Month: <span>November 2020</span>

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Lighting the way to selective membrane imaging
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Lighting the way to selective membrane imaging

KANAZAWA UNIVERSITY IMAGE: WATER-SOLUBLE TETRAPHENYLETHENE (TPE) DERIVATIVES BEARING ANIONIC GROUPS EXHIBIT AGGREGATION-INDUCED EMISSION (AIE) BEHAVIOR SPECIFICALLY AT LIQUID-LIQUID INTERFACES. INTERFACIAL AIE PROCESS RESPONDS REVERSIBLY TO THE EXTERNALLY APPLIED POTENTIAL AT A BIOMEMBRANE-MIMETIC INTERFACE. Kanazawa, Japan – Researchers at Kanazawa University monitored the emission of blue-green light from water-soluble tetraphenylethene molecules adsorbed at a phospholipid-adsorbed liquid-liquid interface made...

Shining a light on the role of the genome’s ‘dark matter’ in cancer development
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Shining a light on the role of the genome’s ‘dark matter’ in cancer development

by Federico Graciano,  Duke-NUS Medical School CRISPRi screens to identify functional Wnt-regulated lncRNAs that are important for pancreatic cancer growth in different models. Credit: Excerpted from Figure 4 in Liu, S., Harmston, N., Glaser, T.L. et al. Wnt-regulated lncRNA discovery enhanced by in vivo identification and CRISPRi functional validation. Genome Med 12, 89 (2020). doi:10.1186/s13073-020-00788-5, under...

Scientists identify synthetic mini-antibody to combat COVID-19
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Scientists identify synthetic mini-antibody to combat COVID-19

by  European Molecular Biology Laboratory SARS-CoV-2’s ability to infect cells relies on interactions between the viral spike protein (magenta) and the protein ACE2 (blue), which is present on the surface of human cells. These interactions can be disrupted by sybodies (black) – synthetic mini-antibodies similar to those produced by camels and llamas. Credit: Rayne Zaayman-Gallant/EMBL The...

Earwax sampling could measure stress hormone
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Earwax sampling could measure stress hormone

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON IMAGE: A NOVEL DEVICE TO SAMPLE EARWAX A novel method to sample earwax could be a cheap and effective way to measure the hormone cortisol, according to a study led by researchers at UCL and King’s College London. The findings, published in the academic journal Heliyon, could point to new ways of monitoring depression and...

New method shows great potential for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease
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New method shows great potential for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease

UPPSALA UNIVERSITY IMAGE: IN ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE, A PROTEIN (PEPTIDE) FORMS CLUMPS IN THE BRAIN AND CAUSES SUFFERERS TO LOSE THEIR MEMORY. IN A RECENTLY PUBLISHED ARTICLE, A RESEARCH GROUP AT UPPSALA UNIVERSITY DESCRIBED. In Alzheimer’s disease, a protein (peptide) forms clumps in the brain and causes sufferers to lose their memory. In a recently published...

Johns Hopkins Researchers engineer tiny machines that deliver medicine efficiently
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Johns Hopkins Researchers engineer tiny machines that deliver medicine efficiently

JOHNS HOPKINS MEDICINE IMAGE: WHEN AN OPEN THERAGRIPPER, LEFT, IS EXPOSED TO INTERNAL BODY TEMPERATURES, IT CLOSES ON THE INSTESTINAL WALL. Inspired by a parasitic worm that digs its sharp teeth into its host’s intestines, Johns Hopkins researchers have designed tiny, star-shaped microdevices that can latch onto intestinal mucosa and release drugs into the body. David Gracias,...

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Some of the principal treatments for osteoporosis could reduce the incidence of COVID-19

IMIM (HOSPITAL DEL MAR MEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE) Some of the principal treatments for osteoporosis, denosumab, zoledronate and calcium, could have a protective effect against COVID-19 in patients who take them, specifically a 30 to 40% reduction in the rate of infection, according to the results of a joint study by Hospital del Mar, the Hospital del Mar...

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YOUR PUPILS SHOW WHETHER YOU’LL REMEMBER STUFF

Researchers can now predict whether an individual will remember or forget based on their neural activity and pupil size. “As we navigate our lives, we have these periods in which we’re frustrated because we’re not able to bring knowledge to mind, expressing what we know,” says Anthony Wagner, a professor in the social sciences at Stanford...

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A new lead for disarming antibiotic-resistant bacteria

TEXAS A&M AGRILIFE COMMUNICATIONS A virus can stop bacteria from sharing genes for antibiotic resistance among themselves, Texas A&M AgriLife researchers have discovered. The results hint at new ways to treat infections and describe a new feature of a highly diverse, largely unexplored part of the biosphere. The study, published recently in Proceedings of the National Academy of...