Understanding both the role of selection in driving phenotypic change and its underlying genetic basis remain major challenges in evolutionary biology. Here, we use modern tools to revisit a classic system of local adaptation in the North American deer mou ...
Tissue loss significantly reduces the potential for functional recovery after spinal cord injury. We previously showed that implantation of porous scaffolds composed of a biodegradable and biocompatible block copolymer of Poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid and P ...
Intervertebral disc degeneration is a major reason why we experience low back pain. Intervertebral discs are located in-between the vertebrae of the spine. They act, among other, as shock absorbers by distributing the mechanical load applied to the spine w ...
While alterations in spinal kinematics have been frequently reported in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP), a better characterization of the kinematics during functional activities is needed to improve our understanding and therapeutic solutions fo ...
Replacing the gel-like central part of the intervertebral disc (IVD), so-called nucleus pulposus (NP), via a minimally invasive surgery is one of the most recent approaches in the lower back pain treatments. An appropriate biomaterial for NP replacement (N ...
The tetrapod vertebral column has become increasingly complex during evolution as an adaptation to a terrestrial life. At the same time, the evolution of the vertebral formula became subject to developmental constraints acting on the size of the cervical a ...
A reliable concept for steering was realized by in- tegrating a spine-like structure with one DoF into a quadruped robot - Cheetah-cub-S. We increased maneuverability dramat- ically compared to a robot with rigid spine, while keeping controlling effort low ...