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posted by martyb on Tuesday November 06 2018, @06:15AM   Printer-friendly
from the SCARab's-diSCARded-skin-skein-SCARcely-SCARs dept.

Phys.org:

A team of researchers at Huazhong University of Science and Technology has developed a silk protein-based gel that they claim allows for skin healing without scarring. In their paper published in the journal Biomaterials Science, the group describes their gel and how well it works.

Scarring due to a skin injury is not just unsightly—for many, it can also be a painful reminder of a wound. For these reasons, scientists have sought a way to heal wounds without scarring. In this new effort, the team in China claims to have found such a solution—a sericin hydrogel.

The gel used by the researchers was based on a silk protein—the researchers extracted sericin from silk fibers and then used a UV light and a photoinitiator to cross-link the protein chains. The result was a gel that adhered well to cells and did not trigger much of an immune response. The researchers note that it also has adjustable mechanical properties. They explain that the gel allows for scar-free healing by inhibiting inflammation and by promoting the development of new blood vessels. It was also found to regulate TGF-β growth factors, which resulted in stem cells being routed to the injury site allowing new skin to develop, rather than scar tissue.

Now you can better hide your alien subdermal implants.


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  • (Score: 1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 06 2018, @06:39AM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 06 2018, @06:39AM (#758415)

    This will be big business in the U.S., where it will be used to hide the characteristic dark ring around men's penises, due to the widespread genital reconstruction ritual practiced on newborns in that country.

    It's already the most pervasive surgery in the United States, which is particularly weird given that it's performed on completely healthy children.

    Traditional Jews already solved that problem by cutting off as muc of the sexually pleasing preputial mucosa as possible, thereby hiding the scar right behind the corona of the head of the penis.

    • (Score: 2) by isostatic on Tuesday November 06 2018, @01:11PM (4 children)

      by isostatic (365) on Tuesday November 06 2018, @01:11PM (#758481) Journal

      Why is mutilating children permitted in so-called progressive countries? Why is it so popular in America?

      • (Score: 2) by Unixnut on Tuesday November 06 2018, @03:10PM

        by Unixnut (5779) on Tuesday November 06 2018, @03:10PM (#758514)

        Not sure. There seems to be an issue of balance with regards to the state vs parents.

        I.e. how much right does a parent have over their kids before they are of the age of consent. The mutilation of genitals is one such example. Should parents be allowed to make permanent body alterations to their kids before the kids have a say?

        Personally I don't think they should, but a lot of people fall under the "they are my kids" rule. The thing about genital mutilation is that the arguments for doing it are cultural or religious, and interfering with culture or religion in this modern politically correct society is a headache at best.

        Female genital mutilation (FGM) seems to have a lot more exposure and attempts to stop it vs male genital mutilation (MGM). I suspect part of the reason of that is the strong feminist lobby is lobbying for FGM being banned, as it has been tied to male oppression of women from birth. Whereas there is no real male equivalent (homonist?) lobbying for MGM being banned.

        Also, if you try to ban MGM, you get called out as being anti-semitic (FGM is no longer practiced by Jews, but MGM still is). This makes it a lot harder to ban F/MGM outright, so people concentrate on saving those they can.

      • (Score: 2) by TheFool on Tuesday November 06 2018, @03:25PM

        by TheFool (7105) on Tuesday November 06 2018, @03:25PM (#758524)

        I don't know why it started, but the reason now is that dad got snipped and he wants to avoid that whole conversation with his son.

      • (Score: 2) by etherscythe on Tuesday November 06 2018, @03:46PM

        by etherscythe (937) on Tuesday November 06 2018, @03:46PM (#758531) Journal

        Religion occasionally drives some very strange behaviors in otherwise apparently rational people. This tradition comes from that cultural baggage of "things we do, because that's just how it is." (We saw this very briefly with the nuclear family movement, but we're finding out conclusively that it takes more than two adults to shape a child into what they become). The rationalizations have also been wrapped in "health benefits" that really don't hold water, so to speak, in the age of indoor plumbing; and... aesthetics arguments. This is what the mind can produce when dogmatism is the first system of thought taught from a young age, and reason only afterwards.

        There is little doubt in my mind that the resistance to change is very much religious in origin, even if other rationalizations have since spawned from it. Some part of society clings to it as an identity, because many people need to belong to something bigger than themselves, the same way many of us cling to nationalism even though it's almost literally just a line in the sand, and we oversimplify reality to our detriment. This hubris has led many people to think they're going to improve on nature's form (or God's, ironically). Otherwise, we could have discarded this practice decades ago.

        --
        "Fake News: anything reported outside of my own personally chosen echo chamber"
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 07 2018, @09:56PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 07 2018, @09:56PM (#759167)

        Australia is taking steps to ban it.
        It can only be done for medical reasons in some states.
        I was cut. It badly affects my sex life.

  • (Score: 2) by TheFool on Tuesday November 06 2018, @03:22PM (2 children)

    by TheFool (7105) on Tuesday November 06 2018, @03:22PM (#758521)

    When I was very young, my sister and I were fighting in the car about something. I don't really remember much about it, but she took a swipe at my face and left a 2" scar beneath one of my eyes. Somehow it never went away as my face grew, just got a bit distorted.

    It would be a shame if they just erased it. I can tease my sister about how she horribly disfigured me for life when we see each other now.

    • (Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Tuesday November 06 2018, @07:19PM (1 child)

      by PinkyGigglebrain (4458) on Tuesday November 06 2018, @07:19PM (#758648)

      I wonder how your sister feels about your "teasing".

      Every time she sees you or looks at a picture with you in it she would be reminded that you still haven't forgiven her for that event.

      If you really have forgiven her then stop bringing it up. If you haven't maybe it is time you did.

      --
      "Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
      • (Score: 2) by TheFool on Tuesday November 06 2018, @09:01PM

        by TheFool (7105) on Tuesday November 06 2018, @09:01PM (#758680)

        Thank you for your concern about my sister.

        If you're actually wondering how she feels about it, she thinks the whole incident was amusing. So do I. It really only comes up when we're reminiscing about when we were kids.

        She'll usually laugh (because I'm not "horribly disfigured", the scar is pretty thin even if it does span a good portion of my face), comment on me being a wuss and/or how I probably deserved it, then tease me about how I really ruined her life in some other (non-ruinous) way. We did a lot of silly stuff growing up, so neither of us has a shortage of these kinds of incidents. Now that we're older we can have fun remembering them.

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by darkfeline on Tuesday November 06 2018, @07:49PM

    by darkfeline (1030) on Tuesday November 06 2018, @07:49PM (#758657) Homepage

    Scar tissue is weaker than the original. If this means that the healed tissue retains normal strength, that's pretty cool.

    --
    Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 07 2018, @02:33AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 07 2018, @02:33AM (#758797)

    Boob jobs (etc--all kinds of cosmetic surgery) with no scarring -- porn stars (real or wannabees) will have one less thing to keep them from investing in their marketability.

    More generally, eliminating scarring after all kinds of surgery will be welcomed by anyone that can afford it. Depending where they are, scars can also be uncomfortable (as well as unsightly).

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