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New treatment method could be more effective for Alzheimer's disease

In Alzheimer's disease, a protein (peptide) forms clumps in the brain and causes sufferers to lose their memory. In a recently published article, a research group at Uppsala University described a new treatment method that increases the body's own degradation of the building blocks that lead to these protein clumps.

3 Nov 2020

Engineers use electric fields to manipulate viruses in microfluidic device

The technique uses microfluidics -- the submillimeter control of fluids within a precise, geometric structure. On what is basically a tricked-out microscope slide, chemical engineers from Michigan Technological University have been able to manipulate viruses in a microfluidic device using electric fields.

3 Nov 2020

Exposure to environmental immunotoxicants may worsen outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection

A team of researchers recently carried out a study in Denmark in which they determined the plasma PFAS concentrations in individuals with a confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

2 Nov 2020

The road to achieving single molecular spectroscopy using nanoIR

In this interview, Francesco Simone Ruggeri from the University of Cambridge talks to News-Medical Life Sciences about their research into biomolecules and the methods that are helping to achieve spectra at the single-molecule scale.

From Bruker Nano Surfaces and Metrology 30 Oct 2020

Cell biologists and bioimaging expert team up to solve fourth dimension secrets

Cell biologists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Bar-Ilan University at Israel and a bioimaging expert at the University of Central Florida are teaming up in what they hope may lead to a major breakthrough in understanding of the three-dimensional organization of the nucleus over time and their role in certain diseases.

29 Oct 2020

Researchers develop guidelines to standardize performance tests for neural interfaces

How can scientists measure and define the performance of neural electrodes if there are no uniform standards? Freiburg microsystems engineer Dr. Maria Asplund together with Dr. Christian Böhler and Prof. Dr. Thomas Stieglitz, as well as Prof. Dr. Luciano Fadiga and Dr. Stefano Carli from the Italian Institute of Technology at the University of Ferrara, Italy, have developed guidelines to standardize the testing of the performance of electrodes for neural interfaces and bioelectronic systems.

29 Oct 2020

Ultramicroscopy helps visualize tumor tissues in three dimensions

After cancer surgery, the crucial question is: Are there possibly cancer cells left behind that can continue to grow, or has the entire tumor actually been removed? To find out, the tumor is examined by pathologists.

28 Oct 2020

Furin cleavage site and D614G on SARS-CoV-2 spike evolved to balance infectivity, stability, cytopathicity

SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent of COVID-19 disease, currently raging across the world. The virus has now infected more than 43.89 million individuals and claimed over 1.16 million lives. The study titled, "Spike glycoprotein and host cell determinants of SARS-CoV-2 entry and cytopathic effects," is released on the preprint server bioRxiv* in October 2020.

27 Oct 2020

Microsurgery improves outcomes in patients experiencing paralysis from Parsonage-Turner Syndrome

Orthopedic surgeons at Hospital for Special Surgery performed successful microsurgery to repair damaged nerves and restore muscle strength and movement to patients experiencing paralysis from Parsonage-Turner Syndrome, according to a study published online ahead of print in The Journal of Hand Surgery.

27 Oct 2020

Neuropilin-1: A new route of SARS-CoV-2 entry

A new study published in the reputed journal Science in October 2020 reports the potential therapeutic value of the second type of host transmembrane receptor, called neuropilins, which attach to the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and may enhance its infectivity.

25 Oct 2020

COVID-19 incubation period potentially much longer than previously thought

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have provided an updated estimate of the incubation period for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

25 Oct 2020

New versatile method to isolate individual cells with unique profiles

Researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have developed a new method to isolate specific cells, and in the process found a more robust fluorescent protein.

23 Oct 2020

Oregon biologists reveal molecular mechanisms that produce DNA damage in sperm

University of Oregon biologists have used the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans to identify molecular mechanisms that produce DNA damage in sperm and contribute to male infertility following exposure to heat.

23 Oct 2020

Bruker introduces Vutara™ VXL best-in-class super-resolution microscope and spatial biology analysis capabilities

Bruker Corporation today announced the release of the Vutara VXL Super-Resolution Fluorescence Microscope for nanoscale biological imaging. The new system opens an affordable and easy-to-use path for both core facilities and individual investigators to enter the world of super-resolution imaging by incorporating Bruker’s industry-leading single-molecule localization (SML) technology in a streamlined system with compact footprint.

From Bruker Nano Surfaces and Metrology 23 Oct 2020

Research findings could potentially help exploit the weaknesses of cancer cells

Every cell in our body constantly divides to form new cells. This happens without us even thinking about it. However, every single time a cell divides, a complicated process has to unfold just the right way for our cells to avoid sickness and death.

22 Oct 2020

Researchers use molecular dynamics simulations to identify secrets of SARS-CoV-2 virus

The virus wreaking havoc on our lives is an efficient infection machine. Comprised of only 29 proteins (compared to our 400,000), with a genome 1/200,000 the size of ours, SARS-CoV-2 is expertly evolved to trick our cells to contribute its machinery to assist in its propagation.

22 Oct 2020

Plastic baby feeding bottles shed microplastic particles, say researchers

This new study from researchers at Environmental Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, and the Medical University of Vienna shows that an average of 1 million microplastic particles per day are consumed by infants drinking from these feeding bottles. The study results are published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Food.

20 Oct 2020

Minuscule tracking devices show how living cells change with time

For the first time, scientists have introduced minuscule tracking devices directly into the interior of mammalian cells, giving an unprecedented peek into the processes that govern the beginning of development.

20 Oct 2020

3D imaging of SARS-CoV-2 infection in ferrets using light sheet microscopy

Researchers from the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health demonstrate the ability to detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in 3D tissue samples in ferrets. This will allow the detection of infection patterns in tissues and their interrelations.

20 Oct 2020

New AI-based method of image analysis finds new cell types in tissue

In situ sequencing enables gene activity inside body tissues to be depicted in microscope images. To facilitate interpretation of the vast quantities of information generated, Uppsala University researchers have now developed an entirely new method of image analysis.

19 Oct 2020