Biology

Researchers analyze bone marrow-derived and peripheral blood-derived fibrin clots showing that the former contains more growth factors. They then show that bone marrow-derived fibrin clots can be used for meniscus suturing, even in the inner-most avascular regions, and with a 2-year post-operative follow-up, they show bone marrow-derived fibrin clots support healing better than their peripheral blood counterparts.

A new non-invasive technique scans “chemical fingerprints” to see if ordinary cells’ reprogramming into stem cells is on track and verify transformation success by matching “print” patterns.

Many waterbird species which travel across hemispheres are affected by a wide range of environmental and anthropogenic factors. A first-of-its-kind study along the China coast, jointly conducted by the Science Unit of Lingnan University in Hong Kong (LU) and the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society (HKBWS), quantified the 20-year wintering population trends of 42 waterbirds species in the Deep Bay area to evaluate the impacts of different threats along the East Asian-Australasian flyway (EAAF), providing important baseline information and recommendations on conservation.

A research group has discovered a new gene that aids in the fight against type 2 diabetes. The gene, known as L-IST, reduces Selenoprotein P, too much of which increases insulin resistance, and can be increased through drinking tea.

- CTCELLS Co., Ltd., Selected for '200 Baby Unicorns' Organized by MSS & KISED - Successfully Attracts 5 Billion Won Investment through Series A Investment Attraction

GenScript Biotech Corporation ("GenScript", Stock Code: 1548.HK), a world-leading life sciences research and application service and product provider, and Duke-NUS Medical School, a premier, research intensive medical school, announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trade Office has issued a notice of allowance for the patent application for a novel Surrogate Virus Neutralisation Technology (sVNT). Neutralising antibodies have been scientifically shown to play major role in preventing infection by blocking the virus from infecting the cells.

A signalling protein thought to be able to treat liver damage in paracetamol toxicity could actually worsen it. Instead, Singapore scientists discovered, blocking its effects could be the way forward.

Cryo-electron microscopy and computer simulations uncover how a cellular protein helps transport omega-3 fatty acids to the brain and eye, with implications for drug development.

Researchers from Hiroshima University now have a better understanding of the mechanism underlying how certain bacteria can transfer genetic material across taxonomic kingdoms, including to fungi and protists. Their work, published in Frontiers in Microbiology, could have applications in changing how bacteria perform certain functions or react to changes in their environment.

A team of scientists has shown that the healing of skin blisters is driven by hair follicle stem cells, which delay their own development in the process.

• Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly aggressive type of brain cancer. Even with current standard of care, 50% of patients die within 15 months of diagnosis. • This complex cancer is difficult to treat due to its location, structure, ability to spread quickly, high recurrence rate and severely limited treatment options. • GBM tumours can look identical under the microscope but respond differently to the same treatment. • With a national grant of about S$10 million, researchers in Singapore are working with overseas collaborators to address these challenges and develop new diagnostic and treatment options so patients can receive effective targeted therapy.

Publication bias, or the tendency of researchers and journals to not publish uninteresting findings, plagues much of the natural sciences and especially biomedical research. Hiroshima University researchers have developed a meta-analytic technique exploiting publicly available transcriptome databases that avoids the problem—and in so doing, discovered four genes previously unknown to be associated with responding to low-oxygen stress.

The chances of restoring fertility through sperm stem cell transplant are as random as a coin toss. But a team of scientists developed a new strategy that serves as a “weighted coin” that can favorably rig the odds to achieve outcomes where fertility is successfully restored.

Researchers from Osaka City University find that when the larva nematode C. elegans is fed a diet of Bacillus subtilis var. natto, a bacteria used to ferment soy beans into the traditional Japanese food natto, upon reaching adulthood these worms are able to survive infections from the gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis longer than when fed a standard diet of non-pathogenic E. coli.

High-resolution genome structural analyses combined with large-scale simulations show the arrangements of the genome’s spool-like structures affecting gene expression.

Scientists have shown that the population of the Yakushima sika deer has declined due to natural factors, suggesting that the population can be regulated without culling.

Contributing to embryogenesis and pathogenesis through long-term in vivo molecular imaging 1. Development of a two-photon excitation light-sheet microscope which achieves low phototoxicity, an extended field of view, and high resolution for the observation of the growth of living organisms 2. Applications of the microscope demonstrate long-term time-lapse observations for a three-day span of the embryonic development of medaka fish

Scientists from Japan, Europe and the USA have described a pathway leading to the accelerated flowering of plants in low-nitrogen soils. These findings could eventually lead to increases in agricultural production.

In collaboration with Kanazawa University, researchers from Osaka City University used high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) to visualize at the nanometer level the movement of individual particles within the parasitic bacterium Mycoplasma mobile. After confirming the outline on the surface of the cell structure in an immobilized state with previous data gathered from electron microscopy, the team succeeded in visualizing the real-time movements of the internal structure by scanning the outside of the cell with HS-AFM.

Chuo University and Hokkaido University researchers have found that infants take less than a second to completely process visual information and have the same temporal limitation in processing visual information as seen in adults.

Single-cell gene studies are clarifying the roles of the brain’s specialised immune cell in Alzheimer’s disease and offer new avenues for treatment of this incurable condition.

A group of researchers carried out eDNA sequencing on jelly fish in the Florida Keys using a newly developed Fieldable eDNA sequencing kit to identify species that may be endangered, invasive or dangerous.

Scientists from Hokkaido University have discovered a novel defensive response to SARS-CoV-2 that involves the viral pattern recognition receptor RIG-I. Upregulating expression of this protein could strengthen the immune response in COPD patients.

Scientists from Hokkaido University have shown that an antigen-based test for quantifying SARS-CoV-2 in saliva samples is simple, rapid, and more conducive for mass-screening.

Scientists from Hokkaido University have used species survey and climate data to identify two marine biodiversity refugia in the Eastern Bering Sea – regions where species richness, community stability and climate stability are high.

Researchers have observed DNA spooling and unspooling in real time using CRISPR to attach fluorescent tags to very specific DNA points in living cells.

Upcoming Solar System exploration missions will search for extraterrestrial (ET) life, but ET life may not be like Earth life. A new mass spectrometry analysis technique may allow for process-based ways to find ET life that is compositionally alien.

A simple tool allows researchers to track how different subpopulations of the Plasmodium knowlesi parasite are changing over time.

A spray-on magnetic coat turns any object into a robot controlled by a magnetic field. The biocompatible robots can walk, crawl and roll, and switch motions on demand.

A spinning toy meets hydrodynamics and sets point-of-care diagnostics in motion.