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    Webb captures Stellar Gymnastics in the Cartwheel Galaxy

    August 3, 2022, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    A large pink, speckled galaxy resembling a wheel with with a small, inner oval, with dusty blue in between on the right, with two smaller spiral galaxies about the same size to the left against a black background.
    Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

    NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has peered into the chaos of the Cartwheel Galaxy, revealing new details about star formation and the galaxy’s central black hole. Webb’s powerful infrared gaze produced a detailed image of the Cartwheel and two smaller companion galaxies against a backdrop of many other galaxies. The image provides a new view of how the Cartwheel Galaxy has changed over billions of years.

    The Cartwheel Galaxy, located about 500 million light-years away in the Sculptor constellation, is a rare sight...

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    Using Light to Restore Cell Function

    August 3, 2022, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    A super resolution image captured in Diao’s lab shows the endoplasmic reticulum in green, lysosomes in pink and mitochondria in red. Using the light-activated proteins, the mitochondria and lysosomes are brought together to conduct mitochondrial fission. Photo provided by Jiajie Diao.

    New research from the University of Cincinnati shows early indications that light can be used as a treatment for certain diseases, including cancer.

    Researchers from UC, the U222niversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University at Buffalo published the results of their study demonstrating light-activated proteins can help normalize dysfunction within cells in the journal Nature Communications July 25.

    The research centers on the functions of mitochondria, organelles within a cell that act as...

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    Affordable and Sustainable Alternative to Lithium-ion Batteries proposed

    August 3, 2022, Categories  Chemistry/Nanotechnology

    Findings could pave the way for a cost-efficient, high-performing calcium-ion battery. Concerns regarding scarcity, high prices, and safety regarding the long-term use of lithium-ion batteries has prompted a team of researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to propose a greener, more efficient, and less expensive energy storage alternative.

    In research published recently in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), corresponding author Nikhil Koratkar, the John A. Clark and Edward T. Crossan Professor of Engineering at Rensselaer, and his team, assert that calcium ions could be used as an alternative to lithium-ions in batteries because of its abundance and low cost.

    “The vast majority of rechargeable battery products are based on lithium-ion technology, wh...

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    Fast-acting Immune Cells provide Powerful Protection against Stroke

    August 2, 2022, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    CREDIT: Adapted from Cai and Shi et al., 2022
    CAPTION:  Within 24 hours after researchers depleted CD8+TRLs from the bloodstream of stroke mice, the size of the brain region affected by ischemia expanded by 50% (middle panel) compared to animals whose CD8+TRL levels remained intact (left and right panels).

    CD8+ regulatory-like Tcells reach the brain within 24 hours after stroke onset, where they release molecules that provide direct neuroprotective effects, as well as limit inflammation and secondary brain damage.

    “The beauty of CD8+TRLs is in their fast response. They confer very potent protection to the brain, which can last a long time,” said co-corresponding author Xiaoming Hu, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of neurology at Pitt and a U.S...

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