Category Health/Medical

For almost 60 years, measuring cholesterol levels in the blood has been the best way to identify individuals at high risk of cardiovascular disease...

Researchers uncover a surprising survival strategy that could reshape biotech and energy systems. A team led by Rice University bioscientist Caroline Ajo-Franklin has discovered how certain bacteria breathe by generating electricity, using a natural process that pushes electrons into their surroundings instead of breathing on oxygen. The findings, published in Cell last month, could enable new developments in clean energy and industrial biotechnology.

By identifying how these bacteria expel electrons externally, the researchers offer a glimpse into a previously hidden strategy of bacterial life. This work, which merges biology with electrochemistry, lays the groundwork for future technologies that harness the unique capabilities of these microscopic organisms.

“Our research not ...

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition in which affected individuals experience difficulties in social communication and exhibit restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior or interests.

A growing body of research suggests that neurobiological changes, particularly abnormalities in dendritic spines, tiny protrusions on nerve cells where synapses form, may be a hallmark of ASD...

Researchers identified three types of zombie skin cells; only one gets worse with age. Researchers have identified three subtypes of senescent skin cells with distinct shapes, biomarkers, and functions – an advance that could equip scientists with the ability to target and kill the harmful types while leaving the helpful ones intact.

Senescent skin cells, often referred to as zombie cells because they have outlived their usefulness without ever quite dying, have existed in the human body as a seeming paradox, causing inflammation and promoting diseases while also helping the immune system to heal wounds.

New findings may explain why: Not all senescent skin cells are the same. They were published today in the journal Science Advances.

“We’ve known that senescent skin cells are...