WashU sets the stage for medical treatments via mechanical forces
The right moves to reign in fibrosis (Links to an external site)
Category: News
For success in bioelectronics, build with nature-inspired design (Links to an external site)
Alex Rutz’s lab creates bioelectronic scaffolds in a unique way
Academy honors two university faculty (Links to an external site)
Two Washington University in St. Louis faculty members are being honored by the Academy of Science – St. Louis for their contributions to science: Peng Bai, an associate professor of energy, environmental and chemical engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering, and CEMB Member Ram Dixit, professor and chair of biology in Arts & Sciences.
May the force not be with you (Links to an external site)
Amit Pathak’s lab turns conventional wisdom about forces in cell migration on its head
Researchers take cue from vibes of elephants, spiders (Links to an external site)
International collaboration to uncover how cells communicate through vibrations
New Device Inspired by Python Teeth Doubles Strength of Rotator Cuff Repairs (Links to an external site)
Columbia University team uses biomimicry to create a device that may reduce the risk of rotator cuff re-tearing in patients
Genin elected to the Board of Directors of the Society of Engineering Science (SES) (Links to an external site)
The society strengthens the interface between engineering, science and math
Virtual drug quiets noise in images of heart tissue (Links to an external site)
Research in labs of mechanobiology faculty members Nate Huebsch, Guy Genin creates software to enable experiments for learning how electrical and mechanical heart functions relate
Wagenseil named Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society
Jessica Wagenseil recognized for her research and leadership
Cellular obstacle course (Links to an external site)
Amit Pathak’s lab shows how environmental obstructions impact collective cell migration
Welcoming Dixit as Biology Department Chair (Links to an external site)
Ram Dixit mechanobiology faculty member shares his excitement about taking over as Biology Department Chair.
Environmental memory propels collective cell migration (Links to an external site)
Researchers in Amit Pathak’s lab found that cells learn from past environments to promote future invasions
Cancer cells penetrate deep into their environment (Links to an external site)
Amit Pathak’s lab finds cancer cells have remarkable ability while healthy cells do not
Hitchhiker plants inspire improved techniques for reattaching tendon to bone (Links to an external site)
A multi-university team of researchers working with Guy Genin at the Center for Engineering MechanoBiology explore new approaches to surgical tendon-to-bone repair
Cells take on dual identities with competing factors trapped in the nucleus (Links to an external site)
Research in Amit Pathak’s lab reveals new cell migration behavior
Student-led biotech consulting group brings science beyond the bench (Links to an external site)
WashU researchers observe cancer-like nucleoli in healthy cells (Links to an external site)
Discovery in Amit Pathak’s lab connects mechanobiology to nuclear condensates
New technology offers pathways to finding treatments for kidney disease (Links to an external site)
McKelvey Engineering, School of Medicine collaborate to develop hydrogel system
Undergraduate researchers celebrate at STEM Poster Palooza (Links to an external site)
The multidisciplinary poster session offered an opportunity for emerging researchers to develop their presentation and communication skills
Cell memory’s role in migration to new tissues explored (Links to an external site)
Amit Pathak’s lab will incorporate imaging, modeling to study cell migration
Best offense is a great defense for some carnivorous plants (Links to an external site)
Insect-eating plants have fascinated biologists for more than a century, but how plants evolved the ability to capture and consume live prey has largely remained a mystery. Now, scientists at Washington University in St. Louis and the Salk Institute have investigated the molecular basis of plant carnivory and found evidence that it evolved from mechanisms plants use to defend themselves.
Elizabeth Haswell Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (Links to an external site)
Elizabeth Haswell, one of eight faculty members at Washington University in St. Louis, is among the 564 new fellows selected by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the Science family of journals.
Starting at the beginning (Links to an external site)
Work in Jessica Wagenseil’s lab sheds light on vital role of elastin in aorta
A tough attachment between tendon, bone achieved through unique fibrous architecture (Links to an external site)
Research in Guy Genin’s lab serves as model for merging materials
First artificial scaffolds for studying plant cell growth (Links to an external site)
As a baby seedling emerges from the depths of the soil, it faces a challenge: gravity’s downward push. To succeed, the plant must sense the force, then push upward with an even greater force. Visible growth is proof that the seedling has won against the force of gravity.
Depth of perception (Links to an external site)
In plant cells, a conserved mechanism for perceiving mechanical force resides in unexpected location
Improving dialysis through design (Links to an external site)
Guy Genin, interdisciplinary team find a better way to design clot-prone grafts currently used for dialysis
A community of plant biologists develops guide for science outreach (Links to an external site)
Elizabeth Haswell, professor of biology, in collaboration with a network of plant biologists, co-authored a white paper published April 13 in Plant Direct. The paper titled “Broadening the impact of plant science through innovative, integrative and inclusive outreach” outlines the challenges of scientific outreach and how to improve it.
Biologist Dixit awarded $2M to study dynamics of intracellular scaffolds (Links to an external site)
Multi-tasking much, these days? The microtubule cytoskeleton is, too. Biologist Ram Dixit in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis has been awarded $2 million by the National Institutes of Health to study this important shape-shifter.
Researchers uncover how cells interact with supporting proteins to heal wounds (Links to an external site)
Using 3D mapping, researchers uncover a process that has stymied mechanobiology
An ion channel senses cell swelling and helps cells to choose a response (Links to an external site)
Mechanosensitive channel transporting ions induces program of cell suicide
How to build better highways in plants (Links to an external site)
Dixit lab finds motor proteins that create more stable tracks to deliver much-needed materials
Collagen fibers encourage cell streaming by balancing individual aggression with collective cooperation (Links to an external site)
Amit Pathak found that collagen fiber length within the body may be a key overlooked parameter that some normal cells use to become invasive
International collaboration leads to cellular mechanobiology discovery (Links to an external site)
While engineers have gathered a lot of information about cells, they have not been able to tell the difference between how structural and material stiffnesses affect the behavior of a cell — until now.
In cells, more persistent leaders drive response of group (Links to an external site)
Cells in a group mimic birds migrating in a flock, giving insight into how aggressive tumor cells invade the body
Role of cell group behavior target of $1.9 million award (Links to an external site)
Mechanical engineer’s research on cell behavior’s relationship to metastasis gets boost from NIH grant
Defects in tissue trigger disease-like transformation of cells (Links to an external site)
Amit Pathak, assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the School of Engineering & Applied Science, and his team found that one small defect in tissue boundaries known as the basement membrane can lead normal cells to take on characteristics of diseased cells, such as cancer cells, and invade the surrounding tissue.
A partnership for well-being (Links to an external site)
Washington University and the National University of Singapore (NUS) partnered to present the multi-day symposia, “University Partnerships for Innovation: Advancing Human Well-Being.” The event included a symposium on mechanobiology, one on inclusion in asset building, and a special joint session on innovation partnerships. The aim was to illuminate applied research and innovations at the intersection of social policy, engineering and medicine.
Genin named inaugural Faught Professor of Mechanical Engineering (Links to an external site)
Guy Genin, an internationally renowned expert in mechanobiology, was installed as the Harold and Kathleen Faught Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis Feb. 12.
Keeping plant-cell motors on track (Links to an external site)
Molecular brakemen keep transporter proteins in check until it’s their turn to move
Advancing well-being with global partnerships (Links to an external site)
Washington University in St. Louis strives to help solve some of the world’s biggest problems, but the effort doesn’t occur in a vacuum. The university is fully engaged with a global network of partners, via education programs and research initiatives, to develop tangible and lasting solutions.
Cells’ mechanical memory could hold clues to cancer metastasis (Links to an external site)
New use for a pesky weed (Links to an external site)
How dandelion seeds act as a perfect pipette in the lab
Driving force (Links to an external site)
Mechanobiology provides insight into life. Engineers and scientists have recently identified a missing link that is critical to understanding and improving human health and the living environment — the emerging field of mechanobiology, or how biological systems sense, generate and respond to physical forces.
NSF announces new Science and Technology Center (Links to an external site)
Washington University-Penn partnership will investigate biology’s mechanics