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Giant viruses may possess the tools of metabolism in their genome

According to researchers from Virginia Tech, genes within viruses possess certain portions that help them make their own tools for metabolism. However, they do not have metabolic processes of their own. The new study with these findings appeared in the latest issue of the journal Nature Communications.

6 Apr 2020

How long to a coronavirus vaccine?

The whole world is waiting for one. A vaccine is the only thing that could conceivably save the world from a horrifying cascade of deaths, other than a miracle, it seems.

29 Mar 2020

New molecular probes to study the behavior of opioid receptors

It could be an important step forward in the improvement of pain therapy: Thanks to newly developed molecular probes, the behavior of individual opioid receptors can now be studied in detail.

25 Mar 2020

Changes in surface sugarlike molecules help cancer cells to spread

Changes in a specific type of sugarlike molecule, or glycan, on the surface of cancer cells help them to spread into other tissues, according to researchers at the University of California, Davis. Published March 23 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the work could lead to diagnostic tests and new therapies to slow or stop the spread of cancers.

25 Mar 2020

Researchers study how changing seasons will affect coronavirus spread

One of the biggest unknowns about the coronavirus is how changing seasons will affect its spread. Physicists from the University of Utah have received the university's first COVID-19-related grant to tackle the question.

18 Mar 2020

Alzheimer's and its helper protein

It is commonly observed that the brain in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) often contains fibrils of tau protein, which build up within the brain neurons to interrupt proper communication between them. However, it is far from clear what these deposits mean and how they form.

15 Mar 2020

How a virus forms a protective shell to evade the immune system

A virus is a small infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses can infect all types of life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea.

10 Mar 2020

Novel manganese-zinc ferrite nanoparticles can potentially be used in cancer treatment

A group of Russian scientists have synthesized manganese-zinc ferrite nanoparticles that can potentially be used in cancer treatment. Due to their unique magnetic properties, the particles can serve as deactivators of affected cells while having almost no negative impact on healthy tissues.

7 Mar 2020

Novel 4D printing technology may accelerate development of new therapeutics

Researchers at the Advanced Science Research Center at The Graduate Center, CUNY (CUNY ASRC) and Northwestern University have created a 4D printer capable of constructing patterned surfaces that recreate the complexity of cell surfaces.

6 Mar 2020

Active droplets for precise dosing of medication

Using a mixture of oil droplets and hydrogel, medical active agents can be not only precisely dosed, but also continuously administered over periods of up to several days. The active agents inside the droplets are released at a constant rate, decreasing the risk of over- or underdosage.

20 Feb 2020

Supersensitive nanomaterials hold promise for DNA analysis and next-generation drugs

In 1900, German physician Paul Ehrlich came up with the notion of a "magic bullet." The basic idea is to inject a patient with smart particles capable of finding, recognizing, and treating a disease. Medicine has pursued the magic bullet ever since.

19 Feb 2020

Live-cell imaging provides new insights into dynamic structure of mitochondria

As power plants and energy stores, mitochondria are essential components of almost all cells in plants, fungi and animals. Until now, it has been assumed that these functions underlie a static structure of mitochondrial membranes.

18 Feb 2020

Microscopy in Neuroscience Research

An interview with ZEISS, to discuss the challenges faced in neuroscience research microscopy techniques and their latest microscope.

From Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH 17 Feb 2020

Study explains how certain mutations can shorten biological clock timing

A new study of molecular interactions central to the functioning of biological clocks explains how certain mutations can shorten clock timing, making some people extreme "morning larks" because their internal clocks operate on a 20-hour cycle instead of being synchronized with the 24-hour cycle of day and night.

13 Feb 2020

Research provides new insights into molecular basis of X-chromosome inactivation

Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg and Institut Curie in Paris have shown that the protein SPEN plays a crucial role in the process of X-chromosome inactivation, whereby female mammalian embryos silence gene expression on one of their two X chromosomes.

7 Feb 2020

SEER: A better tool to image disease

Scientists from the University of South California (USC) report the development of a novel technique to image living cells in greater detail and increased clarity. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, describes a technology which can confer the ability to actually see things going wrong – a great advantage in the study of health and disease.

5 Feb 2020

Research could help understand the effect of ionizing radiation on human cells

Small organic molecules, including the amino acids that form the 'building blocks' of proteins in living cells, fragment to form ions under the impact of high-energy radiation such as electron beams.

5 Feb 2020

3D-printed scaffolds engraved with grooves hold promise for healing injuries

Who ever said bioengineers can't get their groove on? The Rice University team led by Antonios Mikos says otherwise with its development of a groovy method to seed sophisticated, 3D-printed tissue-engineering scaffolds with living cells to help heal injuries.

4 Feb 2020

Researchers provide first insight into innovative approach for diabetes care

The circadian clock system (from Latin "circa diem", about a day) allows the organisms to anticipate periodical changes of geophysical time, and to adjust to these changes. Nearly all the cells in our body comprise molecular clocks that regulate and synchronize metabolic functions to a 24-hour cycle of day-night changes.

31 Jan 2020

Novel approach allows SL printers to fabricate finer, more complex microfluidic networks

First introduced in the 1980s, stereolithography (SL) is an additive manufacturing process that prints 3D objects by the selective curing of liquid polymer resin using an ultra-violet (UV) light source in a layer-by-layer fashion.

30 Jan 2020