What happens when myosin inside red blood cells can't do its job?
ABOVE: SPANTEDLOTRU
In healthy red blood cells (RBCs), myosin fibers (blue) contract, pulling on actin (pink) and spectrin proteins (purple) connected to the cell membrane and helping to give the cells their distinct, indented shape (below, top panel). When the myosin fiber is experimentally manipulated so that it slackens or detaches from the cell-membrane proteins, red blood cells instead take on an oval shape (bottom panel).
Read the full story.
Add The Scientist as a preferred Google source to see more of our trusted coverage.
Ashley started at The Scientist in 2018. Before joining the staff, she worked as a freelance editor and writer, a writer at the Simons Foundation, and a web producer at Science News, among other positions. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a master’s degree in science writing from MIT. Ashley edits the Scientist to Watch and Profile sections of the magazine and writes news, features, and other stories for both online and print.
View Full Profile
When Barry Hicks set out to photograph thrombolites, thousands of unexpected visitors photobombed his underwater images.
View this Issue
Discover how tissue-resident memory T cells develop within the respiratory tract and how these findings are advancing respiratory virus immunity, vaccine research, and high-throughput immune profiling.
Explore emerging mechanisms of immune checkpoint inhibitor resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and how combination immunotherapy strategies may improve antitumor immune responses and patient-specific treatment approaches.
Learn practical strategies for optimizing sample preparation, fragmentation, library construction, and quality control to generate high-quality next-generation sequencing (NGS) data across a range of sample types.
Learn how bulk T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire sequencing can reveal clonotype diversity, support immune monitoring, and generate biological insights for translational immunology and biomarker discovery.
Sino Biological’s trial program enables qualified customers to evaluate SuperNuclease Pro in their specific bioprocessing applications, facilitating faster technology assessment and informed decision-making during process development
This release expands on Sino Biological's comprehensive Tau protein product portfolio, designed to accelerate neurodegenerative disease research.
Resipher measures cellular respiration (OCR) continuously in standard 96-well plates inside your incubator, for days to weeks. No media swaps, dyes, or transfers. A live-cell functional readout for drug safety, metabolism, and mitochondrial health.
The Stirling Ultracold VAULT100™ PRO redefines ultra-low temperature storage with reliable -100°C performance, faster recovery, lower operating costs and sustainable operation. Learn how you can protect critical samples without compromise.
