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Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus particles in heart tissue

Researchers in Milan, Italy, have identified the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the heart tissue of deceased coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients who had died from respiratory failure, without showing any signs of cardiac involvement.

27 Aug 2020

Researchers identify potential drug target for curtailing cancer metastasis

Researchers led by Ludwig Chicago Co-director Ralph Weichselbaum and Ronald Rock of the University of Chicago have identified in preclinical studies a potential drug target for curtailing cancer metastasis.

24 Aug 2020

SARS-CoV-2 hijacks antiviral factors to promote infection in human lung cells

Now, a new study published in the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 shows that under conditions resembling those in vivo, IFNs may promote efficient viral invasion instead.

20 Aug 2020

Study shows how PIM kinases enhance cancer cell motility

PIM kinases are enzymes that promote metastatic growth and spread of cancer cells. Researchers from the University of Turku, Finland, have obtained new information on how the PIM kinases enhance cancer cell motility by regulating the formation of actin fibers in the cytoskeleton.

19 Aug 2020

A triplex SARS-CoV-2 assay based on nanopore sequencing is accurate, rapid and scalable

A novel breakthrough by a research group from Oxford Nanopore Technologies is a rapid way of testing and screening large numbers of samples for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

12 Aug 2020

Embryos are susceptible to COVID-19 if mothers get sick, indicates study

Genes that are thought to play a role in how the SARS-CoV-2 virus infects our cells have been found to be active in embryos as early as during the second week of pregnancy, say scientists at the University of Cambridge and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

5 Aug 2020

Research may provide new insights into wound healing

When we get a wound on our skin, the cells in our bodies quickly mobilize to repair it. While it has been known how cells heal wounds and how scars form, a team led by researchers from Washington University in St. Louis has determined for the first time how the process begins, which may provide new insight into wound healing, fibrosis and cancer metastasis.

29 Jul 2020

Scientists discover osmotic stress as stimulator of cellular waste disposal

Cellular waste disposal, where autophagy and lysosomes interact, performs elementary functions, such as degrading damaged protein molecules, which impair cellular function, and reintroducing the resulting building blocks such as amino acids into the metabolic system.

29 Jun 2020

SARS-CoV-2 can replicate in human pediatric gastric organoids

A diverse research group from the United Kingdom, Italy, China, and Australia established a first expandable human gastric organoid culture across fetal developmental stages, supporting the hypothesis that fetal tissue seems to be much less susceptible to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection – especially in the early stages of development.

25 Jun 2020

Simplified artificial cell brings to light the dynamics of cellular symmetry

Symmetry and asymmetry are fundamental properties of nature. Seen from above, butterflies have left-right symmetry, while male fiddler crabs show dramatic asymmetry.

25 Jun 2020

Unexpected discovery helps explain fundamental mystery about how muscles work

Researchers at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association developed a mouse model that enables them to look inside a working muscle and identify the proteins that allow the sarcomere to contract, relax, communicate its energy needs, and adapt to exercise.

21 Jun 2020

Terahertz radiation may offer a potential treatment for cancer

Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics and collaborators have discovered that terahertz radiation, contradicting conventional belief, can disrupt proteins in living cells without killing the cells.

2 Jun 2020

Study offers new insight into how cells fuse

Scientists have known for a decade that cells that fuse with others to perform their essential functions - such as muscle cells that join together to make fibers - form long projections that invade the territory of their fusion partners.

26 May 2020

Researchers reveal the molecular biology behind Hyaline Fibromatosis Syndrome

Hyaline Fibromatosis Syndrome (HFS) is a rare but severe genetic disease that affects babies, children, and adults. Hyaline, a glassy substance, accumulates in the skin and various organs, and causes painful deformities that can lead to an early death.

18 May 2020

Scientists describe new mechanism of cellular locomotion

Whilst the whole world is in lockdown during the current Corona crisis, certain cells within our bodies are still travelling long-distance: while this happens when you develop pneumonia, any ordinary cut on your finger will also trigger white blood cells--aka leukocytes--to instantly move out of your blood vessels into the site of inflammation.

14 May 2020