Symmetry and asymmetry are fundamental properties of nature. Seen from above, butterflies have left-right symmetry, while male fiddler crabs show dramatic asymmetry. This is also the case for the fundamental units of life: ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 25, 2020
0
73
Scientists have known for a decade that cells that fuse with others to perform their essential functions—such as muscle cells that join together to make fibers—form long projections that invade the territory of their ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 26, 2020
0
89
Photopharmacology investigates the use of light to switch the effect of drugs on and off. Now, for the first time, scientific teams from Jena, Munich, and New York have succeeded in using this method to control a component ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 15, 2020
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383
Mechanical properties of the cell cortex—a thin network of actin filaments under the cell membrane—regulate shape changes during cell division, cell migration and tissue development. Two forms of the molecular motor myosin-II ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 22, 2020
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4
If you're on skis, you want to avoid avalanches. But when the right kind happen in your brain, you shouldn't worry. You won't feel them. They're probably to your benefit.
Molecular & Computational biology
Apr 20, 2020
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297
A tiny chemical modification on one of the most abundant and important proteins in cells, actin, has long been somewhat mysterious, its function not fully understood, but scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine at ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 8, 2020
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67
Actin filaments have several important functions inside cells. For one, they support the cell membrane by binding to it. However, scientists did not know exactly how the actin interacts with the membrane lipids. Simulations ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 3, 2020
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18
Using microscopic video analysis, a research group from Kumamoto University, Japan has provided deeper insight into the mechanics of plant cell division. The video reveals that the shape of phragmoplasts—cell structures ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 28, 2020
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13
Tropomodulin maintains the fine balance between the protein machineries responsible for cell movement and morphogenesis. Disturbances in this balance are common in many diseases, for example, invasive cancers.
Molecular & Computational biology
Feb 17, 2020
0
21
Many amphibians and fish are able to change their color in order to better adapt to their environment. Munich-based scientists have now investigated the molecular mechanisms in the cytoskeleton necessary for this and revealed ...
Biotechnology
Feb 12, 2020
0
25
