Histology & Microscopy

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Structure of DREADD designer receptor could pave the way for creating next generation tools

In order to more fully understand how diseases arise in the brain, scientists must unravel the intricate way neurons relay messages (either chemical or electrical) along a complex web of nerve cells.

20 Feb 2023

Using AI to follow cell movement across time and space

The enormous amount of data obtained by filming biological processes using a microscope has previously been an obstacle for analyses.

16 Feb 2023

Understanding neural crest cell development will help to better comprehend craniofacial birth defects

Craniofacial birth defects, including cleft lip and palate, are among the most common human congenital malformations.

16 Feb 2023

Electrochemical method helps to continuously witness and analyze details of protein folding

Scientists are not yet clear on how the tau protein changes from a benign protein essential for normal function in our brains into the toxic neurofibrillary tangles that are a signature of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases.

15 Feb 2023

"AutoPLP" technique enables rapid, accurate detection of mutating bacteria and viruses

As we now know from our experience with the COVID-19 pandemic, the microbes responsible for some infections can rapidly mutate into variants that evade detection and treatment.

15 Feb 2023

Active compound from edible mushrooms boosts nerve growth and enhances memory

Researchers from The University of Queensland have discovered the active compound from an edible mushroom that boosts nerve growth and enhances memory.

10 Feb 2023

High-precision mechanical sensing system can measure in vivo biomechanical properties of tissue, single cell

Fiber sensing scientists at Shenzhen University have developed a compact fiber optical nanomechanical probe (FONP) for measuring in vivo biomechanical properties of tissue and even single cell.

10 Feb 2023

Cryo-EM provides new insights into the structure of the centromeric region

The genetic material inside cells is organized into structures called chromosomes. The centromere is essential for the correct division of the chromosomes via interaction with spindle microtubules when cells divide and grow.

6 Feb 2023

Cryo-EM reveals the structure of hnRNPDL-2 protein fibrils associated with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy

Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 3 (LGMD D3) is a rare disease causing progressive muscle weakness, caused by point mutations in the hnRNPDL-2 protein.

3 Feb 2023

Research project aims to shed new light on how proteins in viruses bind to molecules

The way in which molecules interact forms the basis of life and treating illness. But what does it look like when a viral protein meets and binds to molecules like those found in medications? A new research project has been awarded DKK 65 million by the European Research Council and will now aim to shed light on this hitherto invisible process.

2 Feb 2023

Microscopic technique enables real-time study of RNA G-quadruplexes in living cells

A new microscopic technique allows for the real-time study of RNA G-quadruplexes in living cells, with implications for the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

2 Feb 2023

Light-activated nanoscale drills can combat infectious fungi

That stubborn athlete's foot infection an estimated 70% of people get at some point in their life could become much easier to get rid of thanks to nanoscale drills activated by visible light.

1 Feb 2023

Structure and function of the first FDA-approved treatment for Ebola virus discovered

Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have uncovered the structure and function of the first FDA-approved treatment for Zaire ebolavirus (Ebola virus).

30 Jan 2023

Breathing and tilting motions of influenza glycoproteins could be exploited to better defend against flu

The potential "tripledemic" of influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) infection continues to be a concern.

25 Jan 2023

Cryo-electron microscopy reveals detailed blueprint of viral genome replication machinery

RNA viruses, such as the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, are in a life-and-death race the moment they infect a cell.

25 Jan 2023

Cryo-electron microscopy captures the first 3D structure of SPOP protein that drives cancer

SPOP is the most mutated protein in prostate cancer and plays a role in endometrial, uterine and other cancers. Despite this importance, how SPOP mutations drive cancer has been incompletely understood.

23 Jan 2023

Researchers discover connection between the electrical properties and lifestyle of bacteria

The electrical potential across the bacterial cell envelope indicates when bacteria no longer operate as individual cells but as a collective.

19 Jan 2023

Researchers create large-scale 2D and 3D spatial maps of colorectal cancer

In the United States, turning 45 brings with it a rather unpleasant rite of passage: the beginning of regular colonoscopies, in which an endoscope equipped with a light and a camera is used to visually check the colon for signs of cancer.

19 Jan 2023

Research provides a comprehensive structural framework to design safer pain-relieving drugs

In the continuing effort to improve upon opioid pain relievers, American and Chinese scientists used cryoEM technology to solve the detailed structures of the entire family of opioid receptors bound to their naturally occurring peptides.

18 Jan 2023

Valuable tool reveals the connections between gut microbes and the brain

In the past decade, researchers have begun to appreciate the importance of a two-way communication that occurs between microbes in the gastrointestinal tract and the brain, known as the gut–brain axis.

13 Jan 2023