Category Biology/Biotechnology

Researchers modeled kidney development and injury in kidney organoids (shown here), demonstrating that the organoid culture system can be used to study mechanisms of human kidney development and toxicity. Credit: Ryuji Morizane, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

The kidney structures formed could be used to study abnormalities of kidney development, chronic kidney disease, the effects of toxic drugs, and be incorporated into bioengineered devices to treat patients with acute and chronic kidney injury. In the longer term, these methods could hasten progress toward replacing a damaged or diseased kidney with tissue derived from a patient’s own cells.

CKD affects 9 – 11% of the U.S. adult population and is a serious public health problem worldwide...

A 3-D image of a tooth filled with nanodiamond-enhanced gutta percha, and an individual gutta percha point. Credit: American Chemical Society/Dong-Keun Lee

Tiny particles strenthen the compound used to fill teeth, ward off infection. Nanodiamonds may help patients that have had the dreaded root canal. Dental researchers have developed a nanodiamond-reinforced version of gutta percha, the compound that is used to fill void spaces in dental root canals to prevent infection that can lead to tooth loss. Tested in patient-extracted teeth, the nanodiamond-embedded polymer was substantially stronger than conventional gutta percha...

A new study suggests that receiving rewards as you learn can help cement new facts and skills in your memory, particularly when combined with a daytime nap. The findings from the University of Geneva reveal that memories associated with a reward are preferentially reinforced by sleep. Even a short nap after a period of learning is beneficial.

“Rewards may act as a kind of tag, sealing information in the brain during learning,” says lead researcher Dr Kinga Igloi from the University of Geneva. “During sleep, that information is favourably consolidated over information associated with a low reward and is transferred to areas of the brain associated with long-term memory.”

“Our findings are relevant for understanding the devastating effects that lack of sleep can have on achievement,” s...

This is a photograph of subunits of telomerase. Credit: UCLA department of chemistry and biochemistry

Research could lead to new strategies for treating disease. The telomerase enzyme is known to play a significant role in aging and most cancers. Scientists have discovered several major new insights about this enzyme and they are now able to see the complex enzyme’s sub-units in much sharper resolution than ever before.

Telomerase is particularly active in cancer cells, which helps make them immortal and enables cancer to grow and spread. Scientists believe that controlling the length of telomeres in cancer cells could be a way to prevent them from multiplying.
Feigon and her colleagues have been filling in pieces of the telomerase puzzle, using Tetrahymena...