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How necrotic cells contribute to the body's regeneration process

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Originally published by by Emily Packer, George Litchfield, eLife , on March 25, 2025   A necrotic Drosophila wing imaginal disc undergoing regeneration, showing NiA/NiCP (white) cells at a distance from the injury (green: GFP-labeled wing pouch cells, red: necrotic wound, white: caspase activity). Credit: Robin Harris (CC BY 4.0) Researchers have shed new light on how tissues in the body are repaired following the damage and premature death of tissue cells. Their study in fruit flies, which first appeared in eLife as a Reviewed Preprint and is now published as the final version, describes what the editors call fundamental discoveries with solid evidence for how dying (or necrotic ) cells contribute to tissue regeneration through a previously uncharacterized mechanism. It suggests that these cells play a role in signaling for the body to produce other types of cells that are involved in controlling natural cell death and inflammation , with findings that may have implica...
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An antibiotic effective against anthrax that has no detectable resistance, Northeastern research finds

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Originally published by Cyrus Moulton at Northeastern Global News on March 14, 2025 A doctoral student extracts antibiotics compound from bacterial cell extracts in a lab which contributed to the discovery of teixobactin. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University The antibiotic teixobactin — developed a decade ago by Northeastern University professors Kim Lewis and Slava Epstein in collaboration with university startup NovoBiotic — has already proven itself against MRSA and pneumonia . Now, anthrax can be added to the list , according to new research published in the journal ACS Infectious Diseases . “This is the first realistic countermeasure against an engineered bioweapon , since there is no resistance to the drug,” says Lewis, university distinguished professor and director of the Antimicrobial Discovery Center at Northeastern.  Teixobactin is unique as an antibiotic that has shown no detectable resistance .  The drug comes from an uncultured so...
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Studying structure of G protein-coupled receptor kinases could improve an array of drugs

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Originally published by Priyanka Naik, The Conversation , on March 10, 2025 The three domains of GRKs resemble a Pac-Man with a ponytail. Shown here is GRK2. Credit: Priyanka Naik, CC BY-ND Each cell in your body relies on precise communication with other cells to function properly . At the center of this process are the molecular switches that turn communication signals in the body on and off. These molecules are key players in health and disease . One such molecular switch is G protein-coupled receptor kinases , or GRKs for short. From vision to heart function and cell growth, GRKs play a vital role in maintaining physiological balance . When they go awry , they can contribute to cardiovascular disease , inflammatory illnesses like rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis, neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's , and multiple types of cancer . Their involvement in a broad range of diseases makes GRKs an attractive drug target . Around 30% to 40% of all drugs ...
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New biosensor powers itself, detects and kills bacteria to make water safe

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The biosensor uses an enzyme-based biofuel cell, antibodies called aptamers and a bacterial elimination mechanism to make water decontamination faster and easier. Originally published by Christopher McFadden at https://interestingengineering.com on Mar 02, 2025           Stock image of a biosensor.                                                  grechina/iStock A team of researchers has developed a new self-powered biosensor that can detect Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria in drinking water and destroy them in situ (on site). This discovery could have enormous ramifications for providing s afe drinking water worldwide . Traditional methods , such as culturing or polymerase chain reaction (PCR), are time-consuming and labor-intensive . They also require specialized equipment and trained sta...
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Sister cells' shared fate: How a cytoplasmic bridge triggers synchronized cell death

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Originally published by Bruno Geoffroy, University of Montreal , on February 25, 2025   Credit: Developmental Cell (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2025.01.002 Sister cells are a pair of cells that share the same mother cell. In a new study published in Developmental Cell , researchers led by Université de Montréal (UdeM) professor Greg FitzHarris show how the early mouse embryo gets rid of the defective or unneeded cells in pairs. "Such a mechanism could serve to ensure the elimination of cells with a common adverse history, such as DNA damage or aneuploidy, an abnormal number of chromosomes in cells known to be one of the main causes of infertility," said FitzHarris, a researcher at the UdeM-affiliated hospital research center, the CRCHUM. In the new study, first author Filip Vasilev, a former postdoctoral fellow in FitzHarris' laboratory, shows that abscission, the final step of cell division, is delayed in the early mouse embryo, leaving sister cells connected ...
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Brain-Muscle Crosstalk in COVID / Alzheimer

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Scientists identify a signaling pathway that triggers muscle fatigue in response to nervous system inflammation or infections like SARS-CoV-2. Originally published by Sneha Khedkar at The Scientist, on Jan 21, 2025 ABOVE: Nervous system infection or inflammation trigger brain-muscle signaling pathways that cause muscle fatigue. ©iStock,  Chinnapong In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic escalated, many universities shut down or reduced the capacities of research laboratorie s in an attempt to limit the spread of the virus. At Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis , developmental biologist Aaron Johnson was permitted one person in his lab to keep things running. Shuo Yang , then a postdoctoral researcher working on muscle developmental biology, stepped up. An immunologist by training, Yang, now at Fudan University, was curious to learn more about the virus that was wreaking havoc in the world. Since h is model organism—the fruit fly—was not naturally susce...
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Octopus arms have segmented nervous systems to power extraordinary movements

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The large nerve cord running down each octopus arm is separated into segments, giving it precise control over movements and creating a spatial map of its suckers. Originally published by By Matt Wood, Assistant Director of Communications, Biological Sciences Division, University of Chicago on January 15, 2025 Octopus bimaculoides. Credit: Cassady Olson Octopus arms move with incredible dexterity, bending, twisting, and curling with nearly infinite degrees of freedom. New research from the University of Chicago revealed that the nervous system circuitry that controls arm movement in octopuses is segmented, giving these extraordinary creatures precise control across all eight arms and hundreds of suckers to explore their environment, grasp objects, and capture prey. "If you're going to have a nervous system that's controlling such dynamic movement, that's a good way to set it up," said Clifton Ragsdale, Ph.D., Professor of Neurobiology at UChicago and seni...
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