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Engineered Skin Substitutes Edge Closer to Clinical Reality

by Medical

Researchers are advancing lab-grown skin substitutes that could reshape treatment for burns and chronic wounds. A comprehensive overview of this progress, published in Nature Outlook: Skin, highlights how multilayer grafts are moving closer to clinical use. In 2023, Anthony Atala at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, reported a printed three-layer graft that included pigment cells, vasculature, and hair follicles. In pigs, these grafts successfully merged with host tissue. “Why don’t we engineer skin that is full thickness, so you can actually use that as a permanent graft — just like you would a patient’s own graft?” Atala asks.

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UTA Researchers Create Smart 3D Printed Patch to Regenerate Heart Muscle

by Medical

A 3D printed patch designed to promote heart muscle regeneration is being developed by a bioengineering professor at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). This project aims to address a critical medical challenge by offering a potential new treatment option for heart attack survivors, whose damaged heart tissue currently lacks the ability to repair itself—often leading to serious, long-term health complications.