Spotlight on stem cell tracking

sea-maid submitted, created time 5 months 5 days (www.nature.com)

Making and employing stem cells is hard enough, but observing them is a whole other pack of trouble. This interview with cell imaging guru Timm Schroeder highlights how tough it can be to highlight stem cells in action. In particular, Schroeder talks of the applications of continuous observation. As it turns out, one of the biggest problems is keeping the specimen from moving.

1 comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: basic research labeling stem cells stem cell research

Putting Immunity in a Test Tube

jane2007 submitted, created time 7 months 3 weeks (www.time.com)

To streamline vaccine research and hasten the eradication of global killers, such as AIDS, VaxDesign company has created a simulated human immune system, called the Modular Immune in Vitro Construct (MIMIC for short). The dime-sized immune systems can predict how humans will respond to new vaccines.

11 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: AIDS vaccine HIV HIV vaccine ethics tissue engineering vaccine design bioethics politics animal testing animal models artificial immune systems autoimmune diseases T and B cells AIDS vaccines vaccine research basic research methodology

Amino acids slow muscle breakdown during exercise

abc01 submitted, created time 1 year 3 months (www.reutershealth.com)

Athletes who consume branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) while working out may prevent muscle breakdown during moderate endurance exercise, a new study confirms.

2 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: BCAAs Basic Research Muscle weakness