News by Subject Biology

Scientists have equipped a virus that kills carcinoma cells with a protein so it can also target and kill adjacent cells that are tricked into shielding the cancer from the immune system. It is the first time that cancer-associated fibroblasts within solid tumors -- healthy cells that are tricked into protecting the cancer from the immune system and supplying it with growth factors and nutrients -- have been specifically targeted in this way.

Urinating into a cup may sometimes be a medical necessity, but it's often uncomfortable, embarrassing and messy -- especially for women. But what if there were a way to comfortably provide a sample without the splashback? Researchers created experiments using an anatomically correct female urethra that produced a jet of water with pressure and flow equivalent to what a human bladder produces. During the Division of Fluid Dynamics 71st Annual Meeting, they'll describe their findings.

How do wombats produce cube-shaped poop? Patricia Yang at Georgia Tech set out to investigate. Yang studies the hydrodynamics of fluids, including blood, processed food and urine, in the bodies of animals. She was curious how the differences in wombats' digestive processes and soft tissue structures might explain their oddly shaped scat. During the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics 71st Annual Meeting, Nov. 18-20, Yang will explain findings from dissecting the alimentary systems of wombats.

A surprising discovery about a failed pain drug -- and specifically, the pathway it targets, BH4 -- could have implications for autoimmunity and cancer. Neuroscientists at Boston Children's Hospital and immunologists from IMBA in Vienna report that BH4 also functions as a kind of immunological thermostat, raising and lowering the activity levels of T cells. Inhibiting BH4 could relieve atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, lupus, polyarthritis and inflammatory bowel disease; boosting it could help the immune system attack cancers.

Color can impact the taste of food, and our experiences and expectations can affect how we taste food, according to Penn State researchers, who suggest this may have implications for how food and beverage industries should market their products.