ESRP2 downregulation supports hepatocyte proliferation during liver regeneration.

In Greek mythology, Zeus punishes the trickster Prometheus by chaining him to a rock and sending an eagle to eat a portion of his liver every day, in perpetuity. It was the right organ to target – the liver has the ability to regenerate itself, though not overnight nor for eternity. New research conducted by biochemists at the University of Illinois has determined how damaged liver cells repair and restore themselves through a signal to return to an early stage of postnatal organ development. The findings are reported in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.

“The liver is a resilient organ,” said U. of I. biochemistry professor Auinash Kalsotra, who led the new research...

The researchers built a self-contained smartphone microscope that can operate in both fluorescence and dark-field imaging modes and paired it with an inexpensive Lumina 640 smartphone with an 8-megapixel camera.

Unlike most commercially available tests, it can detect levels below EPA standards. The discovery of lead in Flint, Michigan’s drinking water drew renewed attention to the health risks posed by the metal. Now researchers at the University of Houston have created an inexpensive system using a smartphone and a lens made with an inkjet printer that can detect lead in tap water at levels commonly accepted as dangerous.

The system builds upon earlier work by Wei-Chuan Shih, associate professor of electrical & computer engineering, and members of his lab, including the discovery of an in...

The weak lensing surveys such as HSC prefer a slightly less clumpy Universe (left) than that predicted by Planck (right). The pictures show the slight but noticeable difference as expected from large computer simulations.
Credit: Hyper Suprime-Cam Survey

An international group of researchers, including Carnegie Mellon University’s Rachel Mandelbaum, has released the deepest wide field map of the 3D distribution of matter in the universe ever made and increased the precision of constraints for dark energy with the Hyper Suprime-Cam survey (HSC).

The present-day universe is a pretty lumpy place...

A novel tiny, soft robot with soft caterpillar-like legs which is adaptable to adverse environment and can carry heavy load was developed. Credit: City University of Hong Kong

A novel tiny, soft robot with caterpillar-like legs capable of carrying heavy loads and adaptable to adverse environment was developed from a research led by City University of Hong Kong (CityU). This mini delivery-robot could pave way for medical technology advancement such as drugs delivery in human body.

Around the world, there has been research about developing soft milli-robots. But the CityU’s new design with multi-legs helps reduce friction significantly, so that the robot can move efficiently inside surfaces within the body lined with, or entirely immersed in, body fluids such as blood or mucus.

What makes th...