by Justin Jackson , Medical Xpress Graphical abstract. Credit: Immunity (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2023.12.003Researchers at Zhejiang University School of Medicine, China, have investigated how the body’s innate immune system of renal macrophages works to prevent kidney stones. In a paper, “Renal macrophages monitor and remove particles from urine to prevent tubule obstruction,” published in Immunity, the...
Category: <span>biological sciences</span>
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Researchers discover that tiredness experienced by long COVID patients has a physical cause
by Amsterdam University Medical Center Credit: Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44432-3Researchers from Amsterdam UMC and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) have discovered that the persistent fatigue in patients with long COVID has a biological cause, namely mitochondria in muscle cells that produce less energy than in healthy patients. The results of the study were published in...
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Bacteria load their syringes
Pathogenic bacteria use molecular “shuttle services” to fill their injection apparatus with the right product Peer-Reviewed Publication MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT SINGLE-PARTICLE TRACKING PHOTOACTIVATED LOCALIZATION MICROSCOPY (SPTPALM) IS A TECHNIQUE TO VISUALIZE THE MOVEMENT OF INDIVIDUAL PROTEINS. WHILE SOME OF THE SHUTTLE COMPONENTS OF THE INJECTISOME ARE BOUND TO THE NEEDLES (WHITE, FIRMLY BOUND DOTS ON THE OUTSIDE...
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‘Visual system’ protein appears to be key for stabilizing the body’s circadian rhythms
Johns Hopkins MedicineScientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health have identified a protein in the visual system of mice that appears to be key for stabilizing the body’s circadian rhythms by buffering the brain’s response to light. The finding, published Dec. 5 in PLoS Biology, advances efforts...
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Could the ‘Central Dogma’ of Biology be Misleading Bioengineers?
Today, medicines based on antibodies — proteins that fight infection and disease — are prescribed for everything from cancer to COVID-19 to high cholesterol. The antibody drugs are supplied by genetically engineered cells that function as tiny protein-producing factories in the biology laboratory. Confocal microscopic image shows mesenchymal stem cells (green) captured within nanovials (pink)....
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Researchers discover key to epithelial cell growth
by Monash University Credit: Fayette Reynolds M.S. from Pexels Australian researchers have discovered a new way that epithelial cells, which form layers in organs like the skin and stomach, attach to one another, and how they perceive growth signals at these attachments, helping them form tissues of the right size and shape. Epithelial cells cover the...
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Back to the future: Scientists develop the first method to measure cellular changes in the body over time
by Weizmann Institute of Science Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain While physicists continue to argue about whether time is indeed an illusion, as Albert Einstein claimed, biologists have no doubt about its significance for understanding life as a dynamic system. In recent years, they have been gaining an increasingly deeper understanding of complex biological systems using tools...
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Rare Enzyme Role Change With Bacterial Defense System Assembly
Scientists have revealed a never-before-seen phenomenon in a protein: Alone, the enzyme processes DNA and RNA but, when bound to another protein as part of a defence system, interacts with a completely different type of compound to help bacteria commit suicide. The finding came about as the researchers focused on detailing how this defence mechanism...
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Iron accumulation: A new insight into fibrotic diseases
by Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) Iron accumulation: a new insight into fibrotic diseases. Credit: IRB Barcelona Fibrosis is associated with various chronic and life-threatening conditions, including pulmonary fibrosis, liver cirrhosis, kidney disease, and cardiovascular diseases, among others. These conditions collectively contribute to a substantial portion of mortality in developed countries, making fibrotic diseases...
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Researchers discover a mechanism that controls the identity of stem cells
by University of California, Irvine Credit: Molecular Cell (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2023.10.036 Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, discovered a mechanism that controls the identity of stem cells. When this mechanism fails, embryonic stem cells revert back in time and become totipotent. When a cell becomes totipotent, this rare change enables the cells to differentiate into...