold and deep purple. The same is true for the 15 model phones, but Apple offered one fewer color for its base model.

iPhone 15 models were available in pink, yellow, green, blue and black, while Pro and Pro Max models arrived in more neutral tones like white, blue, black and natural titanium. 

The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max colors didn’t change from the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. However, the other iPhone 16 models were available in ultramarine, teal, pink, white and black. 

How many new colors we may see from the rumored iPhone 17 is still unclear, but as of now, a sky blue option could well be in your future.

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