neuroscience, cell & molecular biology

Immune-like cells in the central nervous system are now recognized as key participants in the creation and maintenance of persistent pain.

The race to develop analgesic drugs that inhibit sodium channel Na_V1.7 is revealing a complex sensory role for the protein.

The acute pain that results from injury or disease is very different from chronic pain.

Since the mid-2000s, the voltage-gated sodium channel Na_V1.7 has emerged as a promising target for a new class of analgesics.

Advances in single-cell technologies have revealed vast differences between cells once thought to be in the same category, calling into question how we define cell type in the first place.

To treat neurological disease, researchers develop techniques to bypass or trick the guardian of the central nervous system.

The blood-brain barrier is a collection of specialized cells and proteins that control the movement of molecules from the blood to the central nervous system.

The 38-year-old synthetic biologist comes from a long line of tinkerers and engineers.

Researchers find that about a quarter of the immune cells are replaced every year.

Ron Vale has spent a career studying how molecular motors transport cargo within cells. He’s also developed tools to help scientists communicate their findings.

Sensory cells of the mouse intestine let the brain know if certain compounds are present by speaking directly to gut neurons via serotonin.

Researchers examine the firing patterns of interneurons throughout all layers of the somatosensory cortices of alert mice.
 

Clostridium botulinum produces a transcription factor that can aggregate and self-propagate a prion-like form, leading to genome-wide changes in gene expression in E. coli, according to a study.

A team of scientists was unable to replicate controversial, high-profile findings published in 2011.

Results from experiments in mice revise a long-held hypothesis that certain protein scaffolds are needed for synaptic activity.

Since The Scientist published its first issue in October 1986, life-science research has transformed from a manual and often tedious task to a high-tech, largely automated process of unprecedented efficiency.

Scientists determine how the brain’s central clock regulates drinking prior to sleep in rodents.

But can $3 billion dollars meet the lofty goals of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative?

A 3-D carbon nanotube mesh enables rat spinal tissue sections to reconnect in culture.

The cells of the mammalian immune system do more than just fight off pathogens; they are also important players in stem cell function and are thus crucial for maintaining homeostasis and recovering from injury.