As concerns rise about the effects of tiny plastic particles on human health, Flinders University researchers have led new research on whether nanoplastics can accumulate or cause damage in kidneys – our body’s major blood filtering system.

Their study, published in high-ranking international journal Cell Biology and Toxicology, calls for more investigations into the long-term risks, warning that high nanoplastics (NPs) particle ‘burden’ could seriously compromise kidney cell health and function.  

Early marine algae adapted their light-harvesting systems for weak blue-green light, suggesting how photosynthesis evolved.

RNA, or ribonucleic acid, is a short-lived molecule copied from DNA that enables cells to use genetic information. Specific DNA sequences are copied into RNA, which then delivers these instructions to the cellular machinery responsible for making proteins. Through this process, RNA acts as the go-between, translating DNA’s blueprints into real-time cellular activity. This research reveals an RNA molecule that regulates key cellular functions without turning into protein, thus functioning as a “non-coding” RNA CUL1-IPA that originates from the well-characterized CUL1 protein-coding gene. Unlike the canonical RNA that produces the CUL1 protein, this newly discovered RNA stays in the nucleus. Instead, it performs a completely different cellular function, supporting the structural integrity and activity of the nucleolus, the essential center for ribosome production.

Kris Burkewitz, assistant professor of cell and developmental biology at Vanderbilt University, describes a new way by which cells adapt to the aging process: by actively remodeling the endoplasmic reticulum, one of the cell’s largest and most complex organelles. His team found that aging cells remodel their ER through a process called ER-phagy, which selectively targets specific ER subdomains for breakdown. The discovery that ER-phagy is involved in aging highlights this process as a possible drug target for age-related chronic conditions such as neurodegenerative diseases and various metabolic disease contexts.

A new study of the oldest known bird, Archaeopteryx, shows that some of birds’ weirdest mouth features—like extra tongue bones, a sensitive beak-tip, and fleshy “teeth” on the roofs of their mouths—date all the way back to the Jurassic Period. These features, which are still present in most living birds, hint that being extra-good at finding, grabbing, and processing food might be key to a life on the wing.