Journal Club

Highlighting recently published papers selected by Academy members

Category Archives: Cell Biology

Journal Club: Clues into how dormant cancer cells come alive

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Charlotte Schubert

Tumors can come equipped with time-bombs—cells that migrate through the bloodstream, lodge in a distant organ, and then enter a dormant state. A new study of such cells in the lungs of mice examines how they wake up from dormancy … Continue reading →

Journal Club: Low-calorie diets might improve effectiveness of cancer treatments

Posted on July 25, 2016 by Amber Dance

The old saying goes, “feed a cold, starve a fever”—now scientists might add, “starve a tumor.” In mice, a low-protein, low-calorie diet sensitizes breast cancer and melanoma cells to attack by the immune system, while prodding the immune system itself … Continue reading →

Categories: Cell Biology | Immunology | Journal Club | Tagged cancer, diet, doxorubicin | Leave a comment

Journal Club: Mosquito saliva inflames immune system to spread viruses, suggesting possible interventions

Posted on July 21, 2016 by Megan Scudellari

The quick, piercing bite of a mosquito leaves behind a tiny amount of saliva under the skin of its prey. This saliva has been shown to have potent effects, such as numbing the pain of the bite and preventing blood … Continue reading →

Journal Club: “Zombie” HIV RNA could cause ongoing damage

Posted on July 19, 2016 by Amber Dance

Streaming through the blood of people with HIV are cells carrying mutant, incomplete viral genomes—viral DNA sets that researchers have long deemed duds, irrelevant to disease. But a study in PNAS this week refocuses attention on these defective viral tagalongs. … Continue reading →

Journal Club: Microvesicles facilitate crucial signals in developing embryos

Posted on July 2, 2016 by Amber Dance

Early in mammal development, tiny vesicles provide key communication between the cells that will become the fetus and those destined to form the placenta, researchers have found. The message the microvesicles are imparting: It’s time to implant into the wall … Continue reading →

Categories: Cell Biology | Tagged embryos, infertility, microvesicles, trophoblasts | Leave a comment

Journal Club: Rule-breaking microbe lacks mitochondria

Posted on May 12, 2016 by Helen Shen

Mitochondria, organelles central to cellular metabolism and energy production, are typically a hallmark of the eukaryotic cells that make up plants, animals, fungi, and many other organisms. Now scientists report the first known example of a eukaryotic organism that lacks … Continue reading →

Categories: Biochemistry | Cell Biology | Journal Club | Tagged eukaryotes, mitochondria, organelles | Leave a comment

Journal Club: Tasmanian devils hit with another contagious cancer

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Helen Shen

Cancers aren’t usually contagious, but a tiny number of them can spread when diseased cells move from one animal to another. One such cancer, an aggressive facial tumor, has wiped out large numbers of Tasmanian devils in Australia over the … Continue reading →

Categories: Cell Biology | Ecology | Genetics | Tagged cancer, contagion, Tasmanian Devil | Leave a comment

Journal Club: T-cells transform, defying expectations and suggesting a new therapeutic avenue

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Charles Choi

Inflammation can help the human body fight off infections. If left unchecked, it can also lead to a variety of inflammatory disorders, such as gout and lupus. Now scientists find that in mice, a kind of immune cell that normally … Continue reading →

Journal Club: A new take on why tumors develop drug resistance

Posted on June 26, 2015 by Charles Choi

Cancer’s notorious resistance to therapy is often explained as the result of natural selection of newly mutating cells. Cancer-killing drugs wipe out nearly all of a tumor’s cells, but random mutations may allow for drug resistance in some cells, and … Continue reading →

Journal Club: Newly found tiny peptides may have a big role

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Charles Choi

Tiny proteins known as micropeptides can play key roles in developmental biology. These molecules are encoded by equally little bits of DNA known as short or small open reading frames that often escape detection amidst an extraordinary number of meaningless … Continue reading →