Did you know tiny plastic bits, called microplastics, are all over our rivers and streams? Scientists wanted to understand how these microplastics move near the bottom of these waterways. They used a special tool called particle tracking velocimetry to watch four types of microplastics move in a lab
When plants like Arabidopsis encounter L-glutamate at their root tips, it causes significant changes in their root structure. But how they sense this amino acid is a mystery. Scientists know that GLUTAMATE RECEPTOR-LIKE (GLR) proteins act as channels that let calcium in when they detect amino acids,
Picture this: scientists trying to follow tiny dancers on a bustling stage. In this case, the dancers are CB2 receptors, and the stage is the surface of living cells. To make these receptors visible, researchers used a special light-up tag called RO7304924. This tag attaches only to CB2 receptors, m
Have you ever wondered how we can spot chemicals in our environment? Enter electrochemical sensors! These clever gadgets use electricity to identify specific substances, playing a crucial role in healthcare and environmental protection. But how are these sensors made? Two common methods are screen-p
Brittle bone disorders, or FBDs, can cause people to break bones easily. Scientists are trying to figure out which genes are responsible for these conditions. One way they are doing this is by studying zebrafish. These tiny fish share many bone-building genes with humans. Researchers used a tool cal
Have you ever wondered how tiny microbes in your body can influence your health? Scientists have been using mass spectrometry to study these microbiomes for a while now. Recently, they've started to harness the power of metaproteomics, which looks at the proteins produced by these microbes. This is
You know how proteins in your body can have sugar molecules attached to them? This process is called glycosylation. It's super important for things like making proteins strong and helping cells stick to each other. But sometimes, these sugar coatings can go wonky. When they do, it's linked to seriou
Bees and their tiny gut bacteria hold a fascinating story. Social bees, like honeybees and bumblebees, rely heavily on their gut microbes, which they share among their colony. Recent research has dug deeper into one such bacterium, Gilliamella, found in the guts of different bee species. Scientists
Have you ever wondered how scientists measure heat in super small samples? One method they use is called plasmon energy expansion thermometry, or PEET. This method helps them see how hot different parts of a tiny sample are. Recently, scientists checked out how well PEET works in measuring the tempe
Imagine you're trying to find out how well a new medicine sticks to something in your body, like a sponge. Scientists often use human serum albumin (HSA) for this. Think of HSA as the sponge that helps carry drugs around your body. Recently, scientists created a new tool using HSA stuck to tiny magn
