Category Biology/Biotechnology

Killer T cells surround a cancer cell. Credit: NIH

An international team discovered how a shift to increased fat utilization is required for the development and growth of lymphatic vessels for metastasis. This discovery paves the way towards developing therapeutics to limit lymphatic vessel growth in cancer by targeting fat utilization. Formation of new lymphatic vessels, ie lymphangiogenesis, is a poorly understood process, which currently lacks clinically approved drugs to prevent their growth during disease.

The study began with a simple observation: lymphatics use more fatty acids compared to blood vessels. This is the first description of the nutrient utilization of lymphatic vessels...

Immunohistochemistry for alpha-synuclein showing positive staining (brown) of an intraneural Lewy-body in the Substantia nigra in Parkinson’s disease. Credit: Wikipedia

New details learned about a key cellular protein could lead to treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). At their root, proteins misfold and accumulate in neurons, inflicting damage and eventually killing the cells. In a new study, researchers in the laboratory of Steven Finkbeiner, MD, PhD, at the Gladstone Institutes used a different protein, Nrf2, to restore levels of the disease-causing proteins to a normal, healthy range, thereby preventing cell death.

The researchers tested Nrf2 in 2 models of Parkinson’s disease: cells with muta...

Scientists discover new mechanism of how brain networks form

Scientists have
discovered that networks of inhibitory neurons develop through a mechanism opposite to the one followed by excitatory networks. Excitatory neurons sculpt and refine maps of the external world throughout development and experience, while inhibitory neurons form maps that become broader with maturation. This discovery adds a new piece to the puzzle of how the brain organizes and processes information. Knowing how the normal brain works is an important step toward understanding the nature of neurological conditions and opens the possibility of finding treatments in the future.

“The brain represents the external world as specific maps of activity created by networks of neurons,” said Dr...

Yue Cao et al. A Transparent, Self-Healing, Highly Stretchable Ionic Conductor, Advanced Materials (2016). DOI: 10.1002/adma.201605099

Scientists, including several from the University of California, Riverside, have developed a transparent, self-healing, highly stretchable conductive material that can be electrically activated to power artificial muscles and could be used to improve batteries, electronic devices, and robots. The findings represent the first time scientists have created an ionic conductor, meaning materials that ions can flow through, that is transparent, mechanically stretchable, and self-healing.

The material has potential applications in a wide range of fields...