The research highlights how wounds heal -
Research by a civil engineer from the University of Waterloo help shed light on how injuries heal and could someday have implications for understanding how cancer spreads and why certain birth defects occur.
Professor Wayne Brodland develops computer models to study the mechanical interactions between cells. In this project, he worked with a team of international researchers found that how entwined wounds is more complex than we thought. The results were published this week in the journal Nature Physics.
"When people think of engineering, they probably think of bridges and roads, and not the human body," said Professor Brodland. "Like a number of my colleagues, I study structures, but those who manage to be very small, and under certain conditions, they cause cells to move. The models we build allow us to reproduce these movements and understand how they are trained. "
When you cut a scar remains, but not in the cells the team studied. Researchers found a wound closes by cells that crawl on the website and by the contraction of a cord-like structure that forms along the edge of the wound. They were surprised that the cable works fine even when it contains natural jumps.
This knowledge could be the first step on a long way to make real progress in the fight against some major health problems.
"work is important because it helps us understand how cells move. we hope one day this knowledge will help us to eliminate defects of birth defects such as spina bifida, and stop cancer cells from spreading, "he said Professor Brodland.
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