Siegfried Musser, PhD, and his team in the Department of Cell Biology and Genetics at the Texas A&M College of Medicine have been investigating how molecules move through the pores of the double-membrane enveloping the nucleus quickly and efficiently without colliding or becoming congested. This month, Musser’s team published a study in Nature revealing new insights into molecular transport. Using an advanced imaging technique called MINFLUX, they tracked molecular movements in milliseconds and in 3D at an unprecedented scale: about 100,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair. Their findings show that import, the process of molecules entering the nucleus, and export, the process of molecules leaving, occur in overlapping highways within the nuclear pore complex. This challenges a previous hypothesis that these processes may take place in separate lanes.

Aging compromises the lymphatic vessels surrounding the brain, disabling waste drainage from the brain and impacting cognitive function. Researchers at WashU Medicine boosted lymphatic vessel integrity in old mice and found improvements in their memory compared with old mice without rejuvenated lymphatic vessels.