All posts tagged: cells

Some Pancreatic Cells Are Just One Genetic Tweak Away From Treating Diabetes

Some Pancreatic Cells Are Just One Genetic Tweak Away From Treating Diabetes

Published by Miika Tikkanen

A human pancreas typically contains about a billion beta cells, the primary producers of insulin. Among people with diabetes, these cells are either missing or dysfunctional, and thus scientists have been looking for ways to replenish their numbers as a possible long-term treatment or even cure for the condition. A team of researchers recently took a step closer to that reality, genetically altering another type of pancreatic cell to produce and release insulin in response to high blood sugar. The researchers engineered ductal cells, which—as some previous studies had found—occasionally transform into beta cells all on their own. This is an unusual phenomenon among cells in adult bodies, which tend to be firmly fixed in their identities, and it hinted to the scientists that these ductal cells would be a good place to start. Scientists previously had no clue what genes were driving this metamorphosis, said Jian Li, a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard Medical School who led the recent study in Science Translational Medicine. The researchers therefore took an approach called a genetic screen, which …

Soft Cell’s Marc Almond says he’s frustrated by timing of bandmate’s death

Soft Cell’s Marc Almond says he’s frustrated by timing of bandmate’s death

Published by Sam Flores

Soft Cell star Marc Almond has reflected on the struggles of promoting their new album following the death of his bandmate. Dave Ball, who died aged 66 on 22 October 2025, performed with Almond, 69, on tour two weeks before his death, despite being immobile after a fall in 2022 fractured the musician’s lower vertebrae. Following this, Ball got pneumonia and sepsis, and was placed in an induced coma in hospital. When he regained consciousness, those close to the musician convinced Almond that his health was improving, which left Almond shocked when, two days after completing their record, he learnt that Ball had died. He told The Times he was surprised by “the timing more than anything”, adding: “I had felt such positivity from him while making the album and the people looking after him said, ‘Dave’s in such a positive mood! He’s really on an up!’ “Then, two days before he died, he said, ‘I’m really happy with the album – please don’t chop it to pieces.’ And so I felt I had to …

You can name cells in Excel, and formulas get much easier after that

You can name cells in Excel, and formulas get much easier after that

Published by Miika Tikkanen

A few months ago, I opened one of the formulas in my sales sheet and stared at it for a second too long. It read =G15*0.05. The 0.05 could’ve been a tax rate, a commission, or a number I’d typed in by mistake, and the cell reference told me nothing. Leaning on raw references like that is one of the Excel habits worth unlearning before formulas start breaking on you. Naming the cell changes that. With a single rename, every formula touching it reads in plain words, and the workbook stops feeling like other people’s code. Naming a cell takes seconds with the Name Box Click, type, enter, and you’re done The Name Box is the small field to the left of the formula bar. Most people use it to read the current cell address, but it works just as well the other way around. Type a name in it, hit Enter, and that name belongs to whatever cell you have selected. Say I drop the 5% commission rate into a single cell in my …

‘Zombie’ cells created by transplanting genomes into dead bacteria

‘Zombie’ cells created by transplanting genomes into dead bacteria

Published by Miika Tikkanen

A living, synthetic cell has been made by transplanting a complete genome into a dead bacterium, bringing it back to life. The breakthrough could help synthetic biology live up to its huge, but still distant, promise of engineering organisms to create sustainable fuels, pharmaceuticals and new materials. Synthetic biology involves tweaking biological systems or creating new ones to introduce novel functions, such as rewriting yeast DNA so that the organisms make desirable chemicals. In an effort to make more versatile engineered microbes, in 2010 researchers synthesised a bacterial genome and then transplanted it into a living cell, creating what they called the first synthetic cell. But there was a problem. It was very difficult to be sure whether the cell was truly being governed by the synthetic genome rather than its original genome, because bacteria frequently absorb genetic material from the environment and add it to their own genomes in a process called horizontal gene transfer. To get around this issue, John Glass at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) in La Jolla, California, and …

Could Glial Cells Be the Key to New Schizophrenia Treatments?

Could Glial Cells Be the Key to New Schizophrenia Treatments?

Published by Jenni Sidey

Anyone living with schizophrenia understands the true limitations of current treatment options. Antipsychotics remain the single leading treatment for the disorder, and they are riddled with undesirable side effects. Weight gain, tardive dyskinesia, and excessive drowsiness are a few. Much research is devoted to expanding the range of medication options, and few academics have pursued other avenues. However, there is a possibility that treatment for schizophrenia can be approached through cellular methods if long-term research validates early signs of hope. In the brain, many different cells and systems work together to promote function. For example, neurons, specialized cells that are central to brain structure, are important for transferring information to other cells. Other cells, such as glial cells, support the function of neurons. Neuroscience has often painted glial cells as the glue that holds neurons together, but glial cells can also be helpful in promoting neuronal health, enhancing neuronal immune response, among other neuronal-enhancing functions. Glial Cells Are Different in People With Schizophrenia The brains of people with schizophrenia are biologically different. Not only do …

Metabolism, not cells or genetics, may have begun life on Earth

Metabolism, not cells or genetics, may have begun life on Earth

Published by Jenni Sidey

Planet Earth is overrun with life. Lakes, rivers, seas, and oceans are teeming with it, from the surfaces all the way down to the bottom, often at depths of miles and miles. The land, both above and below ground, is packed with living organisms of varying size, mass, and complexity, including plants, animals, and fungi. Even the atmosphere houses a wide variety of life forms, from birds and insects to microbes found far above the highest mountain peaks. All told, more than 8 million species of organisms are currently represented on Earth, totaling over half a trillion tonnes of carbon in overall biomass. We can trace our evolutionary history through time, with notable milestones including: We have fossil evidence of life existing 3.8 billion years ago, but the start of it all — the origin of life itself on Earth — remains an unsolved puzzle. Although many theories and scenarios abound, one of the least-talked-about may actually be the most likely: a metabolism-first scenario for life’s beginnings. Here’s why recent research, only conducted in the …

How genetically modified stem cells could repair the brain after a stroke

How genetically modified stem cells could repair the brain after a stroke

Published by José Betancourt

Every year, millions of lives are suddenly, swiftly transformed by a stroke, which occurs when a blood vessel travelling towards the brain becomes obstructed, causing neurons to die off. Strokes are among the leading causes of disability in adults, and it is estimated that one in six people will suffer one at some point in their lives. The human brain is by far the most complex organ in our bodies. Its sophisticated cellular architecture and neural networks give us language, memory and abstract reasoning. But this complexity comes at a cost, as brain tissue has a very limited ability to regenerate. Unlike skin or liver tissue, neurons that die are rarely replaced. This is why brain injuries are the root cause of so many age-related diseases. One of the most serious and common of these is ischaemic stroke, caused by the interruption of blood flow to an area of the brain. Although advances in emergency treatment have improved survival rates, there is currently no therapy capable of repairing the neuronal damage caused by a stroke. …

Scientists shrink 3-D printing so it can work inside cells

Scientists shrink 3-D printing so it can work inside cells

Published by Miika Tikkanen

3-D printing: The creation of a three-dimensional object with a machine that follows instructions from a computer program. The computer tells the printer where to lay down successive layers of some raw material, which can be plastic, metals, food or even living cells. 3-D printing is also called additive manufacturing. cell: (in biology) The smallest structural and functional unit of an organism. Typically too small to see with the unaided eye, it consists of a watery fluid surrounded by a membrane or wall. Depending on their size, animals are made of anywhere from thousands to trillions of cells. cell membrane: A structure that separates the inside of a cell from what is outside of it. Some particles are permitted to pass through the membrane. dissolve: To turn a solid into a liquid and disperse it into that starting liquid. (For instance, sugar or salt crystals, which are solids, will dissolve into water. Now the crystals are gone and the solution is a fully dispersed mix of the liquid form of the sugar or salt in water.) …