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

Samsung’s iPhone Fold Killer Is Leaked

Technologies

How to Tell if Someone Else’s Apple AirTag Is Tracking You

These settings can help make sure your iPhone alerts you to unwanted location trackers.

The biggest benefit of Apple’s AirTags is that they help you find your belongings, whether you’re looking for lost keys or keeping track of your luggage while traveling. But AirTags can also be used to track you without your knowledge.

AirTags work by combining built-in sensors, wireless signals and Apple’s wide Find My network to let you keep tabs on your valuables. If you ever lose your wallet with an AirTag inside, for example, you can use the Find My app to locate it on a map, have it play a sound to help you find it nearby, or mark it as «lost,» which allows other Find My users to help you find it.

One of the biggest complaints about AirTags, however, is that someone with malicious intent could easily slip one of the tiny tags into your bag and then track your movements without your consent. Multiple people have reported AirTag-related stalking incidents where the victims didn’t know the trackers were placed on them until much later.

Apple and Google (Android users have their own choice of Bluetooth trackers, such as the Moto Tag, which works with Google’s Find Hub) have since collaborated on an industry standard that alerts the user if a device is being used to track them without their knowledge. Thanks to this collaboration, Android users will be able to know if an AirTag is being used to track them, too.

Apple, for its part, has also made some changes in the past few years that improve the ability to detect an unwanted AirTag. In the initial rollout, an AirTag would make a sound three days after it’s separated from its paired device. Now, that duration is 8 to 24 hours. If you have unwanted tracking notifications enabled (which we’ll get to below), you’ll receive an audible alert.

We should note here that the new AirTag is 50% louder than the first-generation model, and would therefore be theoretically better at alerting you to the unwanted AirTag. Apple has also said that the speaker on the second-gen AirTag is harder to remove than on the first-gen model, in case bad actors try to remove it.

Detecting unwanted trackers

To be able to detect unwanted trackers, first enable unwanted-tracking notifications. For AirTags or other Find My accessories, these pop-up notifications (e.g., «AirTag found moving with you») are available on devices with iOS 14.5 or later. For other Bluetooth tracking devices, these notifications are enabled on iOS 17.5 or later.

You should enable Location Services, Find My iPhone, Bluetooth and Allow Notifications. Here’s how:

Head to Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Location Services and toggle it on.
After that, head to Settings, then Apple Account, select Find My and turn Find My iPhone on.
To enable Bluetooth, go to Settings, then Bluetooth and turn that on.
Then go to Settings, then Notifications, scroll down to Tracking Notifications and toggle on Allow Notifications. Make sure airplane mode is off, or you won’t receive tracking notifications.

What to do when you get the tracking notification

If you do get a notification like «Unknown tracker alert» or «Item detected near you,» you can try to find the unwanted AirTag by tapping it. Tap continue and then tap Play Sound or tap Find Nearby to locate the AirTag in question.

If it doesn’t play a sound or you’re unable to find it, the item may no longer be on your person. Apple suggests checking your other belongings or the area around you, just in case. If you want to review the notification at a later time, you can open the Find My app, tap Items and then tap Items Detected With You.

Be aware that there are often «false positives,» when notifications are triggered when someone nearby has a tracker on them. If you’re traveling on a train, plane or bus, waiting in line or seated in a public space, a mistaken tracking alert could stem from glitches or high-density Bluetooth environments.

If you get an alert, though, it’s always a good idea to take it seriously and investigate what might be causing it.

If you do find an AirTag that doesn’t belong to you, hold the top of your iPhone near the tracker until you see a notification. Tap it, and this will launch a website that provides information like its serial number, the last four digits of the phone number or a blurred-out email address of its owner. If the AirTag is marked as «lost,» you may see a message with instructions on how to contact them.

If you’re concerned that the tracker is being used to monitor your movements and location, Apple advises taking a screenshot of the information above for your records. You can then disable the AirTag by pressing down on the back of the AirTag, turning it counterclockwise to remove the cover and removing the battery.

Of course, before making any of these changes, it’s important to come up with a safety plan, especially if you’re afraid you’re being tracked by a current or former abusive partner. Contact your local law enforcement if you feel like your safety is at risk, or the National Domestic Violence Hotline 800-799-SAFE (7233).