Yale Researchers Track How Cells Repair Rips in DNA
All DNA is sealed within the cell’s nuclear membrane, which protects it from molecular marauders. But what happens when that protective envelope rips? Yale researchers…
Cell Biology
STORM Reveals Never-Before-Seen Holes in the Cytoskeletal Mesh
One of today’s sharpest imaging tools, super-resolution microscopy, produces sparkling images of what until now has been the blurry interior of cells, detailing not only…
A Powerful New Tool for Studying Complex Biological Events
A new method for monitoring interactions between cells, dubbed LIPSTIC by its creators, is much more than a cosmetic improvement over existing techniques. The breakthrough,…
Scientists Discover How a Gene Mutation Affects T Cell Function and Successfully Fix It
Scientists discovered how a gene mutation affects T cell function to promote immune disorders and then tested a treatment based on the discovery–successfully fixing donated…
Scientists Reveal How Mutations in Genes Give Rise to Face-Specific Birth Defects
About 1 in 750 babies born in the United States has some kind of craniofacial malformation, accounting for about one-third of all birth defects. Many…
International Team of Scientists Reveal a New Type of Botox
A new source of the botulinum neurotoxin was discovered by Canadian and American scientists in a strain of animal gut bacteria known as Enterococcus faecium….
Scientists Sequence Largest Genome to Date, the Axolotl Genome
A team of researchers led by scientists in Vienna, Dresden and Heidelberg has decoded the entire genetic information of the Mexican salamander axolotl. The axolotl…
Geneticists Fully Decode a New Genome for Regeneration Research
The planarian flatworm Schmidtea mediterranea is an extraordinary animal. Even when cut into tiny pieces, each piece can regenerate back into a complete and perfectly…
Breakthrough Discovery Reveals MSK1 Protein Keeps Metastatic Breast Cancer Cells Dormant
The time needed for breast cancer metastases (secondary lesions caused by cells that have escaped from the original tumour) to develop varies between patients, and…
New Technique Allows Scientists to Switch ATP Synthase On and Off Using UV Light
The enzyme complex ATP synthase is one of the most important molecular machines in the cell. It produces adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which serves as the…
New Discovery Reveals Fat Cells Are Sensitive to Sunlight, May Explain Winter Weight Gain
We may have a new reason, in addition to vitamin D generation, to bask in a little sunshine. A breakthrough study by University of Alberta…
Biomedical Engineers Grow Functioning Human Muscle From Stem Cells
Duke engineers have grown the first functioning human muscle from non-muscle cells — in this case skin cells reverted to their primordial stem cell state….
Scientists Reveal How Good Bacteria Can Control Genes in Cells
Scientists from the Babraham Institute near Cambridge in collaboration with colleagues from Brazil and Italy have discovered a way that good bacteria in the gut…
Chemists Reveal New Theory For How Life On Earth May Have Begun
Chemists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed a fascinating new theory for how life on Earth may have begun. Their experiments, described today…
Yale Research Shows Leptin Spurs Body to Shift from Burning Carbs to Fat
To keep the human brain supplied with energy when food was scarce, mammals evolved the ability to switch from burning carbohydrates to burning fat in…
Researchers Culture First Lab-Grown Skin Tissue With Hair Follicles
Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have cultured the first lab-grown skin tissue complete with hair follicles. This skin model, developed using stem cells from…
Duke University Enhances the Effectiveness and Safety of Sonogenetics
This movie depicts cells being stretched by cavitation bubbles sent from various distances over a 3.5 minute span. The calcium responses of cells are at…
Obesity Alters the Long-Term Fitness of Bone Marrow Cells
New research published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine highlights the pernicious effect of obesity on the long-term health of blood-making stem cells (hematopoietic stem…