Category Biology/Biotechnology

A hybrid 3-D optical microscope – mass spectrometry map showing optical brightness (height) and chemical distribution of poly(2vinylpyridine) (red) and poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (blue) signals of a 20 micron-by-20 micron area of a polymer blend. (ORNL/DOE)

The hybrid optical microscope/mass spectrometry-based imaging system developed at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory operates under ambient conditions and requires no pretreatment of samples to analyze chemical compounds with sub-micron resolution. One micron is equal to about 1/100th the width of a human hair.

“Knowing the chemical basis of material interactions that take place at interfaces is vital for designing and advancing new functional materials that are important for DOE missions such as organic photovoltaic...

Chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycans are two-sugar repeating polymers that display diverse sulfation patterns in vivo.

For the 1st time, chondroitin sulfate has been more successful than celecoxib in reducing the long-term progression of knee osteoarthritis (OA), according to new research findings. Chondroitin sulfate, more commonly called chondroitin, has long been the subject of debate when it comes to its usefulness in treating OA. Canadian researchers recently explored how this treatment would affect how OA progresses as well as how it compared to celecoxib (Celebrex®).

“We felt the present study was necessary in order to establish – using the most recent imaging technology available, quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) – whether chondroitin sulfate can truly and effectiv...

Diet has already impacted guidelines in Canada and Europe. The research, published today in Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Disease, was a secondary analysis of data collected for a 2011 study on the effect of the ‘portfolio diet’ on cholesterol. The portfolio diet lowered blood pressure by ~2%, when compared with another diet recommended to reduce hypertension.

The portfolio diet includes foods that are scientifically-proven to lower cholesterol including mixed nuts, soy protein, plant sterols (found in vegetable oils and leafy vegetables) and viscous fiber (found in oats, barley and eggplant). The comparison method, a dietary approach to stopping hypertension, or DASH diet, emphasizes fruit, vegetables and whole grains, reduced meat and dairy intake, and eliminating snack food.

Each single hair bundle within the live zebrafish ear contains fascin 2b fused with green fluorescent protein. In this time coarse, the fascin 2b molecules migrate to other regions of the bundle within 220 seconds. Credit: Cell Reports: Adapted from Figure 1 in “The Stereociliary Paracrystal is a Dynamic Cytoskeletal Scaffold In Vivo”

Finding holds promise for repairing damaged hearing. Hearing is made possible when hair bundles protruding from hair cells capture the energy of sound waves, converting them into electrical signals that stimulate the auditory nerve to the brain. The hair bundles are made up of stereocilia, which sway in unison with other stereocilia, and remain permanently with us throughout our lives...