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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Cell Gels"
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(90 seconds)
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READER SCRIPT
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DOCTOR GEL, AND MISTER HYDRO... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. THIS IS A STORY OF SUPPORT, STRUCTURE, SYMBIOSIS--AND RELYING ON THE STRENGTHS OF EACH OTHER. IT'S ABOUT TWO UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE SCIENTISTS WHO CAME TOGETHER BY CHANCE--AND IT'S ABOUT THEIR INVENTION: A BIO-MATERIAL THAT ASSISTS IN REPAIRING AND REGENERATING HUMAN TISSUE. JOEL SCHNEIDER AND DARRIN POCHAN MET AT U-D--AND, WITH A TEAM OF RESEARCHERS, BROUGHT TOGETHER THEIR SEPARATE DISCIPLINES. THEY INVENTED A PEPTIDE-BASED "HYDRO-GEL" THAT HOLDS LIVING CELLS AND DRUGS--ONE THAT, IN THE FUTURE, COULD HELP A DAMAGED ORGAN REPAIR ITSELF, OR MORE EFFECTIVELY TREAT WOUNDED SOLDIERS IN THE FIELD. THE "HYDRO-GELS" ARE MADE OF A MATERIAL SIMILAR TO SOFT CONTACT LENSES. SCHNEIDER COMPARES THE WORKING OF THE "HYDRO-GEL" IN THE HUMAN BODY TO SCAFFOLDING, OR TO REBAR IN CONCRETE; IT GIVES THE RE-GROWING TISSUE SOMETHING TO HANG ONTO. AND, THERE'S NO ASSEMBLY REQUIRED: THE "HYDRO-GELS" ARE "SELF-ASSEMBLING"; WHEN INJECTED INTO THE BODY AND TRIGGERED, THEY CUSTOM-FIT THEMSELVES TO THE AREA TO BE REPAIRED. THE MATERIAL SHOWS A LOT OF PROMISE--AND, WHEN IT CAME TO INVENTING THIS AMAZING STUFF, YOU MIGHT SAY THAT "THINGS JUST GELLED". THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
