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

Mercari Stock Volatility Follows Pokémon Card Listing Restrictions

Mercari shares rebounded after a selloff triggered by temporary restrictions on Pokémon 30th anniversary card listings, with analysts calling the stock oversold despite ongoing global trading card demand.

Mercari shares surged over 4% on Friday, continuing their recovery from a selloff triggered by the Japanese e-commerce platform’s decision to limit listings of Pokémon’s 30th anniversary merchandise, announced on Tuesday. The company stated these constraints would persist until it can guarantee a secure trading environment. Shares plummeted 6.4% on Wednesday when the restrictions took effect, then rebounded to close 1.4% higher Thursday. The stock also outperformed the Nikkei 225 on Friday morning, which rose approximately 1%. Mercari explained it implemented the temporary ban due to concerns that a transaction surge following the anniversary release could spark trading disputes and user harassment. Citigroup linked Wednesday’s 6%+ decline to the Pokémon card listing announcement, noting Mercari’s recent share weakness had pushed the stock to “overly pessimistic levels,” deeming shares “oversold” and the pullback an investment opportunity. The bank added that second-half fiscal 2026 gross merchandise value growth exceeded expectations, with a multi-category recovery potentially supporting double-digit growth. Citi also stated that while halting certain product trades was negative for Mercari, the impact wasn’t significant enough to revise forecasts. The restrictions arrive amid a global Pokémon card frenzy. Online marketplace eBay reported “Pokémon” was searched over six million times on its U.K. site in July, highlighting sustained demand. Pokémon card prices have skyrocketed 1,350% since 2020, according to a Collectors index — which owns grading agency Professional Sports Authenticator — Verum previously reported. In February, influencer Logan Paul sold a rare Pikachu Illustrator card for over $16 million after purchasing it for just over $5 million in 2021. New cards sell out within minutes, with buyers coordinating on X and Discord. An X post this month claimed a Pokémon card fetched $2.7 million at auction, setting a record. Mercari signed an agreement with The Pokémon Company in 2023 to promote safer trading of Pokémon products on its marketplace, and introduced a 2025 policy allowing listing restrictions when fraud, transaction disputes, or extreme price volatility threaten marketplace safety.

Technologies

Bank of Japan lifts interest rates to 31-year peak, warns of inflation risks

The decision was split 7-2, with board members Toichiro Asada and Ayano Sato dissenting from the hike.

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Technologies

Oil Ends Week Flat While Market Assesses Potential Saudi Pipeline Disruption

Crude oil prices closed essentially flat for the week after falling for three consecutive sessions on Friday, as markets believe the planned Saudi East-West pipeline shutdown will disrupt supply much less than previously expected.

Crude oil prices declined for three straight sessions on Friday, closing essentially flat for the week, as investors expect the temporary shutdown of Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline to have a smaller effect on supply availability than initially anticipated.

West Texas Intermediate futures dropped 1.6% to end Friday at $100.30 per barrel, while Brent crude—a key international benchmark—decreased 0.9% to trade at $103.87. U.S. crude oil held steady weekly against a slight dip in Brent by nearly one percent.

Prices had surged more than 5% following a drone strike originating from Iraq that damaged the Saudi pipeline on Wednesday, triggering its shutdown.

“Mid Eastern oil shipments show surprising resilience despite the interruption to Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline,” explained Natasha Kaneva, JPMorgan’s global commodities strategy lead.

JPMorgan projects that Middle Eastern oil throughput averaged approximately 17 million barrels daily over the last ten days—roughly 6 million barrels per day shy of the 2025 benchmark.

Imagery indicates Saudi Arabia has transported 2.8 million barrels per day across the Strait of Hormuz during the preceding six days, up dramatically from just 700,000 barrels per day in August; total export volume reached 5 million bpd on Tuesday according to the analyst.

Kaneva warned that sustaining such volumes may prove challenging, noting that the alternative route seems functional barring Iranian approval.

Helima Croft, RBC Capital Markets’ global commodity strategy chief, emphasized the severity of potential disruptions to crude and refined products.

Croft indicated that Yemeni Houthi supporters in Iran likely maintain access to drone and weaponry supplies necessary for continued strikes on the East-West Pipeline and Red Sea energy assets.

Meanwhile, Rapidan Energy forecasts that the pipeline disruption will limit Saudi crude output and exports through at minimum September’s conclusion.

“Risk remains tilted toward greater disruption should the pipeline stalls beyond September or if Iran, the Houthis, or affiliated proxy factions intensify their offensive operations,” Rapidan advised on Thursday.