Futuristic laser therapy is currently being investigated for numerous medical applications, including the destruction of cancer cells, removing diseased tissue from delicate areas, blasting away toxic brain proteins, and as … Continue Reading New biocompatible nanolaser could function inside living tissues.
Ever evolving, getting more and more minute, the imaging of cells and tissues has been a cornerstone of biology ever since cells were discovered under the light microscope centuries ago. … Continue Reading Imaging gets reinvented with new DNA microscopy technique.
Acting as natural computers, our brains contain trillions of cells to store memory and control the body’s functions and emotions. Around one in ten of the countless cells in the … Continue Reading Microglia filmed shaping synapses for the first time.
Under a microscope, it can be difficult to tell the difference between any two neurons, the cells in our brain responsible for storing and processing information. The mammalian brain contains … Continue Reading New technique identifies previously unknown human neurons.
DNA is the primary information storage medium in all living organisms and can be harnessed to act as synthetic cellular memory devices, one such DNA-based system harnessed for many different … Continue Reading The world’s smallest tape recorder is built from microbes.
Heart surgery may seem like a standard procedure in this modern age, however, there is always a danger that the patient’s blood may coagulate or clot too quickly, both of … Continue Reading Light beam replaces blood tests during human heart surgery.
Sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep; it can be either chronic or acute. A chronic sleep-restricted state can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness, and weight loss … Continue Reading Short-term sleep deprivation shown to affect heart function.
The basic human body plan, the arrangement of organs in the body, is laid down during embryonic development. Insight into the formation of this plan informs researchers re normal development … Continue Reading New 3D atlas of human embryonic growth clears up many misconceptions on development.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been used to evaluate obstetrical, placental, and fetal abnormalities in pregnant patients for more than 30 years. MRI is recognized as a beneficial diagnostic tool … Continue Reading Study shows that MRIs in first trimester of pregnancy not associated with increased risk to fetus.
Epigenetic dysfunction is implicated in many neurological and psychiatric diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia. Consequently, histone deacetylases (HDACs) are being aggressively pursued as therapeutic targets. However, a fundamental knowledge … Continue Reading Researchers image the epigenetics of the human brain for the first time ever.
For decades, textbooks have stated that macromolecules within living cells, such as DNA, RNA, and proteins, do not fluoresce on their own. Technology instead relies on special fluorescence dyes to … Continue Reading Textbooks upended as researchers show that DNA naturally fluoresces.
A strand of DNA is a very long, narrow string, just a few nanometers across. Single-molecule orientation measurements provide unparalleled insight into a multitude of biological and polymeric systems. Single-molecule … Continue Reading New imaging technique reveals unprecedented nanoscale details about DNA.
When the body is fighting an invading pathogen, white blood cells, including T cells, must respond. T-cell receptors (TCRs) recognize pathogens during T-cell–mediated adaptive immune responses. The binding between TCRs … Continue Reading New imaging provides unprecedented detail of immune cells’ surface.
Body mass index (BMI) is an important risk factor for breast cancer development and invasiveness. After menopause, women have an increased risk of developing breast cancer with increased BMI, while … Continue Reading New MRI technique links saturated fats to breast cancer in postmenopausal women.
Performance of cognitive tasks requires reallocation of resources within and among cortical networks. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that govern such network dynamics is a longstanding goal of cognitive neuroscience. A … Continue Reading Neuroimaging maps interaction between neural networks during working memory.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are among the major stem cells used for cell therapy and regenerative medicine. In-vivo cell-tracking by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is crucial for regenerative medicine, allowing … Continue Reading Biomimetic method produces large numbers of MRI-trackable mesenchymal stem cells.
