1950s Cells Still Alive and Helping Science

In 1951, woman named Henrietta Lacks went to Johns Hopkins Hospital to be treated for cervical cancer. Unbeknownst to her, cells from her biopsy were made available to biological researchers.

Lacks died later that year, but her cell line — known as HeLa — lives on. A new book titled The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks examines the extraordinary impact of HeLa on science and the effects of that unchosen legacy on Lacks’ family.

Click to enlarge the picture below, which includes a detailed timeline of HeLa's impact on science. Click here to see the original Wired article.

Infrared Proteins Give Deep View Inside Living Animals

A fluorescent protein found in an extremophile bacteria could give scientists an unprecedented view inside living animals.

The proteins, which glow with tissue-penetrating infrared light, could be used to tag cells in living animals, allowing researchers to watch real-time biological processes that have until now been hidden.

The scientists found the protein in Deinococcus radiodurans, an extremophile microbe, that emits infrared light. The original protein was relatively dim, but they tweaked its amino acid content to make it brighter. They then injected mice with infrared proteins that attached to genes in their liver cells.

Using a specialized microscope called a fluorescence molecular tomograph, which assembles three-dimensional images from two-dimensional scans taken at different depths in a target specimen, the liver shells showed up glowing through layers of living tissue.

Original article here.

Video of Molecules Moving in Living Cells

A new microscopic imaging technique has provided what may be the most realistic real-time video yet of molecules moving in living cells.

Called Stimulated Raman Scattering, it uses laser beams to hit molecules, causing them to vibrate. Tracking the vibrations produces a sequence of point-by-point molecular maps.

Examples of practical applications include companies making skin care products who can use the SRS technique to see how different ingredients of their formulations distribute and diffuse in skin, or the food industry mapping distributions of fats, proteins and sugars in food products. It will eventually be used for tumor diagnostics in hospital as well.

The video shows fat molecules (bright yellow perimeter) at different depths in mouse skin.

Original article here.

Mice Cloned After 16 Year Freeze

Cells taken from mice frozen 16 years ago have grown into healthy clones, raising the possibility of reproducing long-dead animals and even resurrecting extinct species.

The accomplishmen represents a large step forward in animal cloning. Earlier clones have required tissues taken from living animals or carefully-preserved cells, rather than an entire frozen animal.

Scientists thought that freezing would damage cells beyond repair. But the scientists salvaged intact nuclei from the neurons of their mice. These were inserted into living mice eggs, forming an embryo that developed until embryonic stem cells could be harvested. The stem cells were then used to make healthy mouse pups.

According to scientists, the new technique might someday be used to clone "extinct animals frozen in permafrost, or specimens collected opportunistically from endangered species in the field without access to sophisticated laboratory facilities."

Original article here.

Biologists on the Verge of Creating New Form of Life

A team of biologists and chemists is close to bringing non-living matter to life.

A lab led by a Harvard Medical School molecular biologist is building simple cell models that can almost be called life. The protocells are built from fatty molecules that can trap bits of nucleic acids that contain the source code for replication. Combined with a process that harnesses external energy from the sun or chemical reactions, they could form a self-replicating, evolving system that satisfies the conditions of life, but isn't anything like life on earth now, but might represent life as it began or could exist elsewhere in the universe. The replication isn't wholly autonomous, so it's not quite artificial life yet, but it is as close as anyone has ever come to turning chemicals into biological organisms.

The below video shows a protocell forming from fatty acids:



Original article here.

Animation of Life Inside a Cell

Harvard University has decided to use animations as a tool to enhance the performance of its students in biology. A company called XVIVO has produced the animations for the university. One entitled "The Inner Life of the Cell" has already won awards. The animation takes students on a three-dimensional journey through the microscopic world of a cell. Below is a 3 minute sample of the movie:



Thanks to Slashdot for the link.

Update:
Here is a link to a Wired News article that includes further information on the video, including an interview with its creator.