Cookies on this website
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Continue' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

New construction role found for cell demolition tool

Research

A new role has been discovered for a well-known piece of cellular machinery, which could revolutionise the way we understand how tissue is constructed and remodelled within the body.

Neural network Human nervous system (3D illustration) © Andrii Vodolazhskyi - Shutterstock

Lysosomes are small, enzyme-filled sacks found within cells, which break down old cell components and unwanted molecules.

Their potent mixture of destructive enzymes also makes them important in protecting cells against pathogens such as viruses by degrading cell intruders.

However, new research from the University of Oxford has revealed that in addition to breaking down cellular components, lysosomes are also important in building cellular structures.

Read more (Oxford Science blog)

Similar stories

How moving dots are helping us learn more about dyslexia in children – new research

New Research Highlights Importance of Early Years Development on Future Wellbeing

Oxford researchers involved nearly 4,000 children across the UK in three specially developed science lessons to educate pupils about brain development during early childhood. The SEEN (Secondary Education around Early Neurodevelopment) project was commissioned and funded by KindredSquared and is part of a wider drive to increase public understanding of how early experiences can shape the adults we become.

Study reveals ‘stop-eating’ response to DNA damage

A new study from the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine sheds light on the mechanism by which DNA damage suppresses appetite, a finding with implications for understanding the appetite lowering side-effects of chemotherapy.

World’s first cancer prevention trial to test diabetes drug in patients with high-risk genetic condition

Oxford researchers will lead a £2m national cancer prevention trial to assess the benefit a diabetes drug has in patients with Li Fraumeni Syndrome (LFS), a genetic condition that impacts 1 in 20,000 people worldwide and puts them at a 70-90% lifetime risk of cancer.

Oxford-led research maps milestone stage of human development for the first time

Scientists have shed light on an important stage of early embryonic development that has never been fully mapped out in humans before.

Overusing antibiotics? Find out with Antibiotic Footprint Calculator

To help reduce the overuse of antibiotics, Oxford researchers today released a new, easy to use online tool – Antibiotic Footprint Calculator – that could make an important contribution in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR), one of the world’s most significant emerging threats to public health.