Category Health/Medical

1. Signaling pathways and Sequence of Events induced by injury. Approximate time sequences after injury are given within brackets. Abbreviations: NF-kB (nuclear factor-kB), TGFβ1 (transforming growth factor-β1).
2. Burns from Barbeque Fire:
(upper panel): Second degree burns from a barbeque fire before treatment with curcumin gel.
(lower panel): Rapid healing 5 days after curcumin gel applied hourly.
3. Improvement one day later after hourly application of curcumin gel. Pain and blistering were much improved.

These are primary cortical neurons cultured on the surface of an array of optoelectronic nanowires. Here a neuron is pulling the nanowires, indicating the the cell is doing well on this material. Credit: UC San Diego

University of Utah bioengineering assistant professor Robby Bowles and bioengineering doctoral student Niloofar Farhan are part of a team that has discovered a way to curb chronic pain by modulating genes that reduce tissue- and cell-damaging inflammation. The team is using the CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat) system — new technology of modifying human genetics — to stop cell death and keep the cells from producing molecules that damage tissue and result in chronic pain. Credit: Dan Hixson/University of Utah College of Engineering

Images that predate the formation of toxic clumps of beta-amyloid, the protein believed to be at the root of Alzheimer’s disease, have now been captured by researchers. Credit: Illustration: Per Uvdal