Mapping the Membrane

From transporting substances to and from the cell to blocking pathogens, the cell membrane is on the front line of many key functions. Studying this fragile structure is difficult, but a new technique, based on labelling with stable isotopes of hydrogen, has recently enabled detailed investigations of the cell membrane in a living, intact bacterial cell. A cross-section of Bacillus subtilis shows the cell membrane, formed by two layers of lipids (in blue and red), between the cell wall (above) and the cytoplasm, containing proteins (orange), DNA and RNA (green). Altering the ratio of hydrogen atoms and their stable isotope, deuterium, in membrane lipids affects the way that neutrons, neutral subatomic particles, are scattered by the membrane, allowing nanoscale structures inside it to be revealed. This technique could unlock a new depth of understanding of the structure and function of cellular membranes, with a wide range of potential applications.

Written by Emmanuelle Briolat

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A great article on the topic of ‘detoxing’, especially for laymen and laywomen who are not well versed in the scientific methodology 

Some great excerpts below!

“In 2009, a network of scientists assembled by the UK charity Sense about Science contacted the manufacturers of 15 products sold in pharmacies and supermarkets that claimed to detoxify. The products ranged from dietary supplements to smoothies and shampoos. When the scientists asked for evidence behind the claims, not one of the manufacturers could define what they meant by detoxification, let alone name the toxins.”

“You can go on a seven-day detox diet and you’ll probably lose weight, but that’s nothing to do with toxins, it’s because you would have starved yourself for a week.”

“To understand even shampoo you need to have PhD in biochemistry,but a lot of people don’t have that. If it seems reasonable and plausible and invokes a familiar concept, like detoxing, then we’re happy to go with it.”

How sad. Do let me know if you want to discuss specific areas in this topic because I read a lot around food marketing and eating behaviour. 

#pseudoscience

How many did you know? All worth reading more about!!

11 New Facts Science Has Revealed About The Body

1. Hundreds of genes spring to life after you die - and they keep functioning for up to four days. 

2. Livers grow by almost half during waking hours. 

3. The root cause of eczema has finally been identified.

4. We were wrong - the testes are connected to the immune system after all. 

5. The causes of hair loss and greying are linked, and for the first time, scientists have identified the cells responsible.

6. A brand new human organ has been classified - the mesentery - an organ that’s been hiding in plain sight in our digestive system this whole time.

7. An unexpected new lung function has been found - they also play a key role in blood production, with the ability to produce more than 10 million platelets (tiny blood cells) per hour.

8. Your appendix might actually be serving an important biological function- and one that our species isn’t ready to give up just yet.

9. The brain literally starts eating itself when it doesn’t get enough sleep. brain to clear a huge amount of neurons and synaptic connections away.

10. Neuroscientists have discovered a whole new role for the brain’s cerebellum - it could actually play a key role in shaping human behaviour.

11. Our gut bacteria are messing with us in ways we could never have imagined.  Neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s might actually start out in the gut, rather than the brain, and there’s mounting evidence that the human microbiome could be to blame for chronic fatigue syndrome.

The Living Gut

Our gut plays host to millions of harmless bacteria that make up our gut microbiome, which plays important roles in our immune and nervous systems, and our metabolism. In order to analyse this relationship further, researchers visualised six different Bacteroides bacterial species in the mouse gut by genetically engineering them to each produce a unique fluorescent protein. The team could then pinpoint where in the gut each type of bacteria was located (pictured) and control the activity of specific bacterial genes. These types of tools are an important starting point in addressing questions about the relationship between the microbiome and us, and could possibly advance research into how normal gut bacteria can be used for therapeutic benefits.

Written by Katie Panteli

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The tightest of all the knots. 😂😂 ✏️: @sketchingscience  #science #biology #chromosomes #DNA #sciencealert #funny #knots #headphones http://ift.tt/2tJ7ATB

Know Your Cephalopods!

Know Your Cephalopods!

An Art Print Explaining the Anatomical Differences of Cephalopod Tentacles and Beaks

The deepest sin against the human mind is to believe things without evidence.

Thomas Huxley

Meet Twiggy

What makes us the shape we are? That’s a big question in biology, and it’s one that these fruit fly maggots (pupae) are helping scientists to answer. The bottom one is a normal pupa, fat and plump, while parts of the upper two have an unusual ‘twiggy’ shape. These twiggy regions correspond to areas that have been genetically modified to switch off a gene called Obstructor-E (Obst-E), which encodes one of the proteins making up the sturdy ‘skin’ (cuticle) of a maggot. Usually, the cuticle of a thin, wriggly maggot shrinks lengthwise and expands widthwise as it changes into a pupa. The lack of Obst-E changes the physical properties of the cuticle so it can’t expand properly to create the characteristic plump shape. Although humans don’t go through a pupal stage, similar genes and physical forces might also be involved in creating tubular structures within our bodies, such as the gut.

Written by Kat Arney

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Vicious Vesicles

Up to a third of women have group B Streptococcus bacteria (the grey cells, pictured) in their vaginas, and while the microbes rarely cause problems they have been linked to preterm birth in some pregnant women. Intriguingly, such mothers rarely show signs of infection in the uterus itself. Scientists have now figured out how the bacteria might be causing problems at a distance. The bugs produce large numbers of tiny, toxin-containing, membrane-bound sacs called vesicles (seen surrounding the bacteria, coloured pink) that can increase the destructive capacity of the bugs – like grenades launched from the bacterial Humvee. And the small size of the vesicles means they can travel more easily than the bacteria themselves. Thus damage could occur in the uterus with no bugs in the immediate vicinity. Sure enough, when pregnant mice received intrauterine doses of these vesicles without the bugs, most of their pups were stillborn or premature.

Written by Ruth Wililams

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Steve Miller at Robin Rice Gallery

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Beautifully Colorful and Amazing Images of Insect Appendages

Igor Siwanowicz, a neurobiologist with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Farm Research Campus, takes masterfully crafted photos of some of nature’s tiniest animals, offering his audience a magnified view of these creatures, painting them in a beautiful light that otherwise might not be the case. A perfect example of this would be his most recent photos, which provide immensely beautiful and detailed images of insects and their appendages, via a laser scanning microscope. When you’ve got an insect crawling on you, and you’re scared out of your mind, just remember these images.

For more of Igor’s photography, follow him on Facebook.

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Posted by Dan Donnarumma

5 things you didn’t know about…silk

1. Created and patented by Polish priest and inventor Casimir Zeglen in 1897, who initially tested the material by firing into wooden planks before realising that wood has no resemblance to flesh, leading to testing silk.

2. Kraig Biocraft has genetically altered silkworms to produce a spider silk approximation and the US Army has provided an initial US$100,000 grant to develop Kraig Biocraft’s material, named Dragon Silk, as an alternative to Kevlar for use in body armour.

3. Dragon Silk’s has a strength of 2GPa and elasticity of 30–40%.

4. The shimmering appearance for which silk comes from the fibre’s triangular prism-like structure, allowing silk cloth to refract incoming light at different angles.

5. Current world silk production is estimated to be around 125,000 metric tonnes. China produces about 80% of the world’s silk and India more than 10%.

To find out more about the history of silk, read our upcoming Material of the Month feature by Khai Trung Le in the November issue.

100 years of care, education, and activism. Margaret Sanger, Ethel Sanger and Fania Mindell opened the first birth control clinic 100 years ago on 10/16/16. 

Planned Parenthood is #100YearsStrong!

This week’s collaboration with Nerdcore Medical is an infographic on the immune system. You can check out the full size version here.