This study focuses on lipid droplets (LDs), which are organelles responsible for storing neutral lipids and are found across various species. The excessive accumulation of these lipids in LDs is linked to several metabolic disorders. Zebrafish, with their transparent embryos, present a valuable model for studying LD biology, though previous research has been hampered by the absence of specific LD marker proteins and limitations in purification techniques.

Climate change and habitat loss are affecting animal populations around the world and reptiles such as South Australia’s own endangered pygmy bluetongue are susceptible to higher temperatures and declining long-term rainfall trends.

Flinders University scientists are working on securing a sustainable future for the burrow-dwelling endemic skink (Tiliqua adelaidensis) by assessing their suitability to cooler and slightly greener locations, below their usual range in the state’s drier, hotter northern regions.

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Capital Medical University utilized gene editing to create senescence-resistant human mesenchymal progenitor cells (SRCs). In a 44-week trial on aged macaques, biweekly intravenous SRC injections induced no adverse effects and spurred multi-system rejuvenation in 10 major physiological systems and 61 tissue types. Treated macaques displayed enhanced cognitive function and diminished age-related degeneration. The SRCs work by releasing exosomes that curb cellular senescence and inflammation. This study presents the first primate-level proof of cell therapy’s safety and efficacy in reversing aging, presenting a potential multi-system approach for human anti-aging research.

Osaka Metropolitan University researchers identified REDD2, a stress-responsive gene that damages insulin-producing pancreatic β-cells under metabolic stress. By disrupting insulin secretion, REDD2 contributes to the onset of type 2 diabetes. Suppressing this gene in mice helped preserve β-cell function and improve glucose control, offering a potential target for early diabetes intervention.

A landmark study by WEHI scientists has shed new light on one of the most fundamental mysteries of biology: how cells divide and grow into the complex structures that make up our bodies.

The study has produced a sophisticated and leading new technology for tracking cells very early during embryo development, as they divide, migrate and specialise into the organs, tissues and systems that keep us alive.

The innovative tech, called LoxCode, provides each cell in a genetically engineered mouse with one of billions of individual DNA barcodes, allowing them to be tracked in unprecedented detail.