Scientists have been curious about how parasitic plants like Phtheirospermum japonicum (P. japonicum) latch onto their hosts, like Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana). This sneaky plant creates a special structure called a haustorium to invade its host and form a vascular connection. Think of it like a secret handshake between two plants. But how exactly do they commu...
Pancreatic cancer, specifically pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), is notorious for its complexity and grim outlook. Within this disease, M2 macrophages are key players, but their exact role remains a mystery. Researchers decided to dig deeper into how M2 macrophages interact with cancer cells and their environment. They used advanced techniques to study the ge...
The way muscles react to intense exercise can be different for people with type 2 diabetes. This is what a recent study found out. It looked at how high-intensity interval training (HIIT) affects muscle cells at a very detailed level. The study focused on how these cells change in response to exercise. This was done by looking at muscle samples from people with and w...
Bone tumors, specifically giant cell tumors of bone (GCTB), are tricky. They are not made up of just one type of cell. Instead, they are a mix of different cells. This mix makes them hard to understand and even harder to treat. To make things worse, these tumors are not uniform. They vary from one person to another. This variation is what makes them so challenging. ...
Microsporidia are tiny, single-celled parasites that can cause infections in people. They are known to target the small intestine. One type of microsporidia, Encephalitozoon intestinalis, is particularly good at infecting humans. These parasites have a sneaky way of hiding inside cells called macrophages. Macrophages are supposed to fight infections, but in this case...
Asthma is a tricky condition that affects millions worldwide. It involves inflammation and narrowing of the airways, making breathing difficult. Scientists have been working hard to understand what causes asthma and how it works. One powerful tool they use is called single-cell RNA sequencing, or scRNA-seq for short. This method lets researchers look at individual ce...
In the shadowy corners of tumors, a microscopic world is at play. Scientists have become curious about the bacteria and other microbes that live within tumors. These microbes are hard to see without powerful tools, but they're there and doing something in the body. Tiny bacteria inside tumors can change how cancer starts, gets worse, and spreads. They can also chang...
Ever wondered how scientists study baby mouse skin? It's all about the right tools! Researchers tested three enzymes—Trypsin, TrypLE, and Liberase—to break down baby mouse skin cells for closer examination. Trypsin and TrypLE were great at getting the deeper skin cells, but Liberase brought out the top layer cells better. Even though all three gave similar data, the ...
Did you know that uveal melanoma, a rare eye cancer, is actually the most common type of eye cancer? It forms when melanocytes, the cells that give our eyes color, go rogue. Local treatments work well, but the real trouble starts when the cancer spreads. More than half of patients face this scary scenario within a decade. Traditional therapies haven't been very helpf...