Search results for "Research articles"
showing 10 items of 366 documents
Focal adhesions are hotspots for keratin filament precursor formation
2006
Recent studies showed that keratin filament (KF) formation originates primarily from sites close to the actin-rich cell cortex. To further characterize these sites, we performed multicolor fluorescence imaging of living cells and found drastically increased KF assembly in regions of elevated actin turnover, i.e., in lamellipodia. Abundant KF precursors (KFPs) appeared within these areas at the distal tips of actin stress fibers, moving alongside the stress fibers until their integration into the peripheral KF network. The earliest KFPs were detected next to actin-anchoring focal adhesions (FAs) and were only seen after the establishment of FAs in emerging lamellipodia. Tight spatiotemporal …
Plasmonic nanostructures through DNA-assisted lithography
2018
DALI combines DNA origami with conventional top-down fabrication for creating designer high-resolution plasmonic nanostructures.
The parasite's long arm: a tapeworm parasite induces behavioural changes in uninfected group members of its social host.
2015
Parasites can induce alterations in host phenotypes in order to enhance their own survival and transmission. Parasites of social insects might not only benefit from altering their individual hosts, but also from inducing changes in uninfected group members. Temnothorax nylanderi ant workers infected with the tapeworm Anomotaenia brevis are known to be chemically distinct from nest-mates and do not contribute to colony fitness, but are tolerated in their colonies and well cared for. Here, we investigated how tapeworm- infected workers affect colony aggression by manipulating their presence in ant colonies and analysing whether their absence or presence resulted in behavioural alterations in…
Terahertz electrical writing speed in an antiferromagnetic memory
2018
The speed of writing of state-of-the-art ferromagnetic memories is physically limited by an intrinsic gigahertz threshold. Recently, realization of memory devices based on antiferromagnets, in which spin directions periodically alternate from one atomic lattice site to the next has moved research in an alternative direction. We experimentally demonstrate at room temperature that the speed of reversible electrical writing in a memory device can be scaled up to terahertz using an antiferromagnet. A current-induced spin-torque mechanism is responsible for the switching in our memory devices throughout the 12-order-of-magnitude range of writing speeds from hertz to terahertz. Our work opens the…
Myriocin-induced adaptive laboratory evolution of an industrial strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae reveals its potential to remodel lipid composition…
2020
The modification of lipid composition allows cells to adjust membrane biophysical properties in response to changes in environmental temperature. Here, we use adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) in the presence of myriocin, a sphingolipid (SLs) biosynthesis inhibitor, to remodel the lipid profile of an industrial yeast strain (LH) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The approach enabled to obtain a heterogeneous population (LHev) of myriocin‐tolerant evolved clones characterized by its growth capacity at high temperature. Myriocin exposure also caused tolerance to soraphen A, an inhibitor of the acetyl‐CoA carboxylase Acc1, the rate‐limiting enzyme in fatty acid de novo production, supporting a ch…
Functional Brain Segmentation Using Inter-Subject Correlation in fMRI
2016
The human brain continuously processes massive amounts of rich sensory information. To better understand such highly complex brain processes, modern neuroimaging studies are increasingly utilizing experimental setups that better mimic daily‐life situations. A new exploratory data‐analysis approach, functional segmentation inter‐subject correlation analysis (FuSeISC), was proposed to facilitate the analysis of functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) data sets collected in these experiments. The method provides a new type of functional segmentation of brain areas, not only characterizing areas that display similar processing across subjects but also areas in which processing across subjects is h…
Biomimetic composites with enhanced toughening using silk-inspired triblock proteins and aligned nanocellulose reinforcements
2019
Silk-like proteins produced in bacteria are used as adhesives for cellulose nanofibrils to make a new biological material.
Action Observation Network Activity Related to Object-Directed and Socially-Directed Actions in Adolescents
2020
The human action observation network (AON) encompasses brain areas consistently engaged when we observe other's actions. Although the core nodes of the AON are present from childhood, it is not known to what extent they are sensitive to different action features during development. Because social cognitive abilities continue to mature during adolescence, the AON response to socially-oriented actions, but not to object-related actions, may differ in adolescents and adults. To test this hypothesis, we scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) male and female typically-developing teenagers (n= 28; 13 females) and adults (n= 25; 14 females) while they passively watched videos of…
Signals of major histocompatibility complex overdominance in a wild salmonid population
2009
The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) contains the most variable genes in vertebrates, but despite extensive research, the mechanisms maintaining this polymorphism are still unresolved. One hypothesis is that MHC polymorphism is a result of balancing selection operating by overdominance, but convincing evidence for overdominant selection in natural populations has been lacking. We present strong evidence consistent with MHC-specific overdominance in a free-living population of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) in northernmost Europe. In this population, where just two MHC alleles were observed, MHC heterozygous fish had a lower parasite load, were in better condition (as estimated by a…
Integrin-dependent and -independent functions of astrocytic fibronectin in retinal angiogenesis
2011
Fibronectin (FN) is a major component of the extracellular matrix and functions in cell adhesion, cell spreading and cell migration. In the retina, FN is transiently expressed and assembled on astrocytes (ACs), which guide sprouting tip cells and deposit a provisional matrix for sprouting angiogenesis. The precise function of FN in retinal angiogenesis is largely unknown. Using genetic tools, we show that astrocytes are the major source of cellular FN during angiogenesis in the mouse retina. Deletion of astrocytic FN reduces radial endothelial migration during vascular plexus formation in a gene dose-dependent manner. This effect correlates with reduced VEGF receptor 2 and PI3K/AKT signalli…