In case you’re looking for a unique Valentine’s Day story, I have a possibility for you:
- UW researchers have engineered heart tissue that beats like a tiny human heart.
- Their system is made up of roughly a million heart cells that contract and relax in concert (B-roll available).
- These cells form tissues that are slightly longer than a grain of rice and grow between two posts. When these “mini-hearts” beat, they push and pull the posts, which the researchers can measure.
- The team is using this system to screen for drugs that could help protect the heart against COVID-19.
- This system has also gone up into space to study what happens to astronauts’ hearts in zero gravity.
- More details about this project here.
- Soundbites and B-roll available.
For more information, contact Nathan Sniadecki at nsniadec@uw.edu (professor of mechanical engineering, available for interviews Feb. 11) and Samantha Bremner at sbremner@uw.edu (bioengineering doctoral student, available for interviews Feb. 12).
