‘melt’ the membrane islands tagged posts

Saturated fatty acids build lipids that form ‘frozen islands’ (blue) in cell membrane (green). Credit: Nicoletta Barolini, Columbia University

Observations of saturated and unsaturated fatty acid behavior could impact public health. Researchers have developed a new microscopy technique that allows for the direct tracking of fatty acids after they’ve been absorbed into living cells. What they found using this technique could have significant impact on both the understanding and treatment of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

A new fad diet seems to pop up every few years. Atkins, Zone, Ketogenic, Vegetarian, Vegan, South Beach, Raw – with so many choices and scientific evidence to back each, it’s hard to know what’s healthy and what’s not...