The lymphatic system plays a key role in maintaining the body’s fluid balance and supporting immune defences. Lymphatic vessels are composed of a single layer of endothelial cells, allowing the transfer of fluids, cells and large molecules from surrounding tissues into the vessels. These vessels must be highly permeable to efficiently absorb and transport fluid, while also being flexible enough to withstand sudden changes in tissue fluid volume, such as swelling, without rupture.
Blog
-
Why do lymphatic vessels form a jigsaw puzzle-like pattern?
Continue Reading
News Source: www.sciencedaily.com
Could the layout of trees impact human health?
A long-term Switzerland-wide study has found that neighbourhoods with numerous, well-arranged trees exhibit lower mortality risks than other areas. The reasons behind this, and the factors that play a role, will require further research.
Beyond creating a serene and open atmosphere in urban areas, trees and parks also contribute to human well-being. There are various reasons for this: trees filter pollutants out of the air, provide shade, lower the ambient temperature in hot weather and…
Continue Reading
News Source: www.sciencedaily.com
Scientists use cellular programming to mimic first days of embryonic development
The earliest days after fertilization, once a sperm cell meets an egg, are shrouded in scientific mystery.
The process of how a humble single cell becomes an organism fascinates scientists across disciplines. For some animals, the entire process of cellular multiplication, generation of specialized cells, and their organization into an ordered multicellular embryo takes place in the protective environment of the uterus, making direct observation and studies challenging. This makes it…
Continue Reading
News Source: www.sciencedaily.com
Adaptive defenses against malicious jumping genes
Adverse genetic mutations can cause harm and are due to various circumstances. “Jumping genes” are one cause of mutations, but cells try and combat them with a specialized RNA called piRNA. For the first time, researchers from the University of Tokyo and their collaborators have identified how the sites responsible for piRNA production evolve effective behaviors against jumping genes. This research could lead to downstream diagnostic or therapeutic applications.
The word mutation can mean…
Continue Reading
News Source: www.sciencedaily.com
How family background can help lead to athletic success
Americans have long believed that sports are one area in society that offers kids from all backgrounds the chance to succeed to the best of their abilities.
But new research suggests that this belief is largely a myth, and that success in high school and college athletics often is influenced by race and gender, as well as socioeconomic status, including family wealth and education.
“We often think about sports as level playing fields that reward people who earn their success, but that’s not…
Continue Reading
News Source: www.sciencedaily.com
Breakthrough molecular movie reveals DNA’s unzipping mechanism with implications for viral and cancer treatments
Scientists at the University of Leicester have captured the first detailed “molecular movie” showing DNA being unzipped at the atomic level — revealing how cells begin the crucial process of copying their genetic material.
The groundbreaking discovery, published in the journal Nature, could have far-reaching implications, helping us to understand how certain viruses and cancers replicate.
Using cutting edge cryo-electron microscopy, the team of scientists were able to visualise a helicase…
Continue Reading
News Source: www.sciencedaily.com
The cell’s powerhouses: Molecular machines enable efficient energy production
Mitochondria are the powerhouses in our cells, producing the energy for all vital processes. Using cryo-electron tomography, researchers at the University of Basel, Switzerland, have now gained insight into the architecture of mitochondria at unprecedented resolution. They discovered that the proteins responsible for energy generation assemble into large “supercomplexes,” which play a crucial role in providing the cell’s energy.
Most living organisms on our planet-whether plants, animals, or…
Continue Reading
News Source: www.sciencedaily.com
Beating the clock: Melanoma starts evading treatment within hours — here’s how to stop it
Researchers have uncovered a stealth survival strategy that melanoma cells use to evade targeted therapy, offering a promising new approach to improving treatment outcomes.
The study, published in Cell Systems and conducted by researchers at the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) identifies a non-genetic, reversible adaptation mechanism that allows melanoma cells to survive treatment with BRAF inhibitors. By identifying and blocking this early…
Continue Reading
News Source: www.sciencedaily.com
New function discovered for protein important in leukemia
Researchers from Northwestern University have stumbled upon a previously unobserved function of a protein found in the cell nuclei of all flora and fauna. In addition to exporting materials out of the nucleus, the protein, called Exportin-1 (also called Xpo1 or Crm1), seems to play a role in promoting gene transcription, the process that creates RNA replicas of strands of DNA to express genes.
Transcription factors, which regulate transcription, can also direct genes to interact with the…
Continue Reading
News Source: www.sciencedaily.com
Scenes from a Ramadan massacre
On Monday evening, Oday Al-Zaigh was catching up with his friend and neighbor, Motasim Zain Eldeen, in central Gaza City. They spoke with pride about how the residents of their neighborhood, Al-Moghrabi, had cleaned the streets and rebuilt what they could in recent weeks, trying their best to make it beautiful again after it had been severely damaged by Israeli attacks during 15 months of genocide. After parting ways, Al-Zaigh went to sleep — until he was abruptly…
Continue Reading
News Source: www.972mag.com