This article presents a method for preparing stable and reproducible fatty acid (FA) stock solutions, which are essential for studying lipid signaling, metabolism, and lipid droplets (LDs). The authors developed a technique using ultrasonication and ethanol to create FA micelles, which can be used in both in vivo and in vitro studies. The method eliminates the need for albumin, avoids FA degradation, and allows for precise control over FA concentrations. The authors also compare their method with existing techniques and demonstrate its effectiveness in various biological studies, including the investigation of LD dynamics and lipid metabolism.

Since the discovery of actin in relation to muscle function more than 80 years ago by Albert Szent-Gyorgyi in Szeged, Hungary, actin research has become extremely diverse and now extends to plants and prokaryotes, as well as biochemical, biophysical, molecular, and cellular biology fields. The need for an international actin conference with comprehensive topics, where the latest results and research directions are presented, is critical for the community. Therefore, we decided to bring together the best experts in actin biology from across the world to build research synergies to tackle long-standing questions covering the enormous spectrum of the field of actin biology.

Hereby we kindly invite you to participate in the ACTIN ASSEMBLY FOR INTRACELLULAR FUNCTIONS 2025 conference between May 21-24, 2025. The meeting will take place in the new conference centre of the HUN-REN Biological Research Centre (BRC) Szeged, Hungary (https://www.brc.hu/en), where the lecture halls, the poster and company exhibition areas will all be located in one building, together with the restaurant and social rooms. This venue is ideal for catching up with colleagues, discussing your research, building collaborations, and sparking new ideas.

With 27 invited speakers already confirmed, 12 additional short presentations, three poster sessions, and social events, including the Wine Festival and Bridge Fair in Szeged, AAIF2025 is guaranteed to be a stimulating and enjoyable conference for all participants.

SESSION TOPICS

Actin protein dynamics

Actin in mechanotransduction

Actin in diseases

Actin in intracellular trafficking

Actin and phase separation

Actin across evolution

Actin and the genome

 

 

PLEASE VISIT THE CONFERENCE WEBSITE AT

https://aaif2025-szeged.hu

for all the information you need, including the programme, and where you can register.

A new study has unveiled a precise picture of how an ion channel found in most mammalian cells regulates its own function with a “ball-and-chain” channel-plugging mechanism, according to investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine. The findings boost the understanding of ion channel biology and could lead to new drugs that target these channels to treat disorders such as epilepsy and hypertension.

An herbicide may "drift" from the agricultural fields where it's sprayed and harm weeds that grow at the edge of the fields, impacting pollinators.

A University of Michigan study examined the effects of the herbicide, called dicamba, and found that plants exposed to dicamba drift had a lowered abundance of pollinators, and that pollinator visits to flowers were reduced for some weeds, but not others. The study, led by U-M professor of ecology and evolutionary biology Regina Baucom, is published in the journal New Phytologist.