Page 23 - Muon Source News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Scientists gain atomic-level insight into behavior of a protein that promotes cancer growth The neutron reflexometry method has given scientists an atomic-level insight into the behavior of Bcl-2, a protein that promotes cancerous cell growth. The new study was carried out by Umeå chemists in collaboration with the research facilities ESS and ISIS and is published in Nature Communications Biology. Elevated function of the cell-protecting membrane protein Bcl-2 can promote cancer and cause resistance to cancer treatment. Developing an understanding of the way it does this could inform the de...

 E-Mail IMAGE: Transmission Electron Micrograph of fibrils from the protein alpha-synuclein, which is associated with Parkinson's disease. view more  Credit: University of Bath Amyloid fibrils are deposits of proteins in the body that join together to form microscopic fibres. Their formation has been linked to many serious human diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Type 2 diabetes. Until today, scientists have been unable to reliably measure the speed of fibril growth, as there have been no tools that could directly measure growth rate in solution. However, researchers fr...

Copyright Diamond Light Source Ltd  In June 2019, an international team brought the complete skull of the 3.67-million-year-old Little Foot Australopithecus skeleton, from South Africa to the UK and achieved unprecedented imaging resolution of its bony structures and dentition in an X-ray synchrotron-based investigation at the UK's national synchrotron, Diamond Light Source. The X-ray work is highlighted in a new paper in e-Life, published Mar. 2 focusing on the inner craniodental features of Little Foot. The remarkable completeness and great age of the Little Foot skeleton makes it a cruci...

2 March 2021 - Wits University High resolution X-ray imaging of Little Foot's skull and dentition shows Little Foot suffered periods of dietary stress and illness when she was a child. In June 2019, an international team, including researchers from Wits University, took the complete skull of the 3.67-million-year-old ‘Little Foot’ Australopithecus skeleton, from South Africa to the UK and achieved unprecedented imaging resolution of its bony structures and dentition in an X-ray synchrotron-based investigation at the UK’s national synchrotron, Diamond Light Source. The X-ray wo...

New technology allows scientists first glimpse of intricate details of Little Foot’s life Applications of X-ray synchrotron-based analytical techniques in evolutionary studies have opened up new avenues in the field of (paleo) anthropology. In particular, X-ray synchrotron microtomography has proved to be enormously useful for observing the smallestanatomical structures in fossils that are traditionally only seen by slicing through the bonesand looking at them under a microscope. Through the last decade, there have been more studies in palaeo anthropology using synchrotron radiation to inv...