Cells

A rice wine native to the Philippines has grabbed the attention of researchers looking into new, natural ways to slow biological aging. But it's not the wine itself – sorry – in the spotlight, but what's leftover after the liquid is ready to bottled.

In a major breakthrough for regenerative medicine, MIT scientists have developed a way to convert skin cells directly into brain cells extremely efficiently, without needing to go through the intermediate step of converting them to stem cells first.

Scientists have finally pinned down a protein that’s largely responsible for Parkinson’s disease. Known as PINK1, the protein has been linked to the disease for decades but its structure and how to switch it back on have remained elusive – until now.

One of cancer’s deadliest tricks is its ability to spread to other organs. An existing cardiac drug has now been found to reduce the risk of metastasis by dissolving circulating clusters of breast cancer cells in patients.

While the price of eggs is unlikely to dip anytime soon, it might be time to find other sources of one of their key nutrients – omega-3. New research on the polyunsaturated fatty acid has uncovered encouraging signs that it can slow biological aging.

Working with a line of colon cancer cells, Korean researchers figured out a way to throw a few genetic switches to cause the cells to revert back to a healthy state. The technique could have major implications in the way we approach cancer treatment.

Scientists have engineered a hybrid mouse with a gene that predates all animal life. The team replaced a single gene in the mouse stem cells with a version from an ancient, single-celled ancestor, and successfully grew healthy live mice from it.

The hugely ambitious project of mapping the estimated 37.2 trillion cells of the human body is close to reaching a historic milestone – the first draft of the 'atlas.' We got a glimpse at what's in store from this unprecedented biological guidebook.

On November 11, MAPHEUS-15 became the 600th suborbital rocket launched from Sweden’s Esrange Space Center. While not wanting to downplay this impressive milestone, many are keener to see whether its payload paid off, scientifically speaking.

Memories can form outside of the brain, according to new research. Non-brain cells exposed to chemical pulses similar to the ones that brain cells are exposed to when presented with new information caused the non-brain cells to switch on a gene critical for memory formation.

Scientists in Japan have created hybrid plant-animal cells, essentially making animal cells that can gain energy from sunlight like plants. The breakthrough could have major benefits for growing organs and tissues for transplant, or lab-grown meat.

For 50 years now, camera company Nikon has been highlighting microscopic marvels with the annual Nikon Small World photomicrography competition. Headlining this year’s winners is a groundbreaking view of mouse brain tumor cells.