Researchers have developed organoids that can regenerate like the endometrium, the lining of the uterus that sheds and re-forms during the menstrual cycle. The team used the miniature 3D structures to simulate rarely seen repair processes, which could inform future therapeutic strategies for tissue renewal and wound healing. The findings were published in Cell Stem Cell on 28 April.
Researchers at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, figured out how to precisely control a knot's geometry and friction so that they could 'program' it to open when tugged on with a given force. This allows a surgeon - or a robot - stitching up a wound to pull a suture closed with just the right amount of force, simply by tugging the free end of the knotted thread and stopping when the knot unfurls.