Cancer cells turbocharge themselves by stealing the energy-producing units from neurons in tumours, scientists report today in Nature 1. This act of thievery seems to give cancer cells a boost to help them survive when they metastasize, or spread to distant organs.

The findings show that cancer cells siphon off neurons’ mitochondria — organelles that generate most of a cell’s energy — through ultrathin tubes that grow between the two types of cell. The purloined mitochondria increase cancer cells’ ability to withstand the stress of shooting through blood vessels during metastasis.

“Now we have a new culprit for metastasis, which means we have a new target to block metastasis,” says study co-author Simon Grelet, a cancer neurobiologist at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. “And metastasis is what make cancers so deadly.”

The theft probably helps the cells to spread around the body, and preventing it could provide a path to treatment, researchers say.

In light of recent advancements in gallium-based liquid metal droplets (LMDs)-based electronics, this review outlines their unique properties, various preparation methods, and recent applications. Fu…

What could be the reason why, besides scratching the belly, scratching and stroking the ears is such a special experience for the dog? We’ll tell you!

Dyson Farming’s 26-acre glasshouse in Lincolnshire is already home to 1,225,000 strawberry plants, which are grown all year round, to produce over 1,250 tonnes of high-quality British strawberries.

Dyson is always looking to maximise efficiency of the farms and the quality of their produce. The most recent development in the glasshouse is Dyson’s Hybrid Vertical Growing System, the trial of which has just finished. It exceeded all expectations, boosting yields by 250% whilst optimising the quality of the fruit.

I was born without lower arms and legs, so I’ve been around prosthetics of all shapes and sizes for as long as I can remember.

I’ve actively avoided those designed for upper arms for most of my adult life, so have never used a bionic hand before.

But when I visited a company in California, which is seeking to take the technology to the next level, I was intrigued enough to try one out — and the results were, frankly, mind-bending.

Prosthetic limbs have come a long way since the early days when they were fashioned out of wood, tin and leather.

Modern-day replacement arms and legs are made of silicone and carbon fibre, and increasingly they are bionic, meaning they have various electronically controlled moving parts to make them more useful to the user. (Feb 2024)

BBC Click reporter Paul Carter tries out a high-tech prosthetic promising a ‘full range of human motion’

New Frontier Aerospace says it has put its 3D-printed Mjölnir rocket engine through a series of successful hot-fire tests.

How Bruin genetic scientists are reawakening hibernating follicles.

RESTON, Va. — The U.S. Geological Survey today published the first map of the prospective locations of naturally-occurring geologic hydrogen resources in the contiguous United States, reflecting a systematic analysis of geologic conditions favorable for hydrogen that draws on a newly developed methodology.

Preclinical studies suggest that creatine monohydrate (CrM) improves cognition and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) biomarkers. However, there is currently no clinical evidence demonstrating the effects of CrM in patients with AD.

The National Stem Cell Foundation, which is based in Louisville, has been awarded a $3.1 million grant from NASA to continue research on brain cell behavior in space as a way to find treatments and cures for neurogenerative conditions, and Kentucky is investing $300,000 toward the project as part of a 10% match.

Kentucky’s portion was allocated in the 2024 legislative session in Senate Bill 1. The announcement was made Wednesday, March 26 at the Kentucky State Capitol.

Pointing to the space research Kentucky students have done at the Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics and NASA’s presence at Morehead State University, Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said it was easy for him and his colleagues to support this type of research in hopes of making Kentucky a hub for it.