A diffusion trap: Sticky spots on cell membranes hold onto the master...
Over the past several years, Rong Li, Ph.D., at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research has been making crucial discoveries about the development of cell polarity—the process by which one side of a...
View ArticleHow do chameleons and other creatures change colour?
When most people think of colour change, they think of octopuses or chameleons – but the ability to rapidly change colour is surprisingly widespread.
View ArticleResearchers strike gold with nanotech vaccine
Scientists in the US have developed a novel vaccination method that uses tiny gold particles to mimic a virus and carry specific proteins to the body's specialist immune cells.
View ArticleBoosting immune therapy for cancer with nanoparticles
(Phys.org) —Activating the body's immune system to attack cancer and prevent it from recurring is one of the Holy Grails of cancer research because of its ability to specifically target cancer and to...
View ArticleSynthetic polymer could stop the spread of HIV
A precisely designed macromolecule that mimics the binding of HIV to immune system cells could be used to stop the virus from physically entering the body, according to a new study led by a materials...
View ArticleMade to order at the synapse: Dynamics of protein synthesis at neuron tip
Protein synthesis in the extensions of nerve cells, called dendrites, underlies long-term memory formation in the brain, among other functions. "Thousands of messenger RNAs reside in dendrites, yet the...
View ArticleMechanism of dengue virus entry into cells revealed
Dengue fever, an infectious tropical disease caused by a mosquito-borne virus, afflicts millions of people each year, causing fever, headache, muscle and joint pains and a characteristic skin rash. In...
View Article'Stealth' nanoparticles could improve cancer vaccines
Cancer vaccines have recently emerged as a promising approach for killing tumor cells before they spread. But so far, most clinical candidates haven't worked that well. Now, scientists have developed a...
View ArticleInjectable 3D vaccines could fight cancer and infectious diseases
One of the reasons cancer is so deadly is that it can evade attack from the body's immune system, which allows tumors to flourish and spread. Scientists can try to induce the immune system, known as...
View ArticleM6P deficiency leaves B cells out of sorts
A group of white blood cells known as B cells, which play a key role in the human immune response, need a protein-targeting signal called mannose 6-phosphate (M6P) in order to proliferate,...
View ArticleORNL microscopy directly images problematic lithium dendrites in batteries
Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have captured the first real-time nanoscale images of lithium dendrite structures known to degrade lithium-ion batteries. The ORNL...
View ArticleGiant fullerene system inhibits infection by artificial Ebola virus
Using an artificial Ebola virus model, a European team coordinated by researchers of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid/IMDEA-Nanociencia has proved how a supermolecule—constituted by 13...
View ArticleThree new ASCB celldance video awards take you inside living cells
Riding a wave of powerful new imaging technologies, three ASCB member labs will take you inside the world of living cells with the release, December 5, of three short 2016 Celldance videos at the ASCB...
View ArticleCRISPR-based single-cell genetics platform enables rapid analysis of critical...
Researchers from UC San Francisco and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have developed a new method for performing high-throughput functional screening of complex genetic interactions and...
View ArticleBiophysics plays key role in immune system signaling and response
How big you are may be as important as what you look like, at least to immune system cells watching for dangerous bacteria and viruses.
View ArticleBrain-imaging system uses 'multi-pupil' prism arrays
A specialized type of adaptive-optics technology that has been demonstrated by taking high-resolution time-lapse images of functioning brain cells might be used to better understand how the brain works.
View ArticleDiscovery of human blood cell destinies revises knowledge of immune cell...
Immune cells protect the host from infection by pathogens. They include monocytes, which are large white blood cells that can differentiate into scavenger cells macrophages and dendritic cells in...
View ArticleImproving risk assessment of nano particles as food additives
The anticaking agent E551 silicon dioxide, or silica, has been used widely in the food industry over the past 50 years, and was long thought to be quite safe. Now, however, researchers working on the...
View ArticleSnip, snip, cure—correcting defects in the genetic blueprint
Gene editing using 'molecular scissors' that snip out and replace faulty DNA could provide an almost unimaginable future for some patients: a complete cure. Cambridge researchers are working towards...
View ArticleRecipe for safer batteries—just add diamonds
While lithium-ion batteries, widely used in mobile devices from cell phones to laptops, have one of the longest lifespans of commercial batteries today, they also have been behind a number of recent...
View ArticleScientists get first close-ups of finger-like growths that trigger battery fires
Scientists from Stanford University and the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have captured the first atomic-level images of finger-like growths called dendrites that can...
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