Northwestern Medicine scientists have uncovered a molecular mechanism that enables cells to protect organs from leaks, infection and inflammation, according to a study published in the Journal of Cell Biology. The findings of the study add to scientific understanding of how epithelial cells maintain protective barriers, said senior author Cara J. Gottardi, professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care and of cell and developmental biology.
Author: Michael
There’s something puzzling about 1998 KY26, a mysterious object that the Japanese space agency’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft is on its way to visit: it’s accelerating. That isn’t necessarily out of the ordinary for asteroids and comets, but it appears to be driven by a propulsion source that scientists have yet to understand, as ScienceAlert reports. One explanation, from Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb, suggests that 1998 KY26 is a derelict Soviet spacecraft that launched almost 40 years ago. More conventional attempts to account for its acceleration proffer that it’s a “dark comet,” a type of space object that acts like a rocky…
Family traditions, misconceptions about where it comes from, and a belief that remedies sold in shops are government-approved help explain continued demand for saiga antelope horn in Singapore, according to a University of Oxford–led study published in People and Nature.
Scientists have recreated the universe’s first 2 billion years in a record-breaking simulation that could reveal new secrets about the Big Bang and the birth of galaxies. Scientists have recreated the universe’s first 2 billion years in extraordinary detail using one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers. The enormous simulation, called “Lumina,” allows researchers to […]
Almost every cell in your body contains tiny, hollow barrels built from protein. These structures are enormous by molecular standards, weighing roughly three times as much as a ribosome. Scientists discovered them 40 years ago, named them, and have spent much of the time since arguing over what they might be doing. Nobody has a definitive answer. Now, researchers have tracked down close relatives of these mysterious structures in an unexpected place: viruses that infect bacteria. One of the viral versions has been reconstructed in the laboratory, and it turns out to be bigger than the structures found in humans.…
Almost every cell in your body contains tiny, hollow barrels built from protein. These structures are enormous by molecular standards, weighing roughly three times as much as a ribosome. Scientists discovered them 40 years ago, named them, and have spent much of the time since arguing over what they might be doing. Nobody has a definitive answer. Now, researchers have tracked down close relatives of these mysterious structures in an unexpected place: viruses that infect bacteria. One of the viral versions has been reconstructed in the laboratory, and it turns out to be bigger than the structures found in humans.…
Medium’s new writing app embraces AI-assisted writing, despite growing controversy over the technology’s role in publishing.
Monkeys constantly observe and evaluate their social environment. It stands to reason that the social and mental abilities required to do so were favored by evolution. After all, these abilities should influence how an animal interacts with its conspecifics and, as a result, what social position it can attain within the group’s hierarchy. Researchers from the DPZ and the University of Göttingen have now investigated whether this widely held assumption is correct by studying 46 wild male Assamese macaques in Thailand. The paper is published in the journal Current Biology.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is common in cats but often goes undiagnosed until it’s at a late stage. Thanks to a recent study published in the Journal of Proteome Research, researchers have new leads to determine how feline CKD develops. The paper reports collections of potential protein biomarkers in urine that could help veterinarians detect different stages of the disease and develop more targeted and effective treatments for this irreversible ailment.
Scientists found that semaglutide, Ozempic’s key ingredient, repaired blood vessels, dampened inflammation and improved kidney function in patients.