In the quest for a more youthful appearance, many people slather ointments on their skin or undergo injections of dermal fillers. But topical treatments often aren't very effective because they don't penetrate deep within the skin, whereas the results from injections typically last for only a few months and can be painful. Now, researchers have developed a needle-free 'exosome' treatment that reduces wrinkles in UV-exposed mice.
Read moreBiomedical engineers have used a previously unexplored CRISPR technology to accurately regulate and edit target genes in human cells. With this new approach, the researchers hope to dramatically expand the CRISPR-based tools available to biomedical engineers, opening up a new and diverse frontier of genome engineering technologies.
Read moreResearchers have identified a switch controlling HIV reproduction in immune cells which can eliminate dormant HIV reservoirs.
Read moreWhile viruses are typically known for their pathogenic properties, new research findings now also demonstrate a positive influence of bacteriophages on the interaction of host organisms with bacteria. A new study sheds new light on the symbiosis between multicellular organisms and their microbial communities, which may be regulated by bacteriophages in a tripartite relationship.
Read moreFor the first time ever, researchers have mapped how bacterial cells trigger their defense against outside attacks. This could affect how diseases are fought in the future.
Read moreThe memory of the immune system is able to distinguish a foreign protein with which the organism has already come into contact from another and to react with a corresponding antibody. Researchers have now discovered in flour beetles that the immune system's ability to specifically fend off pathogens can adapt in the course of evolution.
Read moreChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive lung disease that's often associated with a variety of health problems, including chronic muscle pain and insomnia. Psychoactive drug classes, like cannabinoids, are often prescribed to help reduce pain, promote sleep and decrease breathlessness. A study has found that older adults with COPD were twice as likely to use prescription synthetic oral cannabinoids compared to older adults without COPD, raising safety concerns.
Read moreScientists studying genetic transcription are gaining new insights into a process that is fundamental to all life. Transcription is the first step in gene expression, the process taking place within all living cells by which the DNA sequence of a gene is copied into RNA, which in turn (most generally speaking) serves as the template for assembling protein molecules, the basic building blocks of life.
Read moreA protective protein that detects newly-made incomplete protein chains in higher cells is found to have a relative in bacteria. There, the protein also plays a central role in quality control which ensures that defective proteins are degraded. The functional mechanism of these Rqc2 proteins must therefore have already existed several billion years ago in the so-called last universal common ancestor. Scientists have experimentally investigated the bacterial Rqc2 relative's function.
Read moreA new article discusses the potential ramifications of the discovery for combating the serious damage done by sawflies.
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