https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. The sugar glucose, which is the main source of energy in almost every living cell, has been revealed in a Stanford Medicine study to also be a master regulator of tissue differentiation—the process by which stem cells give rise to specialized cells that make up all the body's tissues. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-glucose-life-reveals-role-master.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 26 Mar 2025 12:02:00 EDT news662209316 Blood vessels engineered from stem cells could help solve several research and clinical problems, from potentially providing a more comprehensive platform to screen if drug candidates can cross from the blood stream into the brain to developing lab-grown vascular tissue to support heart transplants, according to Penn State researchers. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-keys-blood-vessels.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 21 Mar 2024 15:40:04 EDT news630254402 Bricklayer, banker, teacher—choosing a career is one of the most exciting and important decisions in our lives. At the beginning of embryonic development, our cells are also faced with this decision. Some of them become blood cells, others muscle cells and still others become nerve cells. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-scientists-molecules-bmp-fgf-cell.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 19 Sep 2023 09:38:03 EDT news614335082 A well-functioning immune system is essential for protection against infections. However, with increasing age, the functioning of the immune system diminishes, which is also due to age-related damage in hematopoietic (blood) stem cells. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute on Aging—Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) in Jena, Germany, have now discovered how the co-activator of the Hippo signaling pathway, the TAZ protein, can protect hematopoietic stem cells from aging and thus prevent them from loss of function. Moreover, hematopoietic stem cells age very heterogeneously. In addition to old cells, one can also find "youthful" cells when the protective mechanism has worked effectively. https://phys.org/news/2022-10-blood-stem-cells-taz-protein.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 10 Oct 2022 08:41:04 EDT news584610061 Diabetes is characterized by persistent high blood sugar levels that occur when certain cells in the pancreas—the insulin-producing β cells—are destroyed or are no longer able to secrete insulin. Researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) have succeeded in showing how part of the pancreatic α and δ cells, which usually produce other hormones, can take over from the damaged β cells by starting to produce insulin. By observing how these cells manage to modify their function by partially changing their identity, the researchers discovered a phenomenon of cell plasticity unknown until now. Furthermore, beyond the pancreas, such processes might characterize many other cell types in the body. These results, to be read in Nature Cell Biology, lead to envision entirely new therapeutic strategies that could harness the body's own regenerative capacities. https://phys.org/news/2018-10-cells-jobs-diabetes.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 22 Oct 2018 11:00:01 EDT news459419738 Many things go wrong in cells during the development of cancer. At the heart of the chaos are often genetic switches that control the production of new cells. In a particularly aggressive form of leukemia, called acute myeloid leukemia, a genetic switch that regulates the maturation of blood stem cells into red and white blood cells goes awry. Normally, this switch leads to appropriate numbers of white and red blood cells. But patients with acute myeloid leukemia end up with a dangerous accumulation of blood stem cells and a lack of red and white blood cells—cells that are needed to supply the body with oxygen and fight infections. https://phys.org/news/2017-05-closer-genetic-cancer.html Biochemistry Mon, 22 May 2017 15:00:06 EDT news414683105 An international team of researchers led by ETH scientists has been studying the factors influencing the development of different blood cells. Their research shows that certain molecular mechanisms are not as relevant as previously assumed. This finding helps to improve our understanding of diseases such as leukemia and anemia. https://phys.org/news/2016-07-cell-fates.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 27 Jul 2016 09:56:45 EDT news388832193 A co-author of a Japanese study that promised a revolutionary way to create stem cells has called for the headline-grabbing research to be retracted over claims its data was faulty. https://phys.org/news/2014-03-stem-cell-scientist-retraction.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 11 Mar 2014 04:13:49 EDT news313730012 Picture two charged particles in a vacuum. Thanks to laws of elementary electrostatics, we can easily calculate the force these particles exert upon one another, and therefore predict their movements. https://phys.org/news/2012-11-vacuum-movement-particles-complex-media.html General Physics Wed, 28 Nov 2012 11:12:31 EST news273323541