Metabolic dysfunction – associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) has a high global prevalence, requiring effective therapeutic options. This study investigated the effects of liraglutide and kombucha, alone and in combination, in a murine model of high-fat diet (HFD)-induced MASLD. Metabolic parameters, body composition, liver histology, lipid profile, and markers of lipophagy were evaluated. The results […]

Studies of visual discrimination learning decision making in rodents, particularly those using visual cues, can confound the effects of cue salience with reward value, making it difficult to determine which factor guides choice behavior. We addressed this issue using a two-alternative forced-choice task in which rats chose between visual cues associated with high or low […]

In 2022, the average cost for a single drugs development increased by 15%, reaching $2.3 billion. In drug development, oncology has the highest attrition rate with 95% of new drugs failing Phase 2 clinical trials alone. Consequently, innovative approaches are needed to assess clinical utility prior to proceeding with human trials. Current drug development follows […]

Cells must spatially differentiate to organize their organelles, maintain function, and interact with their environment efficiently. One type of spatial differentiation used throughout eukaryotes is branched morphology, as seen in neuronal arbors and fungal hyphae. However, the mechanisms driving branched morphogenesis remain undefined in most lineages. The Rhizaria are a eukaryotic lineage including numerous amoebae […]

Vocalizations are integral to social communication, with acoustic features that may convey both meaning and information about an animal’s identity or emotional state. The neural representation of vocalizations must therefore permit animals to generalize across one set of acoustic features to recognize meaning, and a different set of features to recognize vocalizer identity. To test […]

Fully functional neural competence and integrity requires a complex array of communication means among neurons, with extracellular vesicles (EVs) emerging as a relevant mechanism for cell-cell interaction in the CNS. Despite the growing number of studies demonstrating the presence of miRNAs in axon and EVs, the molecular mechanisms of those microRNAs present in EVs and […]

RNA-ligand docking remains challenging, due in part to intrinsic properties of RNA such as structural flexibility and a highly charged phosphate backbone. rDock, a widely used RNA docking program, can generate ligand poses close to the experimental structure, but its scoring function frequently fails to rank these poses above less accurate alternatives. To supplement rDock, […]

The success of invasive species often relies on sensory adaptations that allow them to exploit new environments. Unlike most of its relatives, the spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) lays eggs in ripening fruit, making it a serious and rapidly spreading agricultural pest worldwide. Spice plants produce volatiles that repel many insects, making them a potential […]

Piezo1 ion channels are widely expressed cellular mechanosensors. They adopt an intrinsically curved shape when closed and are thought to open when mechanical forces applied to the membrane favor a more flattened conformation. By reconstituting Piezo1 channels into lipid vesicles, a flattened conformation has been determined, however, the ion conduction pore remained closed. In line […]

Neuronal morphology governs how neurons connect, integrate, and process information, offering critical insights into the functional architecture of the brain. Characterizing the three-dimensional (3D) morphology of individual neurons is key not only for mapping circuit connectivity but also for understanding the cellular diversity that emerges during development. Neural organoids are valuable models of human brain […]