Scientists Discover a New Class of Memory Cells in the Brain – The Closest Thing to a “Grandmother Neuron”
Scientists have long searched in vain for a class of brain cells that could explain the visceral flash of recognition that we feel when we…
Rockefeller University
Inside the Crucial Protein Channel That Keeps Bacteria Alive
Almost all bacteria rely on the same emergency valves—protein channels that pop open under pressure, releasing a deluge of cell contents. It is a last-ditch…
Sticky Webs of DNA Released From Immune Cells May Drive Lung Pathology in Severe COVID-19
Sticky webs of DNA released from immune cells known as neutrophils may cause much of the tissue damage associated with severe COVID-19 infections, according to…
Complex Puzzle Revealed: Never-Before-Seen Image of the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus Copy Machine
Exactly how viruses replicate is a complex puzzle with many missing pieces. And in the age of the pandemic, solving it has become a matter…
Continued Nicotine Use May Promote Brain Tumors in Lung Cancer Patients
Wake Forest researchers suggest nicotine replacement therapies may not be suitable smoking cessation strategies for this population. Researchers at Wake Forest School of Medicine have…
Surprises Surfacing in the Atlantic: Species Far From Home Detected by DNA Traces in Seawater
DNA scientists sampling the New Jersey shore bottle the changing ranges of marine life predicted a decade ago; Fishing DNA from seawater: a harmless, economical…
Evolution Can Go in Reverse – Research on Soldier Ants Reveals Surprising Flexibility
Turtle ant soldiers look like real-life creatures straight out of a Japanese anime film. These tree-dwelling insects scuttle to and fro sporting shiny, adorably oversized…
Researchers Surprised That Gut Bacteria Penetrates Tumors – Improves Cancer Therapy
Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and University of Chicago have discovered that bacteria that usually live in the gut can accumulate…
Biologists Baffled by Neuron-Like Activity Detected in an Unforeseen Place
The cells under Sanford M. Simon‘s microscope could easily be mistaken for neurons—they sport the characteristic long branches, and blips of light indicating bursts of…
Revitalizing the Aging Brain by Activating Immune Cells
Researchers at Albany Medical College in New York have discovered that a specific type of immune cell accumulates in older brains, and that activating these…
A Surprising New Source of Attention in the Brain Raises New Questions
As you read this line, you’re bringing each word into clear view for a brief moment while blurring out the rest, perhaps even ignoring the…
Protein ASTN2 Provides New Insight Into Autism and Other Brain Disorders
In the brain, as in business, connections are everything. To maintain cellular associates, the outer surface of a neuron, its membrane, must express particular proteins—proverbial…
Scientists Uncover New Target To Stop Cancer Growth
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have discovered that a protein called Munc13-4 helps cancer cells secrete large numbers of exosomes–tiny, membrane-bound packages containing proteins…
Scientists Map the Architecture of Nuclear Pore Complex in Yeast Cells
Like an island nation, the nucleus of a cell has a transportation problem. Evolution has enclosed it with a double membrane, the nuclear envelope, which…
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 Coax Human Embryonic Stem Cells to Organize
Using geometry, scientists from the Laboratory of Stem Cell Biology and Molecular Embryology at Rockefeller University have coaxed human embryonic stem cells to organize themselves….
Scientists Use Stem Cells to Better Understand Hepatitis C
Scientists from MIT, Rockefeller University and the Medical College of Wisconsin are hoping to better understand why an infectious disease like hepatitis C has different…