How do white blood cells - the immune cells that race to the sites of infection and inflammation - actually get to their targets? The research of Prof. Ronen Alon has revealed that the white blood cells actually force their way through the blood vessel walls to reach the infection, creating large holes. This understanding could aid in cancer research.
For the first time, viruses have been found to communicate with one another, leaving short “posts” for kin and descendants. The messages help the viruses reading them to decide how to proceed with the process of infection.
Bats - and humans - can find their favorite fruit stand (or coffee shop) even when it's hidden behind a screen or buildings. How? Prof. Nachum Ulanovsky and team have now identified the neurons that point bats in the right direction, even when their destination is obscured. This could shed light on Alzheimer's and other disorders.
While the predominant theory for the Moon's existence was a single, massive impact with Earth, our satellite's origins were still mysterious. Now, complex computer simulations by Prof. Oded Aharonson show that the more likely explanation is multiple impacts of varying sizes that produced many moonlets; over time, these joined to form the Moon we know today.|
January 09, 2017
On June 14, 2015, astrophysicists around the world noted an extraordinarily bright flash of light that, puzzlingly, did not fit any of the usual explanations. Prof. Avishay Gal-Yam's lab has now solved the mystery: it was the destruction of a star by the gravitational tides of a black hole at the center of its galaxy. This event is extremely rare, as a number of physics conditions must be satisfied.
December 15, 2016
Two new and powerful research methods – CRISPR gene editing and single-cell genomic profiling – have now been combined to produce a tool fine enough to enable scientists to observe life's most nuanced processes. Prof. Ido Amit and his lab have so refined CRISPR that scientists can understand biological processes in shades of grey – not just black and white.
December 15, 2016
Crystallization is a well-observed process; we all watch it every winter when ice crystals form on our windows. But no one had ever seen the process on a molecular level: the point at which the liquid changes states. Until now, that is. Prof. Ronny Neumann and colleagues developed a way to watch crystallization happen, verifying long-held theories.
December 07, 2016
The fine art of mixing drug cocktails - such as for cancer treatment - is incredibly complicated, especially once you get into three or more ingredients. The numbers of possible interactions and side effects are virtually infinite. Now, a new model from the lab of Prof. Uri Alon lets scientists compare combinations of drugs to determine which work well together, and with the fewest side effects. This is a major step forward in personalized medicine.
December 07, 2016
The wild faba - today, fava - bean is thought to be extinct. Now, however, Dr. Elisabeth Boaretto has identified the oldest known beans - about 14,000 years old. Understanding how the wild fabas survived can help scientists grow hardier fava crops today. Favas are a major source of nutrition in many parts of the world.
December 07, 2016
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