‘The adipokine leptin modulates adventitial pericyte functions by autocrine and paracrine signalling’ by Paolo Madeddu et al in Scientific Reports

A new discovery by University of Bristol scientists helps to explain how cells which surround blood vessels, pericytes, stimulate new blood vessels to grow with the hormone ‘leptin’ playing a key role. Leptin is produced by fat cells which helps to regulate energy balance in the body by inhibiting the appetite. This study, described in Scientific Reports, may have important implications for the treatment of heart attacks and also for cancer, the two main killers in the UK.

The growth of new blood vessels, ‘angiogenesis’, is an important process occurring both in health and disease...

Nanoparticle delivery of curcumin induces cellular hypoxia and ROS-mediated apoptosis via modulation of Bcl-2/Bax in human neuroblastoma, Nanoscale (2017). DOI: 10.1039/C7NR02770B

Attaching curcumin, a component of the common spice turmeric, to nanoparticles can be used to target and destroy treatment-resistant neuroblastoma tumor cells, according to a new study published in Nanoscale. The study, conducted in partnership by researchers at Nemours Children’s Hospital and the University of Central Florida, demonstrates a potentially novel treatment for neuroblastoma, the most common cancer in infants.

“High-risk neuroblastoma can be resistant to traditional therapy, and survival can be poor...

Vanderbilt undergraduate Thomas Metke demonstrates the ultrathin energy harvesting device which is taped across his elbow. As he flexes his arm the current the device generates is displayed on the computer display. Credit: John Russell, Vanderbilt University

Imagine slipping into a jacket, shirt or skirt that powers your cell phone, fitness tracker and other personal electronic devices as you walk, wave and even when you are sitting. A new, ultrathin energy harvesting system developed at Vanderbilt University’s Nanomaterials and Energy Devices Laboratory has the potential to do just that...

Slice through the celestial equator showing the radial component of the velocity field (in kilometres per second). Blue regions are falling towards us and red regions are flying away from us. Galaxies of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey main galaxy sample are overplotted. In the centre of the slice, the infalling dynamics of the Sloan Great Wall, one of the largest structure of the known universe, can be observed. Credit: University of Portsmouth

New maps of dark matter dynamics in the Universe have been produced by a team of international cosmologists.Using advanced computer modelling techniques, the team has translated the distribution of galaxies into detailed maps of matter streams and velocities for the first time...