Skin: An additional tool for the versatile elephant trunk: Elephant biomechanics suggests a new approach for soft robotics
A new study from Georgia Institute of Technology suggests that an elephant’s muscles aren’t the only way it stretches its trunk — its folded skin also plays an important role. The combination of muscle and skin gives the animal the versatility to grab fragile vegetation and rip apart tree trunks. The research, in collaboration with […]
Intriguing connection between diet, eye health and lifespan uncovered
Researchers from the Buck Institute have demonstrated for the first time a link between diet, circadian rhythms, eye health and lifespan in Drosophila. Publishing in the June 7, 2022 issue of Nature Communications, they additionally and unexpectedly found that processes in the fly eye are actually driving the aging process. Previous studies have shown in […]
Decoding the language of immune responses: Research has implications for improved immunotherapy treatments
Researchers from McGill University and the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) have made some surprising discoveries about our immune system. By using mathematical modelling to look at specific aspects of immune responses in mice and humans, their data-driven approach, described in a recent article in Science, reveals that immune responses may exist on a finer […]
Study gives animal testing alternatives a confidence boost
As part of a government effort to reduce animal testing, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have worked with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Inotiv Inc. to produce a new protocol for screening skin allergens. The method is potentially cheaper and faster than animal testing, while maintaining a similar […]
From cavefish to humans: Evolution of metabolism in cavefish may provide insight into treatments for a host of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke
New research from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research examines how cavefish, surface-dwelling river fish that flooded into underground cave systems over 100,000 years ago, developed unique metabolic adaptations to survive in nutrient-scarce environments. The study, published online in Nature Genetics on May 12, 2022, led by Jaya Krishnan, PhD, a senior research associate in […]
Terahertz imaging reveals hidden inscription on early modern funerary cross
In a multidisciplinary project, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia Tech-Lorraine used terahertz imaging and signal processing techniques to look beneath the corroded surface of a 16th-century lead funerary cross. Led by David Citrin, a professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), the effort brought together imaging scientists, a […]
Newly identified cell type could be the key to restoring damaged salivary glands: Scientists make fundamental advance in understanding salivary gland biology
Scientists at Scripps Research and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research have discovered a special type of cell that resides in salivary glands and is likely crucial for oral health. As the researchers described in Cell Reports on April 12, 2022, the new type of salivary gland cell called “ionocyte” that works to […]
Predicting sudden cardiac arrest: Distinguishing between treatable and untreatable sudden cardiac arrest
Clinician-scientists in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai developed a clinical algorithm that, for the first time, distinguishes between treatable sudden cardiac arrest and untreatable forms of the condition. The findings, published today in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Clinical Electrophysiology, have the potential to enhance prevention of sudden cardiac arrest […]
Development of a high-energy-resolution, LaB6 nanowire-based field emission gun: Electron source enables atomic resolution TEM observation
The National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) and JEOL, Ltd. have developed a lanthanum hexaboride (LaB6) nanowire-based field emission gun that is installable on an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope (TEM). This combined unit is able to perform atomic resolution observation at an energy resolution of 0.2 eV — the highest resolution ever recorded for non-monochromatic […]
Gene-editing used to create single sex mice litters, 100% efficiency
Scientists at the Francis Crick Institute, in collaboration with University of Kent, have used gene editing technology to create female-only and male-only mice litters with 100% efficiency. This proof of principle study, published in Nature Communications today (Friday 3rd December), demonstrates how the technology could be used to improve animal welfare in scientific research and […]