62 articles from TUESDAY 24.12.2019

Mouse pups born from eggs derived from the granulosa cells that surround oocytes

By introducing a chemical cocktail to granulosa cells, researchers in China induced the cells to transform into functional oocytes in mice. Once fertilized, these oocytes were then successfully able to produce healthy offspring, showing no differences from naturally bred mice. The chemical reprogramming method appears December 24 in the journal Cell Reports.

New technology allows control of gene therapy doses

Scientists have developed a special molecular switch that could be embedded into gene therapies to allow doctors to control dosing. The feat offers gene therapy designers what may be the first viable technique for adjusting the activity levels of their therapeutic genes.

MATRIEX imaging: Simultaneously seeing neurons in action in multiple regions of the brain

Two-photon laser scanning microscopy imaging is commonly applied to study neuronal activity at cellular and subcellular resolutions in mammalian brains. Such studies are yet confined to a single functional region of the brain. In a recent report, Mengke Yang and colleagues at the Brain Research Instrument Innovation Center, Institute of Neuroscience, Center for Systems Neuroscience and Optical...

Our favorite holiday gift? A box of Apollo moon soil

Fortunately for today's scientists, Apollo-era leaders had the foresight to save much of the 842 pounds (382 kilograms) of Moon soil and rocks retrieved by NASA astronauts 50 years ago for future generations. They figured new crops of scientists, using instruments of their time, would be able to probe the samples with unprecedented rigor.

Portraits of particulate matter

On solar farms in particularly dusty places in the world, like the Arabian Peninsula and parts of India and China, air pollution costs the solar energy industry tens of billions of dollars annually. As particles settle out of the air onto the surfaces of solar panels, they constrain the panels' potential. Workers with soapy brushes can clean the grime from the panels, much as you might clean your...

How 'houses as ATMs' feed a recession

For most Americans, their home is their most valuable asset, so it makes sense to borrow against the equity to obtain cash. In lean times, that money can be spent on consumption, which keeps the economy humming along. But if housing values and personal incomes don't rise, borrowers might find themselves struggling to repay the debt.