LMU scientists have shown that small aggregates function as temporary RNA repositories, which are regulated by neural activity. Cells constantly have to adapt the level of activity of certain genes to specific requirements. This applies particularly to neurons, where synapses have to be repeatedly re-formed, re-wired, and restructured. For these processes – without which learning and remembering, for example, would not be possible – messenger molecules (mRNAs) deliver protein blueprints to the right place at the right time. In regulating…
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new technique for extracting hydrogen gas from liquid carriers which is faster, less expensive and more energy efficient than previous approaches. “Hydrogen is widely viewed as a sustainable energy source for transportation, but there are some technical obstacles that need to be overcome before it can be viewed as a practical alternative to existing technologies,” says Milad Abolhasani, corresponding author of a paper on the new technique and an associate professor…
Watching corals breathe: Researchers develop a new method to simultaneously measure flow and oxygen. The surface of a coral is rugged. Its hard skeleton is populated by polyps that stretch their tentacles into the surrounding water to filter out food. But how exactly does the water flow over the coral surface, what eddies and flows develop, and what does this mean for the oxygen supply around the coral and its associated algae? Until now, there was no answer to these…
A new study from the University of Southampton has discovered that ‘crown-like structures’ surrounding breast tumours in overweight and obese patients could hinder their response to therapy. The findings of this study could potentially be used to improve personalised treatment for patients with HER2 positive overexpressed breast cancer. Adipose tissue, or body fat, is an important component of the healthy human breast and yet high body mass index (BMI) is associated with increased risk of developing breast cancer. Overweight patients also…
Researchers report in unprecedented detail how some of the brain’s immune cells develop, and how to distinguish them from other cells. Thanks to over a century of modern neuroscience, we have made significant strides in our understanding of the brain. Nonetheless, we have only just begun to scratch the surface of how this amazingly complex organ works. Digging deeper into this perplexing puzzle, researchers from Kyushu University’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences have now analyzed in unprecedented detail the development and…
Novel surface treatment developed at UCLA stops microbes from adhering to medical devices like catheters and stents. A hospital or medical clinic might be the last place you’d expect to pick up a nasty infection, but approximately 1.7 million Americans do each year, resulting in nearly 100,000 deaths from infection-related complications and roughly $30 billion in direct medical costs. The biggest culprits, experts say — accounting for two-thirds of these infections — are medical devices like catheters, stents, heart valves…
Since the discovery of the chloride ion channel ASOR three years ago, researchers have been searching for its biological functions. Now, the team led by Prof. Thomas Jentsch at the FMP and MDC in Berlin discovered that ASOR is essential for the shrinkage of macropinosomes – particularly large vesicles that take up large amounts of extracellular fluid, including ions and proteins, in a non-specific manner. This process is especially important for certain immune and cancer cells. Indeed, under nutrient-poor conditions,…
– Negatively charged Polymer proves effective. A large number of viruses are known to make life difficult for both humans and animals. While broad-spectrum antibiotics can offer protection against a wide variety of bacteria, there are currently no analogous clinically available broad-spectrum antiviral agents. An international research team has now shown that polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) has the potential to be used in the prevention of viral infections – not only in the fight against the SARS-CoV-2 and cold viruses, but…
Pitt chemical engineers show how tungsten oxide can be used as a catalyst in sustainable chemical conversions. Engineers rely on catalysts for a vast array of applications from food manufacturing to chemical production, so finding efficient, environmentally friendly catalysts is an important avenue of research. New research led by the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering could lead to the creation of new, sustainable catalysts based on tungsten oxide and similar compounds. The project used computational simulations to understand…
Just as it’s hard to understand a conversation without knowing its context, it can be difficult for biologists to grasp the significance of gene expression without knowing a cell’s environment. To solve that problem, researchers at Princeton Engineering have developed a method to elucidate a cell’s surroundings so that biologists can make more meaning of gene expression information. The researchers, led by Professor of Computer Science Ben Raphael, hope the new system will open the door to identifying rare cell…
A USC Stem Cell study in NPJ Regenerative Medicine presents intriguing evidence that large bone injuries might trigger a repair strategy in adults that recapitulates elements of skeletal formation in utero. Key to this repair strategy is a gene with a fittingly heroic name: Sonic hedgehog. In the study, first author Maxwell Serowoky, a PhD student in the USC Stem Cell laboratory of Francesca Mariani, and his colleagues took a close look at how mice are able to regrow large sections of missing rib—an…
An advanced MRI and PET study… Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia. An etiology of AD would be excessive accumulation of toxic forms of β-amyloid (Aβ), assumed to result from an imbalance between its production and clearance. Individuals with early-onset AD-related gene mutations show both increased production and decreased clearance of Aβ, whereas those with late-onset AD, which accounts for > 95% of cases, exhibit only decreased Aβ clearance. The ε4 allele of APOE gene is…
… strengthen drug discovery pipeline. Revolutionary 3D images have enabled researchers to understand how new anti-malaria compounds kill malaria parasites, paving the way for the next generation anti-malarial treatments. Malaria infections are driven by Plasmodium parasites that enter the bloodstream and destroy red blood cells. Melbourne researchers from WEHI, in collaboration with Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), have now captured the first three dimensional (3D) images that reveal how compounds work to stop the parasites from spreading in the blood….
Nano-sized robots manipulated using a magnetic field can help kill bacteria deep inside dentinal tubules, and boost the success of root canal treatments, a new study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and IISc-incubated startup, Theranautilus, shows. Root canal treatments are routinely carried out to treat tooth infections in millions of patients. The procedure involves removing the infected soft tissue inside the tooth, called the pulp, and flushing the tooth with antibiotics or chemicals to kill the…
In the human embryo, the neural tube forms between the 22nd and 26th day of pregnancy. Later, the brain and spinal cord will develop from this tube. The neural tube forms when an elongated flat tissue structure, the neural plate, bends lengthwise into a U shape and closes to form a tube. What drives this development is not yet clear. Researchers in the group of Dagmar Iber, Professor of Computational Biology at the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering at…
… in adulthood, improving cognition and mood. Led by Juan Song, PhD, scientists at the UNC School of Medicine used optogenetic techniques to stimulate specific brain cells to increase production of neural stem cells and neurons relevant to memory and emotion processing in animal models. We humans lose mental acuity, an unfortunate side effect of aging. And for individuals with neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, the loss of cognitive function often accompanied by mood disorders such as anxiety…
Feedback
