The IgM antibody has multiple arms to catch the virus, making it more efficient in clumping up the virus and keeping it from passing through the mucosal barrier and entering the rest of the body.
Credit: Graphic artwork: Chris Wager

A group of scientists at Texas Biomedical Research Institute have zeroed in on a new defense against HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS. Led by Ruth Ruprecht, M.D., Ph.D., the team used an animal model to show for the first time that Immunoglobulin M (IgM) was effective in preventing infection after mucosal AIDS virus exposure. Worldwide, an estimated 90% of new cases of HIV-1 are caused through exposure in the mucosal cavities like the inside lining of the rectum or vagina. “IgM is sort of the forgotten antibody,” Dr...

Organic Mega Flow Battery Transcends Lifetime, Voltage Thresholds

Dubbed ‘Methuselah’, new molecule outlives previous chemistries. Researchers have demonstrated a new organic molecule that outlives and outperforms its predecessors, offering the longest-lasting high-performance organic flow battery to date. Nicknamed the Methuselah quinone – after the longest-lived Biblical figure – this molecule could usefully store and release energy many tens of thousands of times over multi-year periods. Organic flow batteries are a potentially safer, less expensive alternative to lithium ion batteries and vanadium flow batteries for large-scale renewable energy storage.

“We designed and built a new organic compound that can store electrical energy and also has a very long life before it decomposes,” sa...

A portion of the Medusae Fossae Formation on Mars showing the effect of billions of years of erosion. The image was acquired by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

The dust that coats much of the surface of Mars originates largely from a single thousand-kilometer-long geological formation near the Red Planet’s equator, scientists have found. A study published in the journal Nature Communications found a chemical match between dust in the Martian atmosphere and the surface feature, called the Medusae Fossae Formation...

Topical Curcumin Nanocarriers are Neuroprotective in Eye Disease. Scientific Reports, 2018; 8 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-29393-8

A derivative of turmeric could be used in eye drops to treat the early stages of glaucoma, finds a new study led by UCL and Imperial College London researchers. In the new Scientific Reports paper, the researchers report a new method to deliver curcumin, extracted from the yellow spice turmeric, directly to the back of the eye using eye drops, overcoming the challenge of curcumin’s poor solubility.

The research team found the eye drops can reduce the loss of retinal cells in rats, which is known to be an early sign of glaucoma. They are also investigating how the eye drops could be used as a diagnostic tool for a range of conditions...