eLife

Insect cyborgs may sound like something straight out of the movies, but hybrid insect computer robots, as they are scientifically called, could pioneer a new future for robotics. It involves using electrical stimuli to control an insect’s movement. Now, an international research group has conducted a study on the relationship between electrical stimulation in stick insects' leg muscles and the resulting torque (the twisting force that causes the leg to move).

Researchers have identified a new pathway by which sugar is released by symbiotic algae. This pathway involves the largely overlooked cell wall, showing that this structure not only protects the cell but plays an important role in symbiosis and carbon circulation in the ocean.

- DGIST Professor Suh Byung-chang's research team identified the regulation mechanism of calcium channels, which are important for signal transmission between nerve cells - A new clue to the development of substances for treating mental and neurological diseases

- Identifying the entire genome of the primitive fish, little skate, and proposing the molecular mechanism for the evolution of movement - Joint Research of DGIST · Seoul National University · New York University Medical School... Published in SCI-level journals

A collaborative research group has discovered electrical brain-wave patterns given off during social interactions in mice. They also observed that mice showing signs of stress, depression, or autism lacked these brain waves. The results reveal more about the mechanics underlying brain activity when socializing.

Cochlear implants help deaf patients in hearing, yet the current technology remains far from perfect. A research team led by scientists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has shown that neonatally deafened rats could be trained with cochlear implant stimulation to restore the ability to locate the directions of sound origins. The finding implies that shortcomings in current cochlear implant technology, rather than the lack of auditory experience in early childhood, maybe the reason why cochlear implant patients usually have poor spatial hearing performance.

A research team, affiliated with South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) established an advanced direct conversion strategy to generate iMNs from human fibroblasts in large-scale with high purity, thereby providing a cell source for treatment of SCI.

Proteins play roles by interacting with various other proteins. Therefore, interaction analysis is an indispensable technique for studying the function of proteins. In this research, we have developed a biotinylation enzyme, AirID, using an ancestral enzyme reconstruction algorithm. AirID is a highly active biotinylation enzyme with low toxicity. By using AirID, comprehensive biotinylation of proteins interacting with a target protein in cells was achieved when the target protein was expressed as a fusion protein with AirID.

New understandings of how lipids function within tears could lead to better drugs for treating dry eye disease.

New insight on how malaria cells shield themselves from destruction opens avenues for the development of novel antimalarial drugs.

The female of a sex-role reversed cave insect species Neotrogla has evolved a switching valve to receive more semen during mating, when a penis-like structure in the female anchors in the male “vagina.”

Researchers at Nagoya University develop fruit fly model to explore how learned auditory cues alter mating behavior and sexual preference.

Type XVII collagen (COL17) is found to regulate the proliferation of epidermal cells and therefore the thickness of juvenile and aged skin, suggesting COL17 can potentially be used for future anti-aging strategies.

Enzyme follows a two-step verification system before cutting and repairing DNA damage.

An improved understanding of how the circulatory system is formed is the first step to combating multiple diseases characterized by vascular issues.