They are reminiscent of the "tractor beam" in Star Trek: special light beams can be used to manipulate molecules or small biological particles. Even viruses or cells can be captured or moved. However, these optical tweezers only work with objects in empty space or in transparent liquids. Any disturbing environment would deflect the light waves and destroy the effect. This is a problem, in particular with biological samples because they are usually embedded in a very complex environment.
Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are distinguished by their dual ability to self-renew and their potential to differentiate, both of which require tight regulatory control. During the differentiation of ESCs, various cells develop into specialised cell types such as skin cells, nerve cells, muscle cells, etc. While our understanding of ES cell regulation has been dominated by transcriptional and epigenetic models, the role of post-transcriptional regulation via nuclear RNA decay has remained less explored.
Infectious diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganisms capable of entering, colonising and growing within a host organism, thus producing an infection. Bacterial infections have been on the rise worldwide in recent years, but many mechanisms underlying bacterial pathogenesis are still poorly understood. This is highly relevant given the fact that the development of new antimicrobial therapies is largely based on current knowledge of the mechanisms behind these infections.
Researchers from McMaster University have discovered striking variation in the underlying genetic machinery that orchestrates sexual differentiation in frogs, demonstrating that evolution of this crucial biological system has moved at a dramatic pace.
A team of biologists examined more than two dozen species of Pipidae, a family of frog found in tropical South America and sub-Saharan Africa, which includes African clawed frogs, a smooth-skinned frog with webbed feet and claws on the hind legs.
The leftovers from a spectacular supernova that revolutionised our understanding of how stars end their lives have finally been spotted by astronomers at Cardiff University.
The scientists claim to have found evidence of the location of a neutron star that was left behind when a massive star ended its life in a gigantic explosion, leading to a famous supernova dubbed Supernova 1987A.
For more than 30 years astronomers have been unable to locate the neutron star - the collapsed leftover core of the giant star - as it has been concealed by a thick cloud of cosmic dust.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory scientists, with chemists and cancer biologists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), have developed a new therapy that extended the survival of mice with acute myeloid leukemia.
The scientists are the first to demonstrate the anti-cancer effect of blocking the Salt-Inducible Kinase 3 (SIK3) pathway in leukemia using YKL-05-099, a drug developed within the lab of Nathanael Gray at DFCI. SIK3 is a kinase that controls cell division and survival of leukemia cells. Blocking SIK3 prevents leukemia cells from growing.
The so-called natural killer (NK) cells are cells of the innate immune system that recognize and eliminate infected cells or cancer cells. During a virus infection, NK cells also keep the body's own immune cells such as the T cells at bay in order to avoid excessive killing of intact body cells. In addition, NK cells release messenger molecules that support the immune defense. NK cells are therefore particularly important for immunity - if they are defective, recurrent infections with several viruses and cancer can develop.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago report that among patients with obesity, robotic kidney transplants produce survival outcomes comparable to those seen among nonobese patients.
Their study, published in the American Journal of Transplantation, includes data collected over 10 years from more than 230 robotic-assisted kidney transplants in patients with obesity.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University researchers have identified a mechanism involving the body's ability to resist fungal infection. The work could help advance research on cancer therapies that use the body's own immune system to fight disease.
In a study published Nov. 18 in the journal of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, IU scientist Yan Yu and colleagues found that two immune receptors -- named Dectin-1 and TLR2 -- must work together to trigger an inflammatory response that resists fungal infection.
The predentary bone is one of the most enigmatic skeletal elements in avian evolution. Located at the tip of the lower jaw, this bone is absent in more primitive birds and in living birds; it is thought to have been lost during evolution. For over 30 years, the origin and function of the avian predentary has remained mysterious.