Cell Biology

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Sugar supplement shown to slow tumor growth and enhance chemotherapy

Mannose, a type of sugar, has been shown to slow tumor growth and enhance chemotherapy in mouse models of certain cancers.

21 Nov 2018

Starved ticks try harder to find hosts

Ticks are hardy little brutes that can go as long as a year without a meal. Now scientists at the University of Cincinnati say the hungrier ticks are, the harder they try to find you or other hosts. The findings could have implications for the spread of tick-borne disease such as Lyme or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

21 Nov 2018

Mercury is not well detoxified by yelloweye rockfish, researchers find

It takes six months to get really good at accurately gauging the age of yelloweye rockfish. Because they can live for up to 120 years, this species is of particular interest to Benjamin Barst and scientists like him who study the effects of toxic chemicals on living organisms.

21 Nov 2018

DNA vaccine reduces levels of toxic proteins in Alzheimer’s model

Researchers have developed a new DNA vaccine that reduces the build-up of the toxic proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

20 Nov 2018

Special care should be taken with drugs that inhibit epigenetic factors, study suggests

A team headed by ICREA researchers Salvador Aznar Benitah and Fran Supek concludes that care should be taken with drugs that inhibit epigenetic factors.

20 Nov 2018

Vitamin D critical to early development of vertebrates, study suggests

New research from Portland State University finds vitamin D, or a lack thereof can trigger or suspend embryonic development in a species of fish. The study also provides evidence suggesting the vitamin is critical to the early development of vertebrates generally.

20 Nov 2018

Scientists use cryo-EM to capture freeze-frames of molecule’s 'lock-and-load' on DNA

Pushing the limits of cryo-electron microscopy, University of California, Berkeley, scientists have captured freeze-frames of the changing shape of a huge molecule, one of the body's key molecular machines, as it locks onto DNA and loads the machinery for reading the genetic code.

20 Nov 2018

RNAi therapy shown to alleviate preeclampsia in animal model

Researcher have used a small interfering RNA (siRNA) to reduce preeclampsia symptoms in an animal model. The approach could provide a new way of treating preeclampsia in humans.

19 Nov 2018

Participation project calls for relaxing research ban on germline interventions

Are genetic defects allowed to be repaired by intervening with sperm or egg cells, or even human embryos? Thanks to genetic scissors such as CRISPR/Cas, such interventions in the germline could soon become a medical reality.

19 Nov 2018

Automating Data Capture and Image Analysis in Continuous Experiments

An interview with Lindy O’Clair, discussing the challenges of studying neuronal systems over time, and the development of an automated platform by Sartorius.

From Sartorius 19 Nov 2018

New method to analyze cell membrane complexes could revolutionize the way we study diseases

Researchers have developed a new technique to analyze cell membrane proteins in situ which could revolutionize the way in which we study diseases, such as cancer, metabolic and heart diseases.

17 Nov 2018

Researchers show how proteins interact in hypoxic conditions to facilitate mitochondrial fission

During a heart attack the supply of oxygen to heart cells is decreased. This reduced oxygen level, called hypoxia, causes the cell's powerhouses, the mitochondria, to fragment, impairing cell function and leading to heart failure. Until now, few details were known on how this important process occurs.

17 Nov 2018

Using light to control crucial step in embryonic development

In optogenetics, researchers use light to control protein activity. This technique allows them to alter the shape of embryonic tissue and to inhibit the development of abnormalities.

16 Nov 2018

New method to extend cell division and immortalization of avian-derived cells

The number of critically endangered animals has been increasing in recent years. According to data from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, 1375 avian species are categorized as being endangered animals, and around 12% of the endangered species are avian.

16 Nov 2018