Illustration of a neutrophil cell membrane-coated nanoparticle.
Credit: Qiangzhe Zhang/Nature Nanotechnology

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed neutrophil “nanosponges” that can safely absorb and neutralize a variety of proteins that play a role in the progression of rheumatoid arthritis. Injections of these nanosponges effectively treated severe rheumatoid arthritis in two mouse models. Administering the nanosponges early on also prevented the disease from developing.

“Nanosponges are a new paradigm of treatment to block pathological molecules from triggering disease in the body,” said senior author Liangfang Zhang, a nanoengineering professor at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering...

During breast cancer, some cancer cells will leave the tumor to invade into nearby tissues. In this new paper, Salk scientists find that the gene Sox10 is important in activating this local invasion. Left panel: Significant numbers of invasive cancer cells with Sox10 (red) in them can be found outside of the tumor (green cells, outlined). Right panel shows the invasive cells’ proximity to blood vessels (white).
Credit: Salk Institute

A team at the Salk Institute has identified a master switch that appears to control the dynamic behavior of tumor cells that makes some aggressive cancers so difficult to treat. The gene Sox10 directly controls the growth and invasion of a significant fraction of hard-to-treat triple-negative breast cancers.

Recently, the Salk lab led by Professor Geoffrey Wa...

Rows of photovoltaic cells are shown atop a building on the Georgia Institute of Technology campus in Atlanta.
Credit: John Toon, Georgia Tech

A team of semiconductor researchers based in France has used a boron nitride separation layer to grow indium gallium nitride (InGaN) solar cells that were then lifted off their original sapphire substrate and placed onto a glass substrate.

By combining the InGaN cells with photovoltaic (PV) cells made from materials such as silicon or gallium arsenide, the new lift-off technique could facilitate fabrication of higher efficiency hybrid PV devices able to capture a broader spectrum of light. Such hybrid structures could theoretically boost solar cell efficiency as high as 30% for an InGaN/Si tandem device.

The technique is the third major application f...

This spectacular image of the Carina nebula reveals the dynamic cloud of interstellar matter and thinly spread gas and dust as never before. The massive stars in the interior of this cosmic bubble emit intense radiation that causes the surrounding gas to glow. By contrast, other regions of the nebula contain dark pillars of dust cloaking newborn stars.
Credit: ESO/J. Emerson/M. Irwin/J. Lewis

VISTA gazes into one of the largest nebulae in the Milky Way in infrared. About 7500 light-years away, in the constellation of Carina, lies a nebula within which stars form and perish side-by-side. Shaped by these dramatic events, the Carina Nebula is a dynamic, evolving cloud of thinly spread interstellar gas and dust.

The massive stars in the interior of this cosmic bubble emit intense radiation that...