Ep. 113: “Heart Patch” Featuring Dr. Nenad Bursac

Guest: Dr. Nenad Bursac talks about a technology his group has developed and tested as a candidate therapy for myocardial infarction and heart failure. Dr. Nenad Bursac’s research interests include pluripotent stem cell therapies for heart and muscle disease, cardiac and skeletal muscle tissue engineering, cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmias, genetic modifications of stem and somatic cells, micropatterning of proteins and hydrogels, and organ-on-chip technologies. Featured Resource: Celebration of Science Resources and Links Congress Budget Good for Science - The American Association for the Advancement of Science currently estimates R&D spending in the FY 2018 omnibus at $176.8 billion, an increase of 12.8 percent or $20.1 billion above FY 2017 estimated R&D. Male Birth Control Passes Safety Test - After decades of research, reproductive biologists are on the verge of developing new birth control options that stop sperm from maturing or save a woman's eggs for later. How Bees Combat Pesticides - Honeybees and bumblebees can resist a type of neonicotinoid insecticide, thanks to a family of enzymes that metabolize toxic compounds. Pacific Garbage Patch 16 Times Bigger Than Thought - It has been predicted that at least 79 (45–129) thousand tonnes of ocean plastic are floating inside an area of 1.6 million km2; a figure four to sixteen times higher than previously reported. Game Changing Stem Cell Treatment for MS - Results from an international trial showed that a stem cell treatment involving wiping out a patient’s immune system using cancer drugs and then rebooting it with a stem cell transplant can stop multiple sclerosis (MS) and improve its symptoms. Converting Blood Vessels to Blood Stem Cells - A switch has been discovered that instructs blood vessel cells to become blood stem cells during embryonic development in mice. iPSC Based Vaccines Elicit Anti-Tumor Response - Cancer cells and embryonic tissues share a number of cellular and molecular properties, suggesting that induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) may be harnessed to elicit anti-tumor responses in cancer vaccines. Pancreatic Tumor Organoids for Studying Disease Progression - A pancreatic tumor organoid library was established encompassing 39 patient-derived pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas and identified three functional subtypes based on their stem cell niche factor dependencies on Wnt and R-spondin. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Nenad Bursac Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe