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Biology

The Blood Flow Border Patrol

The intricate network of blood microcirculation in the human body is a closed and complex one. The hierarchy of blood flow in the human body takes blood from the heart to deep organs systems, through arteries that branch out into smaller arterioles and…

Zebrabow

Zebrabow embryos express random combinations of red, green, and blue fluorescent proteins, revealing a spectrum of unique hues. These same hues can be used to ‘barcode’ individual stem cells to track their birth and contribution to tissues as the embryo…

A Sight For Sore Eyes

  Have you ever experienced itchy, watery eyes as a result of seasonal allergies? The objects in this picture are to blame. This microscope image shows conjunctival tissue from an eye in the presence of a single mast cell. Mast cells are important…

Transfusing old blood into young mice aged their systems

A team at UC Berkeley investigated the effects of transfusing blood from young mice into old mice and vice versa. They found that young blood only slightly improves some functions (e.g. brain cell development) in old mice, but old blood significantly…

Holding the Fort Down

And how! Depicted here are intricate collagen fibers, the structural glue and the most abundant protein in the mammalian body. Collagen proteins occupy the extracellular space in connective tissues, and form fibers that provide the physical scaffold for…

Bypassing infertility: directed sex cell development in a dish

Almost fertilized [Image Courtesy: Zappys Technology Solutions]The inability to produce health sperms and eggs has hindered many people’s dream of having children. Though many other alternatives such as adoption can get around this problem, infertility…

Foldit players beat scientists in determining a protein's shape

Eight years ago, a team at the University of Washington developed Foldit, a protein folding game that pits gamers against scientists and computer algorithms. Proteins, which are made up of a string of building blocks, called amino acids, form much of the…

Shoots and Ladders

Plants, like animals, require a circulatory system that allows water and nutrients to move throughout them. While animals do this by a pump (the heart), plants do this by a system of tubes, found within the stem. This image is a cross section of a Lily…