Suppression of transcytosis (vesicle traffic across cells), shown here as a red glow, seals off the blood-retinal barrier in mice after birth, contrary to previous beliefs that permeability depends mainly on tight junctions between cells. A cellular trafficking system called transcytosis may actually do most of the work in controlling the permeability of the...
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Scientists turn spinach leaf into working heart tissue
Researchers have managed to turn a spinach leaf into working heart tissue and are on the way to solving the problem of recreating the tiny, branching networks of blood vessels in human tissue. Until now, scientists have unsuccessfully tried to use 3D printing to recreate these intricate networks. Now, with this breakthrough, it seems turning...
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Dogs detect breast cancer from bandage: researchers
Dogs can sniff out cancer from a piece of cloth which had touched the breast of a woman with a tumour, researchers said Friday, announcing the results of an unusual, but promising, diagnostic trial. With just six months of training, a pair of German Shepherds became 100-percent accurate in their new role as breast cancer...
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These High-Tech Glasses Will Give You Superhuman Vision
IN BRIEF Researchers have designed filters that allow the human eye to distinguish between color hues that are ordinarily too close to tell apart. These filters could be used to monitor the ripeness of fruits and vegetables or identify counterfeit money. TETRACHROMATIC SHADES It can be impossible for humans to tell apart very similar colors....
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Selective stalling of human translation through small-molecule engagement of the ribosome nascent chain
Abstract Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) plays a key role in regulating the levels of plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Here, we demonstrate that the compound PF-06446846 inhibits translation of PCSK9 by inducing the ribosome to stall around codon 34, mediated by the sequence of the nascent chain within the exit tunnel. We further...
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The anti-ageing compound: Scientists create a chemical that can restore hair and give youthful energy
Dutch researchers tested the effects of the new peptide compound on mice They found it reversed loss off fur caused by age and made the mice stronger It works by destroying broken, ageing cells that accumulate as people get older Called senescent cells, they are considered to cause many age-related diseases Scientists have made a breakthrough...
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Millions of back pain sufferers are being prescribed a drug that does nothing to ease their suffering, new research reveals
In a study of more than 200 patients, pregabalin performed no better than a dummy pill at relieving their agony In fact, the pill marketed by Pfizer left users with twice as many side effects Worldwide sales have swelled to $5 billion annually since its approval in 2004 Millions of back pain sufferers are being...
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DNA-repairing drug could fight aging and radiation damage
An anti-aging compound could soon turn into a new drug that restores the body’s ability to repair DNA to its youthful condition Most of us accept that aging is inescapable, but maybe it doesn’t have to be. Researchers at Harvard Medical School and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have uncovered one of...
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Major breakthrough in the manufacture of red blood cells
Researchers have generated the first immortalised cell lines which allow more efficient manufacture of red blood cells. The team, from the University of Bristol and NHS Blood and Transplant, were able to manufacture red blood cells in a more efficient scale than was previously possible. The results, published in Nature Communications, could, if successfully tested in...
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Possible new view of diabetes
The islet on the left shows the disrupted and depleted beta cells of T1D. It’s hard to change entrenched ideas in science. Protein is the genetic material. Genes are continuous and immobile. The genome consists of 120,000 genes; no, 80,000; no, 60,000; no, 20,325. What we know about the natural world changes as we learn...