Category Biology/Biotechnology

Setting up. The standard inverted microscope is upgraded to a high quality live imaging station. Credit: Linda Koffmar

A recent study from Uppsala University shows how smartphones can be used to make movies of living cells, without the need for expensive equipment. The study is published in the open access journal PLOS ONE, making it possible for laboratories around the world to do the same thing.

Live imaging of cells is a very powerful tool for the study of cells, to learn about how cells respond to different treatments such as drugs or toxins. However, microscopes and equipment for live imaging are often very expensive.

In the present study, old standard inverted microscopes that are very abundant at Universities and hospitals were upgraded to high quality live imaging stations using a ...

Spinster homolog 1 (Drosophila) SPNS1

In a new study, TSRI, Florida scientists have shown how 2 genes “balance” each other to maintain normal cell function. A disruption in one of the genes, called spns1, can induce degradation and premature “senescence” – or aging – while the other gene, called atp6v0ca, can jump in to suppress that degradation. Their experiments in zebrafish suggest that these combined genetic disruptions can counteract premature aging and extend developmental lifespan.

“We found that the dual defects did indeed counteract senescence during development and extended the animal’s survival and life span,” said TSRI Associate Professor Shuji Kishi...

View of synapses in the amygdala of a mouse, obtained using a confocal microscope. mGlu4 receptors in red, and mGlu1a receptors in green. The white bar bottom right corresponds to 5 ?m. Credit: Zussy et al., 2016

Pain serves as a valuable warning signal, but when it becomes chronic, pain should be considered as a real disease. An international team including research scientists from the CNRS and INSERM has identified and controlled one of the centers associated with chronic pain. This work, published on 20 December 2016 in Molecular Psychiatry, made it possible to relieve the symptoms in mice and demonstrated the ability of the brain to remedy this problem.

While around 20% of the European population has experienced episodes of chronic pain, treatments are only effective in fewer than half...

Researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York have created a bacteria-powered battery on a single sheet of paper that can power disposable electronics. Credit: Seokheun

Instead of ordering batteries by the pack, we might get them by the ream in the future. Researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York have created a bacteria-powered battery on a single sheet of paper that can power disposable electronics. The manufacturing technique reduces fabrication time and cost, and the design could revolutionize the use of bio-batteries as a power source in remote, dangerous and resource-limited areas.

“Papertronics have recently emerged as a simple and low-cost way to power disposable point-of-care diagnostic sensors,” said Assistant Professor Seokheun “Sean...