News by Subject Technology & Engineering

Using a newly developed laboratory model of three types of brain cells, Penn and CHOP scientists reveal how HIV infection -- as well as the drugs that treat it -- can take a toll on the central nervous system.

A new technique allows researchers to test how the deformation of tiny train track-like cell proteins affects their function. The findings could help clarify the roles of deformed 'microtubules' in traumatic brain injuries and in neurological diseases like Parkinson's.

One of the most widely used oil-based plastics, polyurethane, is particularly hard to recycle or destroy safely. It also releases toxic chemicals into landfills. However, some microorganisms are capable of metabolizing these compounds and degrading the plastic waste in the process. A team of scientists in Germany have identified one such bacterium that could be used to help break down polyurethane-based plastics for future bio-recycling.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that kills millions annually; it is poorly understood and has no specific treatment. Now, researchers from Tata Memorial Centre, India, led by Prof. Dr Indraneel Mittra, have uncovered an important molecular mechanism underlying different aspects of sepsis--chromatin released by dying host cells after infection or injury. The scientists also put forth a novel treatment strategy for sepsis, which targets cell-free chromatin.

The conversion of skin cells into brain cells relies on proper insertion of L1 elements.

The increase in the CO2 concentration of the atmosphere does not compensate the negative effect of greenhouse gas-induced climate change on trees: The more extreme drought and heat become, the less do trees profit from the increased supply with carbon dioxide in terms of carbon metabolism and water use efficiency. This finding was obtained by researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) when studying Aleppo pines. Their study is reported in New Phytologist (DOI: 10.1111/nph.16471).

In a paper publishing March 26 in the journal Cell, investigators report that they have used microelectrode arrays implanted in human brains to map out motor functions down to the level of the single nerve cell. The study revealed that an area believed to control only one body part actually operates across a wide range of motor functions. It also demonstrated how different neurons coordinate with each other.

Prof. Hyung Joon Cha and his research team developed a stem cell therapy on myocardial infarction, using proteins that can be found in mussels, mussel adhesive proteins.