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Genes aren’t the sole driver instructing cells to build multicellular structures, tissues, and organs. In a paper published in Nature Communications, USC Stem Cell scientist Leonardo Morsut and Caltech computational biologist Matt Thomson characterize the influence of another important developmental driver: cell density, or how loosely or tightly cells are packed into a given space.
In both computational models and laboratory experiments, the team of scientists used cell density as an effective tool for controlling how mouse cells pattern themselves into complex structures.
“This paper represents progress towards our big picture goal of engineering synthetic tissues,” said Morsut, an assistant professor of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, and biomedical engineering at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
Summary: The Human Cell Atlas (HCA) consortium has published over 40 studies revealing groundbreaking insights into human biology through large-scale mapping of cells. These studies cover diverse areas such as brain development, gut inflammation, and COVID-19 lung responses, while also showcasing the power of AI in understanding cellular mechanisms.
By profiling over 100 million cells from 10,000 individuals, HCA is building a “Google Maps” for cell biology to transform diagnostics, drug discovery, and regenerative medicine. The initiative emphasizes diversity, including underrepresented populations, to ensure a globally inclusive understanding of health and disease.
Summary: Autism-linked SHANK3 gene mutations disrupt not only neurons but also oligodendrocytes, essential for producing myelin, which insulates nerve fibers. This damage reduces brain signal efficiency and impairs behavior.
Using gene therapy, researchers successfully repaired these cells in a mouse model, restoring their function and myelin production. They validated their findings with human-derived stem cells, confirming similar impairments and repair mechanisms.
This discovery highlights a significant role for oligodendrocytes in autism and opens the door for innovative treatments targeting myelin dysfunction. The study underscores both the biological complexity of autism and the promise of genetic therapies for intervention.
We converted the calculations in Morgan Levine and Steve Horvath’s famous research paper on phenotypic age into a free biological age calculator.
It’s a great (cheap) alternative to $400 epigenetic age tests and means you can test more frequently to see if longevity interventions are actually…
This free biological age calculator is based on a pioneering paper by longevity experts Dr. Morgan Levine and Dr. Steve Horvath.
Can therapy rewire the brain? For individuals struggling with both depression and obesity, a new Stanford Medicine study says yes—when the therapy is the right fit. Researchers found that cognitive behavioral therapy focused on problem-solving reduced depression symptoms in a third of participants and altered their brain activity in ways that could predict longer-term benefits. The findings have been published in Science Translational Medicine.
Depression affects millions of people worldwide and becomes particularly challenging to treat when paired with obesity, a condition that complicates recovery and worsens outcomes. Previous research has suggested that brain regions associated with cognitive control—areas responsible for regulating emotions and behaviors—might influence how individuals respond to therapy.
This study aimed to determine whether a therapy specifically designed to engage these brain circuits could lead to sustained improvements in depression symptoms, particularly in individuals with comorbid depression and obesity. The researchers also investigated whether early changes in brain activity could predict long-term therapeutic success, paving the way for more personalized treatment strategies.
Basically bio electricity once controlled could offer eternal life for humans because we could simply use the electricity to have longer if not indefinite lifespans that don’t require as much food for energy.
In the near future, birth defects, traumatic injuries, limb loss and perhaps even cancer could be cured through bioelectricity—electrical signals that communicate to our cells how to rebuild themselves. This innovative idea has been tested on flatworms and frogs by biologist Michael Levin, whose research investigates how bioelectricity provides the blueprint for how our bodies are built—and how it could be the future of regenerative medicine.
Levin is a professor of biology at Tufts University and director of the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology.
It’s been more than three decades, but still there are only two treatments for a stroke: either rapid use of a clot-busting medication called tPA or surgical removal of a clot from the brain with mechanical thrombectomy. However, only 5% to 13% percent of stroke cases are actually eligible for these interventions.
“We need to be persistent with our research to find a new therapy for stroke,” says Rajkumar Verma, M.Pharm., Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Neuroscience at UConn School of Medicine working in cross-campus collaboration with Professor Raman Bahal Ph.D. of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the UConn School of Pharmacy. “Stroke research is hard and challenging to do. But without trying we won’t make progress. We need to keep trying. UConn is determined to keep trying.”
In addition to being life-threatening, stroke is the major cause of long-term disability worldwide.
Illinois researchers have found an unbelievable link between infection with Covid and cancer regression where tumors decrease in size or extent.
Using animals and tissue from humans, scientists observed that the RNA molecules of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is responsible for the disease, triggered the development of a special cell in the immune system that has anti-cancer properties.
Known as “inducible nonclassical monocytes” or “I-NCMs,” these special cells attack cancer cells and could be used to treat cancers that are resistant to current therapies, according to Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute scientists.
From repairing deadly brain bleeds to tackling tumors with precise chemotherapy, micro/nano-robots (MNRs) are a promising, up-and-coming tool that have the power to substantially advance health care. However, this tool still has difficulty navigating within the human body—a limitation that has prevented it from entering clinical trials.
Mathematical models are crucial to the optimal design and navigation of MNRs, but the current models are inadequate. Now, new, promising research from the University of Saskatchewan (USask) may allow MNRs to overcome the limitations that previously prevented their widespread use.
USask College of Engineering professor Dr. Chris Zhang (Ph. D.) and two Ph.D. students (Lujia Ding, N.N Hu) along with two USask alumni (Dr. Bing Zhang (Ph. D.), Dr. R. Y. Yin (Ph. D.)) are the first team to develop a highly accurate mathematical model that optimizes the design of MNRs which improves their navigation, allowing them to travel efficiently through the bloodstream. Their work was recently published in Nature Communications.
