Lipid droplets as endogenous intracellular microlenses
With the demand in real-time monitoring of endoplasmic variations and rapid detection of extracellular signals, a great number of approaches to bioimaging have been developed. The past few decades have witnessed a dramatic progress in optical imaging.....»»
Research offers insights on the prevalence of drizzle in marine stratocumulus clouds
Drizzle is light precipitation in droplets smaller than rain drops. Detecting drizzle in its early stages in marine stratocumulus clouds is important for studying how water in these clouds becomes rainfall. These clouds form off the west coasts of la.....»»
Everything in balance? How a molecular switch controls lipid metabolism
Our body's fat metabolism plays a vital role in energy production in our body. A research team at the University of Basel, Switzerland, has discovered a molecular switch that regulates lipid metabolism in our cells. This switch controls the storage o.....»»
New light-responsive carriers for intracellular substance delivery
Artificial lipid bilayer vesicle liposomes, also called proteoliposomes, are specialized systems capable of incorporating various molecules, such as chemicals and drugs. Their unique properties make them ideal carriers for delivering substances insid.....»»
Computational mid-infrared photothermal imaging unveils intracellular tau aggregates
As a prominent form of amyloid protein, tau aggregates have emerged as a primary focus of research for uncovering the mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration. Various types of tau aggregates, including tau fibrils and oligomers, have been implicated.....»»
Scientists quantify regulation factors contributing to flux changes in the central metabolic pathway in yeast
Metabolic reaction flux change is the final result of interacting regulations by intracellular gene expression, transcriptional regulation, protein level, translation modification, and allosteric effect. However, the regulatory mechanism of metabolic.....»»
Lipid making in plants involves the cooperation of two organelles, study finds
Two enzymes that plants need to make oils live in different organelles, a pair of RIKEN researchers has found. This finding will help inform efforts to tweak the metabolism of plants to boost their production of oils, which can be used as biofuels am.....»»
Researchers report light-controlled transport of biomolecules across the cell membrane
Crossing the membrane is a major challenge on the journey through the cell. Large biomolecules usually benefit from different transport strategies to overcome the lipid bilayer, so the design and synthesis of new carriers is key for the delivery of h.....»»
New insight into how xeroderma pigmentosum causative gene products ensure the accuracy of DNA repair
Our genomic DNA is continuously damaged by endogenous factors such as reactive oxygen species, and also by environmental factors such as ultraviolet light, radiation, and chemicals. Failure to repair damaged DNA may induce mutations and cell death, e.....»»
Carbon-based stimuli-responsive nanomaterials: Their classification and application
Carbon-based stimuli-responsive nanomaterials are gaining much attention due to their versatility, including disease diagnosis and treatment. They work under endogenous (pH, temperature, enzyme, and redox) or exogenous (temperature, light, magnetic f.....»»
Insect wings could inspire new self-cleaning technologies
Fresh insights into how insects use water droplets to wash dirt and pollutants from their bodies could help improve the performance of self-cleaning devices, a study suggests......»»
Quantifying intracellular nanoparticle distributions with three-dimensional super-resolution microscopy
Led by Stefan Wilhelm, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma, a team of researchers from the Gallogly College of Engineering at OU, OU Health Sciences Center and Yale University re.....»»
New method for making ammonia could take a bite out of global energy use
Stanford researchers have discovered a simple and environmentally sound way to make ammonia with tiny droplets of water and nitrogen from the air......»»
Establishing the basis for mammalian intracellular computing with mRNA switches
Professor Hirohide Saito and his research team have developed a new approach to control mRNA translation using Cas proteins, thus expanding the variety of mRNA switches and making it easier to build synthetic gene circuits in mammalian cells. The res.....»»
Microfluidic circuit for pulsatile filtration of extracellular vesicles from whole blood samples
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell-secreted lipid bilayer bioparticles with a diameter of 30 to 250 nm. They are a promising source of biomarkers for liquid biopsies for early cancer diagnosis and real-time monitoring of tumor development. However.....»»
Photoacoustic remote sensing microscopy for lipid imaging
Photoacoustic imaging is a cutting-edge technology that uses light and sound to create images of the inside of the body. When a pulsed laser illuminates the surface of biological tissue, part of the photon energy is absorbed by the tissue to generate.....»»
Scientists reveal more about the process behind ferroptosis, a recently discovered type of cell death
A team of researchers at Tohoku University has unearthed some of the biological mechanisms of ferroptosis, a recently discovered type of regulated cell death that is triggered by iron and the accumulation of lipid peroxidation—lipids that have unde.....»»
Lipid nanoparticles engineered to specifically target pancreas in mouse model
Therapeutics that use mRNA—like some of the COVID-19 vaccines—have enormous potential for the prevention and treatment of many diseases. These therapeutics work by shuttling mRNA "instructions" into target cells, providing them with a blueprint t.....»»
Lipid nanoparticles stimulate innate immune cells more efficiently in younger individuals, finds study
Although the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are safe and effective at preventing severe illness in adults and children, including immunocompromised individuals, researchers have noticed that these shots continue to be the mos.....»»
Scientists develop model for more efficient simulations of protein interactions linked to cancer
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have developed a theoretical model for more efficient molecular-level simulations of cell membranes and their lipid-protein interactions, part of a multi-institutional effort to better understand the.....»»
Visualizing spatial distribution of electric properties at microscales with liquid crystal droplets
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) involve the use and development of micron-sized electrical devices such as microelectrodes, sensors, and actuators that are integrated into computer and smartphone chips. Fabricating such integrated MEMS devices.....»»