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DNA ‘glue’ can help grow tissues, organs

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New York: DNA molecules can act as a glue to hold together 3D-printed materials that could be used to grow tissues and organs in the lab, researchers report.

According to Andrew Ellington, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at The University of Texas – Austin, researchers have used DNA to assemble objects so tiny that humans cannot see them with the naked eye.

Making them into larger, visible objects is cost-prohibitive. Current methods also do not allow for much control or flexibility in the types of materials that are created.

With this in mind, Ellington’s group set out to create a larger, more affordable material held together with DNA.

The researchers developed DNA-coated nanoparticles made of either polystyrene or polyacrylamide material.

DNA binding adhered these inexpensive nanoparticles to each other, forming gel-like materials that they could extrude from a 3D printer.

The materials were easy to see and could be manipulated without a microscope.

The DNA adhesive also allowed the researchers to control how these gels came together.

“They showed that human cells could grow in the gels, which is the first step toward the ultimate goal of using the materials as scaffolds for growing tissues,” the authors noted.

The process was described in the journal ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering.

Corona

Covid toll in Karnataka is a worrying sign for state government

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Even though Karnataka recorded the lowest number of Covid deaths in April since the virus struck first in 2020, the state is recording a rise in the positivity rate (1.50 per cent). Five people died from the Covid infections in April as per the statistics released by the state health department. In March, the positivity rate stood around 0.53 per cent. In the first week of April it came down to 0.38 per cent, second week registered 0.56 per cent, third week it rose to 0.79 per cent and by end of April the Covid positivity rate touched 1.19 per cent.

on an average 500 persons used to succumb everyday in the peak of Covid infection, as per the data. Health experts said that the mutated Coronavirus is losing its fierce characteristics as vaccination, better treatment facilities and awareness among the people have contributed to the lesser number of Covid deaths.

During the 4th and 6th of April two deaths were reported in Bengaluru, one in Gadag district on April 8, two deaths were reported from Belagavi and Vijayapura on April 30. The first Covid case was reported in the state in March 2020 and three Covid deaths were recorded in the month. In the following month 21 people became victims to the deadly virus, and May 2020 recorded 22 deaths. The death toll recorded everyday after May crossed three digits. However, the third wave, which started in January 2

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