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Molecular Decrowding by Tissue Expansion Allows Precise Determination of the Spatial Distribution of Synaptic Proteins at a Nanometer Scale by exTEM

To understand how the molecular machinery of synapses works, it is essential to determine an inventory of synaptic proteins at a subsynaptic resolution. Nevertheless, synaptic proteins are difficult to localize because of the low expression levels and limited access to immunostaining epitopes. Here, we report on the exTEM (epitope-exposed by expansion-transmission electron microscopy) method that enables the imaging of synaptic proteins in situ. This method combines TEM with nanoscale resolution and expandable tissue-hydrogel hybrids for enhanced immunolabeling with better epitope accessibility via molecular decrowding, allowing successful probing of the distribution of various synapse-organizing proteins. We propose that exTEM can be employed for studying the mechanisms underlying the regulation of synaptic architecture and function by providing nanoscale molecular distribution of synaptic proteins in situ. We also envision that exTEM is widely applicable for investigating protein nanostructures located in densely packed environments by immunostaining of commercially available antibodies at nanometer resolution.

New advanced imaging technology enables detailed disease mapping in tissue samples

Researchers from Aarhus University—in a major international collaboration—have developed a groundbreaking method that can provide more information from the tissue samples doctors take from patients every day.

The new technique, called Pathology-oriented multiPlexing or PathoPlex, can look under a microscope at over 100 different proteins in the same small piece of tissue—instead of just 1–2 at a time, as is done now.

The technology, which has just been published in the journal Nature, combines advanced image processing with machine learning to map complex disease processes in detail.

How Google’s Android earthquake detection system can save lives

If you’re in an earthquake-prone area and own an Android phone, it could save your life. It may even have already done so. The Android Earthquake Alert (AEA) system, which began in the U.S. in 2020 and has since expanded globally, sends an automatic alert approximately one minute before the ground starts shaking. That can be enough time to take cover or warn others nearby.

In a new paper published in Science, Google explains how its , which is built into most Android phones, works. They also share insights from its first years of operation and the improvements they’ve made.

Between 2021 and 2024, the AEA system sent warnings to millions of people in 98 countries. This included more than half a million people in Turkey and Syria who received an alert on February 6, 2023, just before a magnitude 7.8 struck. Overall, Google’s researchers report that alerts were issued for 1,279 events, with only three of them being , two of which were triggered by thunderstorms.