Understanding how tissues properly form and grow during the development of an organism is an important question in biology. Researchers were now able to show that elongated cells are the key to maintain the shape of the retinal tissue during growth of a zebrafish. This concept could also apply to other organisms.

Can weightlessness stop cancer from growing? One of the nine research projects that has been given the go-ahead for the new China Space Station scheduled for 2022 is designed to answer this exact question.

Jellagen has developed a manufacturing process that allows laboratory technicians to scale up the production of collagen from jellyfish. The resulting product is a new jellyfish collagen hydrogel suitable for 3D cell culture and tissue engineering.

High-attrition rates during clinical development of new cancer therapies still persist. A new 3D ex vivo microfluidics platform shall now enhance cancer drug screening and early development process by creating cancer models which predict clinical outcomes with significantly increased reliability.

Food is both a basic need and a valuable asset. In Germany, food manufacturers must meet high requirements in terms of safety and product quality. Read about the important contribution microscopic techniques make in quality control and R&D.

Ultimately, every analysis relies on detection, and in most cases one of the many spectroscopic procedures is used for this. What is happening in this extremely wide-ranging field, and what trends are hot right now?

From morning rush-hour urban air-pollution to ship diesel emissions — organic particulate matter directly affects air quality and health while its analysis is still challenging. A new technological solution for PTR-TOFMS shall now find a remedy.

Scientists at the University of Portsmouth have engineered an enzyme which can digest some of our most commonly polluting plastics. The discovery could result in a recycling solution for millions of tonnes of plastic bottles, made of polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, which currently persists for hundreds of years in the environment.

In a new study, Velia Fowler, PhD, and her lab at The Scripps Research Institute report that a protein called myosin IIA contracts to give red blood cells their distinctive shape. The findings, published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could shed light on sickle cell diseases and other disorders where red blood cells are deformed.

Over the next three years, researchers from various European institutes will be working together with the Dutch Polymer manufacturer Supra Polix on the next generation of robots: (soft) robots that ‘feel pain’ and heal themselves. The partners can count on three million Euro in support from the European Commission.