Cells

Strokes can leave lifelong lingering issues, as neurons are damaged and die. But now, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have identified a new drug that could help prevent damage even after a stroke, with tests in mice showing promise.

By triggering receptors on a fast-burning form of fat, researchers were able to give older mice less fat and more muscle, making them as healthy as much younger mice. And better yet, humans seem to have a similar pathway.

Tens of billions of cells in your body die everyday. It’s a natural process, important for keeping the body healthy. Now, in a world first, researchers have directly imaged the death of neurons in mice, and as how the body clears them out afterwards.

Immunotherapy is a promising treatment for cancer, but it still has its problems. Now researchers have identified a “jamming signal” that cancer uses to hide from the immune system, and engineered a synthetic immune cell that can fight back.

Researchers have created synthetic red blood cells that have all of the useful properties of the real thing, plus a few new tricks. These new cells could be put to work carrying oxygen or drugs through the body, sensing toxins, and other tasks.

Of all the superpowers in the animal kingdom, the squid’s ability to turn invisible is one of the coolest. And now scientists at UC Irvine have managed to recreate that in human cells for the first time, granting them tuneable transparency.

Imagine a device that lets people with diabetes use an app to give themselves a boost of insulin when they need it, without an injection. A prototype device can do just that, using electricity to control gene expression in encapsulated beta cells.

In organ transplants, rejection by the recipient's immune system is a risk. Now researchers at Yale have discovered a molecule that plays a role in triggering a slow-acting type of rejection, which could be blocked to give patients a better outlook.

In a clinical trial, a baby in Japan has received the world’s first successful transplant of new liver cells derived from embryonic stem cells. The “bridge treatment” kept the infant healthy until old enough to receive a liver transplant.

The immune system is one of the most powerful tools we have in the fight against cancer, but sometimes it needs a little extra help. In a new study, researchers have developed a new way to summon a wider variety of immune cells to target tumors.

Some bacteria inject toxins into host cells using a syringe-like appendage. Past research has found we could hijack that as a new drug delivery system, and now Max Planck scientists have developed a way to control the mechanism using light.

Cancer cranks cell division into overdrive with often deadly results. Now, researchers have identified a protein that plays a key role in the process, meaning it could be a future treatment target for a range of cancer types.