The cytoskeleton is a structure that not only helps cells maintain their shape and internal organisation, but also enables them to perform functions like movement and migration to sites far from the place where they originated. ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 12, 2019
0
47
The ability of cells to sense and respond to their mechanical environment is critical for many cellular processes but the molecular mechanisms underlying cellular mechanosensitivity are still unclear. Researchers at the University ...
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 18, 2020
0
19
Make them tougher by making them weaker.
Materials Science
Mar 3, 2020
0
12
A cell is rarely on its own, because cells require good contacts to communicate with one another, to differentiate from others and to multiply. For this, cells have developed sophisticated mechanisms, the details of which ...
Biochemistry
Jan 14, 2016
0
135
The great ecological success of spiders is often substantiated by the evolution of silk and webs. Biologists of the Kiel University and the University of Bern now found an alternative adaptation to hunting prey: hairy adhesive ...
Plants & Animals
May 16, 2013
0
0
Images of nanoscale structures inside living cells are in increasing demand for the insights into cellular structure and function that they can reveal. So far, the tools for capturing such images have been limited, but researchers ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 5, 2023
0
3
Cell-cell junctions are important for communication, transport, signalling, waste evacuation and water homeostasis. An European project has investigated how biophysical forces can influence the fulfilment of this vast range ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 19, 2012
0
0
Infections caused by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus have a significant impact on human health, with tens of thousands of hospital patients dying every year from infections due to the S. aureus "superbug." Stopping the ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 22, 2024
0
59
Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchoring is an important post-translational modification, which tethers non-transmembrane proteins to the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane (PM). It participates in many biological processes ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 29, 2022
0
18
Lizbeth Prieto-López, PhD student working with Professor John Williams in the Mechanics, Materials and Design division, is designing a novel switching mechanism for adhesion that uses Van der Waals forces.
Materials Science
Jun 25, 2015
0
6
