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Articles on Cells

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Chemotherapy is used to treat all lung cancer patients. Yet many would not need such invasive treatment if diagnosis of the risk of recurrence were more refined. A new technology could change all that. (Shutterstock)

Lung cancer: Predicting which patients are at high risk of recurrence to improve outcomes

Treatment for lung cancer patients is the same for everyone, regardless of the risk of recurrence. The use of a new technology could refine diagnosis.
In primary production, inorganic carbon is used to build the organic molecules life needs. (Shutterstock)

How much life has ever existed on Earth?

Over two billion years from now, Earth will no longer be able to sustain life. A new study looks at how much life has ever existed and what this means for the discovery of new life-supporting planets.
This image of actin filaments in a cell was taken using a type of superresolution microscopy. Xiaowei Zhuang, HHMI, Harvard University, and Nature Publishing Group/NIH via Flickr

Zooming across time and space simultaneously with superresolution to understand how cells divide

Superresolution microscopy allowed researchers to view cells at the molecular level. Improvements on the technique can help study the building blocks of complex cell processes over time.
While some people may be older in chronological age, their biological age might be much younger. FangXiaNuo/E+ via Getty Images

Aging is complicated – a biologist explains why no two people or cells age the same way, and what this means for anti-aging interventions

Aging is a culmination of factors spanning from your cells to your environment. A number of interconnected processes determine how quickly your body is able to repair and recover from damage.
Cell cultures are often grown in petri dishes. Wladimir Bulgar/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Lab-grown meat techniques aren’t new – cell cultures are common tools in science, but bringing them up to scale to meet society’s demand for meat will require further development

Cell cultures are common tools in biology and drug development. Bringing them up to scale to meet the meat needs of societies will require further development.
Cells move their genetic material from one place to another in the form of RNA. Christoph Burgstedt/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

How does RNA know where to go in the city of the cell? Using cellular ZIP codes and postal carrier routes

Making sure RNA molecules are in the right place at the right time in a cell is critical to development and normal function. Researchers are figuring out exactly how they get to where they need to go.
You can change your gut microbiome composition by eating different foods. wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images

Microbes in your food can help or hinder your body’s defenses against cancer – how diet influences the conflict between cell ‘cooperators’ and ‘cheaters’

Cancer cells are ‘cheaters’ that do not cooperate with the rest of the body. Certain microbes in your diet can either protect against or promote tumor formation by influencing cell cooperation.
The lung-on-a-chip can mimic both the physical and mechanical qualities of a human lung. Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University/Flickr

Organ-on-a-chip models allow researchers to conduct studies closer to real-life conditions – and possibly grease the drug development pipeline

Successes in the lab mostly don’t translate to people. Research models that better mimic the human body could close the gap.
Tumor cells traverse many different types of fluids as they travel through the body. Christoph Burgstedt/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

How cancer cells move and metastasize is influenced by the fluids surrounding them – understanding how tumors migrate can help stop their spread

Counterintuitively, cells move faster in thicker fluids. New research on breast cancer cells explains why, and reveals the role that fluid viscosity plays in metastasis.
Red mitochondria in airway cells become coated with green SARS-COV-2 proteins after viral infection: Researchers discovered that the virus that causes COVID-19 damages lungs by attacking mitochondria. (Stephen Archer)

How COVID-19 damages lungs: The virus attacks mitochondria, continuing an ancient battle that began in the primordial soup

COVID-19 causes lung injury and lowers oxygen levels in patients because the SARS-CoV-2 virus attacks cells’ mitochondria. This attack is a throwback to a primitive war between viruses and bacteria.
The proteasome is a cellular machine that chews up misfolded and unwanted proteins, and can promote cell death, making it an interesting target for cancer treatment. (Shutterstock)

How the cell’s waste management systems might be targeted to treat cancer

Faulty cellular waste management machinery can lead to cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, but researchers are also targeting this machinery to treat these diseases.
Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg with Moshe Biton (right) and Aviv Regev (left). The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is one of the major funders of the Human Cell Atlas. Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

The human body has 37 trillion cells. If we can work out what they all do, the results could revolutionise healthcare

Pioneered by the Human Cell Atlas consortium, our understanding of the human body is about to be transformed – and with it, the way we treat and prevent disease

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