Researchers led by Nikolaus Rajewsky have found a way to regulate the gene expression of organoids, as they now report in Nature Methods. They look like storm clouds that could fit on the head of a pin: Organoids are three-dimensional cell cultures that play a key role in medical and clinical research. This is thanks to their ability to replicate tissue structures and organ functions in the petri dish. Scientists can use organoids to understand how diseases occur, how organs…
How a key protein regulates neuronal health. OIST biologists find new insights on how a molecular transport system ships RNA inside neurons. The Molecular Neuroscience Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) has made an important breakthrough by connecting sensory neurons’ survival and pathology with the way messenger RNAs (mRNAs) are transported inside these cells. This team of neurobiologists, comprised of Ph.D. student Sara Emad El-Agamy, Dr. Laurent Guillaud, and Prof. Marco Terenzio, has collaborated with Prof. Keiko Kono…
A new compact, lightweight, gel-free and waterproof electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor offers more comfort and less skin irritation, compared to similar heart monitoring devices on the market. ECGs help manage cardiovascular disease – which affects around 4 million Australians and kills more than 100 people every day – by alerting users to seek medical care. The team led by RMIT University in Australia has made the wearable ECG device that could be used to prevent heart attacks for people with cardiovascular…
A new study from researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Academia Sinica of Taiwan points to an improved method for regenerating heart muscle following a heart attack. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Academia Sinica of Taiwan have harnessed a combination of lab-grown cells to regenerate damaged heart muscle. The study, published in Circulation — which addresses major challenges of using heart muscle cells, called cardiomyocytes, grown from stem cells — takes a crucial step toward future clinical applications. Previous…
An innovative algorithm successfully addresses the challenge of microscopy resolution through pixel reassignment. Obtaining high-resolution images in the world of microscopy has long been a challenge. Deconvolution, a method to enhance image clarity, often amplifies noise between the sample and the image. Researchers at Boston University recently developed a novel deblurring algorithm that avoids these issues, improving the resolution of images with photon intensity conservation and local linearity. As reported in the Gold Open Access journal Advanced Photonics, the innovative deblurring…
High-performance photon detection with superconducting strips over 200 times wider than conventional nanostrip. Highlights Succeeded in developing a “Superconducting Wide-Strip Photon Detector” with a superconducting strip over 200 times wider than the conventional nanostrip Achieves high productivity and polarization independence while maintaining high detection efficiency comparable to that of the nanostrip type Lowering the fabrication cost and hurdles of photon detectors, accelerating the realization of quantum information communication and quantum computers Abstract The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology…
An enzyme that may help some breast cancers spread can be stopped with an antibody created in the lab of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor Nicholas Tonks. With further development, the antibody might offer an effective drug treatment for those same breast cancers. The new antibody targets an enzyme called PTPRD that is overabundant in some breast cancers. PTPRD belongs to a family of molecules known as protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs), which help regulate many cellular processes. They do this by working in…
The University of the Basque Country’s Planetary Sciences Group is leading the discovery made by an international team and based on the analysis of observations obtained by the James Webb Space Telescope. High-speed jet streams are a common feature in the atmospheres of many planets. On the Earth, jet streams form at various latitudes and meander around the planet, changing latitude and reaching speeds approaching 400 km/h at an altitude of over 10 km above the surface. On the giant…
WVU research explores 3D printing in microgravity. Research from West Virginia University students and faculty into how 3D printing works in a weightless environment aims to support long-term exploration and habitation on spaceships, the moon or Mars. Extended missions in outer space require the manufacture of crucial materials and equipment onsite, rather than transporting those items from Earth. Members of the Microgravity Research Team said they believe 3D printing is the way to make that happen. The team’s recent experiments focused on how a…
The immune system is fast when it comes to fighting viruses, bacteria and other pathogens. But it also has to know when not to attack – for example, harmless substances such as pollen or house dust, which otherwise trigger allergic reactions. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the lymph nodes play a key role here, suppressing excessive or misdirected immune responses there. Researchers at the University of Würzburg (JMU) and the University Hospital RWTH Aachen have now observed a previously unknown…
Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed modular nanoparticles that can be easily customized to target different biological entities such as tumors, viruses or toxins. The surface of the nanoparticles is engineered to host any biological molecules of choice, making it possible to tailor the nanoparticles for a wide array of applications, ranging from targeted drug delivery to neutralizing biological agents. The beauty of this technology lies in its simplicity and efficiency. Instead of crafting entirely new…
Exquisite, never-before-seen details help unravel the supernova remnant’s puzzling history. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has gazed at the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant located 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. Since the recording of this energetic event in 1054 CE by 11th-century astronomers, the Crab Nebula has continued to draw attention and additional study as scientists seek to understand the conditions, behavior, and after-effects of supernovae through thorough study of the Crab, a relatively nearby example. Using Webb’s…
How they can prevent life in other solar systems. Giant gas planets can be agents of chaos, ensuring nothing lives on their Earth-like neighbors around other stars. New studies show, in some planetary systems, the giants tend to kick smaller planets out of orbit and wreak havoc on their climates. Jupiter, by far the biggest planet in our solar system, plays an important protective role. Its enormous gravitational field deflects comets and asteroids that might otherwise hit Earth, helping create…
Fraunhofer institutes are links between research and industrial application. The Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT will be demonstrating how impressively these links work at formnext from November 7 to 10, 2023 in Frankfurt am Main. Each exhibit tells a success story from completely different industries and applications, with completely different materials and processes. For more than 35 years, Fraunhofer ILT has been driving additive manufacturing (AM) forward – especially of metallic components, for example with laser powder bed fusion…
The effect of the phenotypic plasticity of cancer cells and how to exploit it. Cancer cells are notorious for rapidly changing their phenotype, driving within-host spread and evading treatment. Scientists in Plön used a mathematical model to understand the role of a signal used by cancer cells to control their phenotype. By manipulating these signals, cancer cells can be tricked into a less harmful phenotype that is more responsive to treatments. Mathematical oncology is a growing interdisciplinary field of research…
UTA bioengineer developing high-resolution imaging system to quantify cell tracking. The ability to dynamically track the movement of cells is essential for modeling cellular interactions as they form organs such as the heart. But current microscope technology isn’t up to the task of capturing those movements. Juhyun Lee, associate professor in the Bioengineering Department at The University of Texas at Arlington, recently received a five-year, $1.94 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a 4D high-resolution imaging…
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