News by Subject Biology

A surprising discovery about a failed pain drug -- and specifically, the pathway it targets, BH4 -- could have implications for autoimmunity and cancer. Neuroscientists at Boston Children's Hospital and immunologists from IMBA in Vienna report that BH4 also functions as a kind of immunological thermostat, raising and lowering the activity levels of T cells. Inhibiting BH4 could relieve atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, lupus, polyarthritis and inflammatory bowel disease; boosting it could help the immune system attack cancers.

UCLA biologists reveal the hidden molecular basis of brain disorders and provide the first cell atlas of the hippocampus -- the part of the brain that helps regulate learning and memory -- as it is affected by traumatic brain injury. The researchers propose gene candidates for treating brain diseases associated with traumatic brain injury such as Alzheimer's disease and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Researchers at NSLS-II used ultrabright x-rays to generate 3D nanoscale maps of a single bacteria's chemical composition with unparalleled spatial resolution.

Freiburg scientists elucidate the mechanism for the transport of water-insoluble protein molecules in mitochondria

In optogenetics, researchers use light to control protein activity. This technique allows them to alter the shape of embryonic tissue and to inhibit the development of abnormalities. Now, scientists in EMBL's De Renzis group have enhanced the technique to stop organ-shaping processes in fruit fly embryos. Their results, published in The EMBO Journal, allow control over a crucial step in embryonic development.

The time of day, determined by a cell's internal clock, has a stronger influence on cell division than previously thought, reveals a new study.