Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Blog – Page 55

After more than five decades of mystery, scientists have finally unveiled the detailed structure and function of a long-theorized molecular machine in our mitochondria — the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier.

This microscopic gatekeeper controls how cells fuel themselves by transporting pyruvate, a key energy source, across mitochondrial membranes. Now visualized using cryo-electron microscopy, the carrier’s lock-like mechanism could be the key to tackling diseases like cancer, diabetes, and even hair loss. By blocking or modifying this gateway, researchers believe we could reroute how cells generate energy and develop powerful, targeted treatments.

Unlocking a Mitochondrial Mystery.

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It’s no wonder engineers have long dreamed of harnessing these powers in human-made structures. Now, scientists have combined fungus and bacteria to create a living material that stays alive for up to a month and can form bone-like structures. The researchers say this approach could one day be used to create structural components that repair themselves.

“We are excited about our results and look forward to engineering more complex and larger structures,” Chelsea Heveran at Montana State University, who led the study, told New Scientist. “When viability is sufficiently high, we could start really imparting lasting biological characteristics to the material that we care about, such as self-healing, sensing, or environmental remediation.”

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Researchers have long studied quantum entanglement to understand how photons appear to influence each other instantaneously.

This peculiar link first emerged when Albert Einstein pointed to what he called “spooky action at a distance,” suggesting that this peculiar behavior contradicted intuitive views of cause and effect.

The conversation around these phenomena has evolved through the decades.

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Measles, a highly contagious viral infection, continues to pose a significant public health threat worldwide. Despite the availability of effective vaccines, outbreaks persist, particularly in regions with low immunization rates. In 2023, the World Health Organization observed up to a 30-fold increase in measles cases in Europe. There are currently no treatment options for measles. Instead, patients must allow the virus to take its course and let the immune system naturally clear the infection.

Erica Ollmann Saphire, a structural biologist, and her research team at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology uncovered the structure of the measles glycoprotein and engineered a neutralizing antibody against it. This therapy could be implemented to manage measles outbreaks worldwide.

Researchers uncovered the structure of the measles fusion glycoprotein and identified a neutralizing antibody capable of decreasing its virulence.

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A new study has unveiled when chronic myeloid leukaemia, a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, arises in life and how fast it grows. Researchers reveal explosive growth rates of cancerous cells years before diagnosis and variation in these rates of growth between patients. Such rapid growth rates had previously not been observed in most other cancers.

Researchers used whole genome sequencing to study when BCR::ABL1 – an abnormal fusion of the different genes called BCR and ABL1, which is known to cause chronic myeloid leukaemia. The team investigated when BCR::ABL1 first arises in a blood cell and how quickly these cells with this genetic change then multiply and expand to lead to a diagnosis of a type of leukaemia.

The research, published in Nature, contributes to the scientific understanding of how strong this abnormal fusion gene is in its ability to drive cancer.

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