Feature Channels: Cell Biology

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RNA-based drugs may change the standard of care for many diseases, making personalized medicine a reality. So far these cost-effective, easy-to-manufacture drugs haven’t been very useful in treating brain tumors and other brain disease. But a team of researchers at Georgia Tech and Emory University has shown that a combination of ultrasound and RNA-loaded nanoparticles can temporarily open the protective blood-brain barrier, allowing the delivery of potent medicine to brain tumors.

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Researchers used microscopy and machine learning to distinguish tau protein aggregates occurring as part of healthy functions from those occurring in disease

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By discovering a potential new cellular mechanism for migraines, researchers may have also found a new way to treat chronic migraine. Amynah Pradhan, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Illinois Chicago, is the senior author of the study, whose goal was to identify a new mechanism of chronic migraine, and propose a cellular pathway for migraine therapies.

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Cell tissues tend to be highly ordered in terms of spatial distribution and alignment, so bioengineered cellular scaffolds for tissue engineering applications must closely resemble this orientation to be able to perform like natural tissue. In Applied Physics Reviews, from AIP Publishing, an international research team describes its approach for directing cell orientation within deposited hydrogel fibers via a method called multicompartmental bioprinting.

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Small changes in the structure of DNA have been implicated in breast cancer and other diseases, but they've been extremely difficult to detect -- until now.

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The 2021 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize has been awarded to scientists Lynne Maquat and Joan Steitz for seminal discoveries in the biology and function of RNA, the workhorse molecule of cells. Their discoveries have reshaped the understanding of RNA’s myriad roles in healthy cell function and in disease-causing dysfunction and have informed the conceptualization and design of RNA-based therapies in various stages of development.

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The enzyme manganese superoxide dismutase helps maintain human health by keeping the amount of reactive oxygen molecules in cells under control. Using neutron scattering at ORNL, researchers obtained a complete atomic portrait of the enzyme, revealing key information about its catalytic mechanism.

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Scientists have known for a while that SARS-CoV-2's distinctive "spike" proteins help the virus infect its host by latching on to healthy cells. Now, a major new study shows that they also play a key role in the disease itself.

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Three Harvard Medical School researchers recognized for distinguished achievements in research

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During the last 30 years, medical and dental research has attracted a large number of scientists and practitioners working on aspects of high medical relevance that involve a combination of genetic and tissue regeneration approaches.

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A University of Minnesota team has developed a first-of-its-kind method that cryopreserves fruit fly embryos so they can be successfully recovered and developed into adult insects. Cryopreservation of the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) is crucial to genetics research and critical to scientific breakthroughs benefiting human health.

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Wistar and the University of Bologna (Unibo) in Italy have established the Wistar-Unibo Ph.D. Exchange Program in Cell and Molecular Biology to bring Unibo graduate students to Wistar for their three-year Ph.D. training.

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The National Academy of Sciences has elected Mary Beckerle, PhD, Huntsman Cancer Institute CEO, as a member. Beckerle is among 120 newly elected members announced to the public in a press release during the annual meeting of the National Academy.

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A multi-institutional team of researchers, led by UC San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center, has identified both the genetic abnormalities that drive pre-cancer cells into becoming an invasive type of head and neck cancer and patients who are least likely to respond to immunotherapy.

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Australian researchers have identified neutralising nanobodies that block the SARS-CoV-2 virus from entering cells in preclinical models.

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The Piotrowski Lab has reported newly identified invasive ionocytes in the sensory organs of larval and adult zebrafish fish that may provide clues to how sensory organs continue to function in changing environments.

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Victoria Blaho, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Immunity and Pathogenesis Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys, has received the first-ever Lina M. Obeid Award for her promising research on the biology of sphingolipids. The award honors Obeid, a pioneer in the field of sphingolipids and a fierce advocate for women in science. The award was presented at the 11th International Ceramide Conference on April 22, 2021.

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To fulfill its function, a gene must first be “transcribed” into an RNA molecule that is in turn “translated” into a protein that controls cells. Bacteria use a type of transcription that scientists previously believed was extremely rare in eukaryotes—animals, plants, fungi, and green algae. A new study finds that hundreds of proteins in many species of green algae use the same type of transcription as bacteria.

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Top researchers in physiology will present a three-part series exploring cellular regulation of mitochondrial function, tissue repair and wound healing. The APS President’s Symposium Series will be part of the APS annual meeting at Experimental Biology 2021, which will be held on a virtual platform April 27–30.

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Four esteemed researchers will present the American Physiological Society’s (APS) most distinguished award lectures at the APS annual meeting at Experimental Biology (EB) 2021. The meeting will be held virtually April 27–30.

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A high daily dose of an omega-3 supplement may help slow the effects of aging by suppressing damage and boosting protection at the cellular level during and after a stressful event, new research suggests.

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Scientists have searched for years to understand how cells measure their size. Cell size is critical. It's what regulates cell division in a growing organism.

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Humans have a uniquely high density of sweat glands embedded in their skin—10 times the density of chimpanzees and macaques. Now, researchers at Penn Medicine have discovered how this distinctive, hyper-cooling trait evolved in the human genome.

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Wheezing, coughing that doesn’t stop, a pale and sweaty face: clinically, severe asthma attacks look very similar from patient to patient. But biologically, not all severe asthma is the same—and a team of scientists has, for the first time, identified the key difference in people, a finding that has important implications for treatment.

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Potential mechanistic link shown between Traumatic Brain Injury and Alzheimer’s disease

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In a series of experiments that began with amoebas — single-celled organisms that extend podlike appendages to move around — Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists say they have identified a genetic pathway that could be activated to help sweep out mucus from the lungs of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease a widespread lung ailment.

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Register for online access to cutting-edge science at Experimental Biology 2021, April 27–30

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A new source of energy expending brown fat cells has been uncovered by researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center, which they say points towards potential new therapeutic options for obesity. According to the new report, published in Nature Metabolism >on 12 March 2021, the key lies in the expression of a receptor called Trpv1 (temperature-sensitive ion channel transient receptor potential cation subfamily V member 1) -- a protein known to sense noxious stimuli, including pain and temperature.

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Preclinical research identifies CREB1 as new therapeutic target downstream of frequently mutated genes

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Despite the dramatic difference between day and nightlife, how fish exploit different times of day has not been studied systematically. Scientists explored alterations in the circadian timing of activity and the duration of rest-wake cycles in Lake Malawi’s cichlids and identified the first single nocturnal species. Timing and duration of rest and activity varies dramatically, and continuously, between populations of Lake Malawi cichlids, providing a system for exploring the molecular and neural basis underlying variation in nocturnal activity.

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New research has for the first time compared images of the protein spikes that develop on the surface of cells exposed to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to the protein spike of the SARS-CoV-19 coronavirus.

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A team led by scientists at the UNC School of Medicine identified a molecule called microRNA-29 as a powerful controller of brain maturation in mammals.

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For the first time, a team of researchers has captured X-ray images of a critical enzyme of the COVID-19 virus performing its function. This discovery could improve design of new treatments against the disease.

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For nearly 50 years, doctors have recognized that Parkinson’s disease patients have an increased risk of melanoma. Now, scientists report a link between the two diseases in the form of protein aggregates known as amyloids. They will present their results at ACS Spring 2021.

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In addition to smoothing out wrinkles, researchers have found that the drug Botox can reveal the inner workings of the brain. A new study used it to show that feedback from individual nerve cells controls the release of dopamine, a chemical messenger involved in motivation, memory, and movement.

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A team led by scientists at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has illuminated the functions of mysterious structures in cells called “nuclear speckles,” showing that they can work in partnership with a key protein to enhance the activities of specific sets of genes.

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UC San Diego researchers found that the chemical inhibitor K777 reduces the coronavirus’ ability to infect cell lines by blocking human enzyme cathepsin L; clinical trials are underway.

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The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) is proud to announce the selection of 24 Early-Career Editors to join the board of Molecular Biology of the Cell (MBoC). This new group of pre-tenure faculty and postdocs will be responsible for highlighting preprints posted on bioRxiv.

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Wistar scientists identified a new mechanism of transcriptional control of cellular senescence that drives the release of inflammatory molecules that influence tumor development through altering the surrounding microenvironment.

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The program, now in its second year, was created to achieve two chief goals: demystify the peer-review process and train the next generation of journal leaders. Each junior associate editor will serve a two-year term.

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Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center used machine learning techniques to detect mutational signatures in cancer patients. Their algorithm outperformed the current standard of analysis and revealed new mutational signatures associated with obesity, which is believed by cancer prevention experts to be becoming the most significant lifestyle factor contributing to cancer in the U.S. and most of the Western world.

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Working with fruit flies, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have identified a new molecular pathway that helps steer moving cells in specific directions. The set of interconnected proteins and enzymes in the pathway act as steering and rudder components that drive cells toward an “intended” rather than random destination, they say.

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Some snake species slither across the ground, while others climb trees, dive through sand or glide across water. Today, scientists report that the surface chemistry of snake scales varies among species that negotiate these different terrains. They will present their results at ACS Spring 2021.

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World-renowned genetics researcher Shelley L. Berger, PhD, and cellular biologist M. Celeste Simon, PhD, have been named as members of the 2021 class of fellows of the American Association for Cancer Research Academy.