In a proof-of-concept study, researchers have shown that exosomes harvested from human skin cells are more effective at repairing sun-damaged skin cells in mice than popular retinol or stem cell-based treatments currently in use. Additionally, the nanometer-sized exosomes can be delivered to the target cells via needle-free injections.
Read moreThe immune system is highly complex and a detailed understanding of many underlying mechanisms is still lacking. Only the precise interaction of a variety of factors guarantees a reliable and correct immune response in a healthy body. Misregulated immune responses are a major cause of a variety of diseases, including cancer, autoimmunity, and immune deficiency.
Read moreProteins keep our organs functioning, regulate our cells and are the targets for medications that treat a number of diseases, including cancers and neurological diseases. Proteins need to move in order to function. But, because the technology they used to watch proteins doesn't allow it, scientists still know very little about such motions at speeds slower than a nanosecond. That changed last month.
Read moreScientists have constructed synthetic vesicles in which ATP, the main energy carrier in living cells, is produced. The vesicles use the ATP to maintain their volume and their ionic strength homeostasis. This metabolic network will eventually be used in the creation of synthetic cells – but it can already be used to study ATP-dependent processes.
Read moreBiomedical engineers have developed a new platform to create biological drugs using specially engineered bacteria that burst and release useful proteins when they sense that their capsule is becoming too crowded.
Read moreNew results show that human-acquired antibiotic resistance genes are being transmitted to livestock, companion animals and wildlife. Researchers analyzed a global set of 901 genome sequences of the bacteria Streptococcus agalactiae (aka group B Strep) from nine different host species — humans, cows, dogs, fish, frogs, gray seals, dolphins, goats and a camel — to better understand the transmission process. Streptococcus agalactiae can cause life-threatening illnesses.
Read moreA computer generated-simulation allowed researchers to see how a toxin produced by algal blooms in saltwater might cause Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
Read moreAn inter-disciplinary team of researchers has unraveled how a toxin released by Escherichia coli (E. coli) – a human gut bacteria, is connected to colorectal cancer, offering new insights to the health impact of this prevalent bacteria and facilitating future research on the prevention of this third most common cancer worldwide.
Read morePotentially dangerous genes embedded within human DNA were once thought to be locked down by helpful DNA structures called heterochromatin. A researcher disputes that belief and hopes to change the paradigm even further.
Read moreScientists at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona shed light on how the genome organizes groups of genes linked to specific processes, like the release of toxins.
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