Category Biology/Biotechnology

Infrared images indicate the much warmer temperatures of a normal mouse (left) compared to a mouse unable to make ERR gamma (right). Credit: Salk Institute

A protein found in brown fat, but not typical white fat, is key to how the energy-burning brown fat cells function. While most fat cells in the human body store energy, everyone has a small subset of brown fat cells that do the opposite – burn energy and generate heat. Now, Salk researchers have discovered how the molecule ERRγ gives this “healthier” brown fat its energy-expending identity, making those cells ready to warm you up when you step into the cold, and potentially offering a new therapeutic target for diseases related to obesity.

“This not only advances our understanding of how the body responds to cold, but could lead to new...

This is an impression of a biological cell (brown) inside the artificial cell (green). Credit: Imperial College London

Researchers have fused living and non-living cells for the first time in a way that allows them to work together, paving the way for new applications. The system, created by a team from Imperial College London, encapsulates biological cells within an artificial cell. Using this, researchers can harness the natural ability of biological cells to process chemicals while protecting them from the environment. This system could lead to applications such as cellular ‘batteries’ powered by photosynthesis, synthesis of drugs inside the body, and biological sensors that can withstand harsh conditions.

Previous artificial cell design has involved taking parts of biological cell ‘mac...

Tests showed that subcutaneous implants, left, of a hydrogel developed at Rice University encouraged blood vessel and cell growth as new tissue replaced the degrading gel. Credit: Hartgerink Research Group/Rice University

A synthetic, injectable hydrogel developed to deliver drugs and encourage tissue growth turns out to have therapeutic properties all its own. Researchers in the Rice lab of chemist and bioengineer Jeffrey Hartgerink had just such an experience with the hydrogels they developed as a synthetic scaffold to deliver drugs and encourage the growth of cells and blood vessels for new tissue.

To do so, they often tested the gels by infusing them before injection with bioactive small molecules, cells or proteins...

Hollow pumpkin-shaped molecules with allyloxy tails self-assemble into vesicles which can carry drugs into cancer cells. Then a laser breaks the vesicles which facilitates the release of the drug in a timely and location-specific manner. Credit: IBS

Light-responsive vesicles carry and release drugs to cancer cells at specific time and position. With the goal of minimizing the side effects of chemotherapy on healthy tissues, scientists have developed novel nanocontainers able to deliver anticancer drugs at precise timing and location. They combines uniquely designed molecules and light-dependent drug release, which may provide a new platform to enhance the effect of anticancer therapeutics.

Thanks to a serendipitous observation, IBS researchers at POSTECH found out that tailed pumpkin-shape...