Mother Jones. Credit: Scientists at ETH Zurich have devised a technique for genetically modifying individual cells separately within animals. This innovation streamlines the research process, eliminating the need for numerous animal experiments. By applying this novel approach, the scientists have pinpointed genes linked to a severe, rare genetic disorder. Typically, investigating the genetic origins of...
Neurons. Credit: Unsplash. A research team from the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and the Wyss Center has uncovered a novel class of brain cells that plays a pivotal role in brain function. These cells, possessing hybrid characteristics between neurons and glial cells, are found in various brain regions in mice and humans, offering unique insights into memory,...
Credit: Andrea Vierschilling / Pixabay. Ying Gu, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Penn State Eberly College of Science and leader of the research team, stated that the study identified a protein called calcium-dependent protein kinase 32 (CPK32) responsible for chemically modifying one of the proteins in the cellulose synthase complex, thereby regulating...
Researchers have stimulated pancreatic stem cells to develop into insulin-producing cells by administering a cocktail of medications. Credit: New Atlas. Researchers used a medication typically used to treat cancer with a naturally occurring anti-inflammatory to encourage pancreatic stem cells to develop into cells that produce insulin. The study results may one day help...
Fluorescence staining of Arlo cells. The image shows the overlay of a staining of cell nuclei (gray) and the tight junction protein 1 (blue) and was taken with a confocal laser scanning microscope. Credit: HIPS/Boese There is a very long process before the approval of a medicine, a new drug or a healing substance. It...
Credit: CC0 Public Domain More than 10% of older adults create somatic (non-inherited) mutations in blood stem cells that could trigger explosive, clonal expansions of abnormal cells, enhancing the risk for blood cancer and heart disease. Multiple DNA sequencing techniques have been utilized to determine what is called "clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential," or CHIP. Still,...
Stem cells are the blank slate on which all specialised cells in our bodies are built and they are the foundation for every organ and tissue in the body. Maturing and resisting it has long been a prominent point in traditional and modern literary works in human history. From the unfortunate Qin Shi Huang's exploration...
Polymyxin “last-resort” antibiotics kill bacteria by crystallizing their cell membranes. Credit: TED HOROWITZ/THE IMAGE BANK/GETTY IMAGES To eliminate drug-resistant bacteria, "last-resort" antibiotics borrow a method from Medusa's playbook: petrification. New high-resolution microscope pictures show that a class of antibiotics called polymyxins crystallizes bacteria's cell membranes. The honeycomb-shaped crystals that form transform the microorganisms' normally supple skins...
Researchers developed a "DishBrain" system that associated neurons to a computer running the typical computer game Pong. Within five minutes, the cells commenced "learning" and improved their efficiency. The device of "learning" could entail the free-energy concept, according to which the brain searches for to lessen entropy (unpredictability) in its atmosphere. Recently research announced in...
Credit: Unsplash A group of scientists from Helmholtz Munich has identified a new use for vitamin K, typically recognized for its part in blood clotting. In its fully reduced configuration, the researchers discovered that vitamin K operates as an anti-oxidant by efficiently inhibiting ferroptotic cell death. Ferroptosis is a natural kind of cell death in...
