According to Phys.org, researchers at Harvard's Wyss Institute have built self-assembling nanocages comprised of DNA. 

This image, found with the article on Phys.org, shows the DNA 3-D figures the scientists have made and imaged with the PAINT DNA technique. Each structure is composed of DNA tripods that attach end-to-end, forming polygons.

The researchers hope to use this for several medical applications, such as highly localized drug administration with metal coating, but currently are working to ensure the stability of the structures and the DNA. Although DNA is a fairly stable molecule in itself, common enzymes and components of the extra-cellular matrix easily disassemble the DNA.

The rightmost cage shown above, the biggest created to date, is about 1-tenth the size of a bacteria cell.

The Abstract for the research, published in Science Magazine, can be found here.

Researchers at MIT work to create nanobiotic plants inserting modified nanotubes into chloroplasts

According to Business Standard, a research team led by Michael Strano at MIT is working to produce plants that can sense pollution, explosives, and chemical weapons. The team might also try to incorporate electronics into plants.

The mechanisms the teams are using, such as those used to sense pollutants like nitric oxide, requires inserting modified nanotubes into functional parts of the plant, such as the chloroplast.

This image, found on Guardian Liberty Voice, illustrates how fluorescence can be seen in plants. This particular part of the experiment showed a 30% increase in the plants' ability to harvest energy from sunlight.

The first step with each new detection ability is to synthesize nanotubules with sensory ability. These tubes have a fluorescent pigment in them that changes when the target molecule (such as a pollutant) binds to the receptors.

The original article about the photonic chemical sensors in vivo and ex vivo, authored by Giraldo, was published in Nature Materials earlier this month.

This study suggests that plants may be a more reliable detector for small levels of pollutants than man-made detectors. 

The Golgi Apparatus during cell division: new 3-D images

Researchers for the National Institute of Health recently produced 3-D images of the Golgi Apparatus during cell division, according to Photonics.

Cell division is the process by which cells reproduce and make two daughter cells that are identical to themselves. The elementary study of cell division includes a detailed explanation of the chromosomes' behavior, but the rest of the cells content must be copied and transferred to the daughter cells as well. 

This image found on Scitable by Nature shows just a few of the organelles that have to be duplicated in cell division. Additionally, the interactions between the Golgi and the ER help uphold their finding.

The researchers found, according to the photonics article, that the Golgi breaks up during during cell division, gets absorbed by the endoplasmic reticulum, and the Golgi reconstitutes in the daughter cells. 

The mechanism for reconstitution would be helpful in understanding the endomembrane system and how it functions, interacts, and forms, as well as in understanding evolutionary implications.

Kinase cascading and circuit analysis, a new way to look at organelles

Researchers at the UNC School of Medicine have developed a circuit analysis method of studying the cascading effects of kinases, enzymes that are involved in cell movement, cell death (apoptosis), metabolism, enzyme secretion, and various other cell activities, according to Phys.org.

This diagram shows an example of "cascading" kinase events. Each of the different molecules are kinases that undergo activation, such as substrate-level phosphorylation in MEK and MAPk. Each activation leads to another activation until the signal reaches the response site, in this case, in the nucleus.

The researchers' methods involved deactivating one of the enzymes, then reactivating it and observing where the signal went. In this way, they can control the signal's activation time and trace its next interaction. This means real time in-cell analysis of kinase cascade triggered reactions.

Given the prevalence of kinases and their association with many cell activities and organelles, this disruption and tracing technique may lead to further discoveries in organelle activity.

Readers' choice: things you didn't know about your favorite organelles

Biologists and biology lovers alike have their own favorite chemical reactions, factoids, and even organelles. I asked some readers what their favorite organelles were, and set out to find some interesting or new factoids about each of them. 

The selected organelles:

• mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell
• lysosomes, the destroyer
• ribosomes, protein builders

Mitochondria

 [My favorite organelles are] "mitochondria because they have their own genome," LauraAnn Schmidberger, a senior in high school, said.

Three Parent Controversy- The mitochondria do indeed have their own genome, which is what puts them at the center of the recent 3-Parent controversy discussed on Feb. 26.  However, the controversy is actually international, and the UK may approve it and produce 3-parent babies by 2014, according to The Telegraph.



Mitoflashes and Lifespan- Activity in the mitochondria of worms may be able to predict the worms' lifespan, according to the article "Lifespans predictable at early age: worm study suggests that activity in mitochondria determines ageing" published in February by Nature.com. The article explains the results of a study that found that the frequency of mitoflashes, or quick bursts of mitochondrial activity, is inversely related to longevity; the more mitoflashes, the shorter the lifespan. 

Lysosomes

I like lysosomes because they destroy stuff and I like the name "lysosome," Kylie Baker, a sophomore Molecular Biology Major at Colorado University, Boulder, said. 

Autophagy- Autophagy, or "self-eating" is how eukaryotic organisms survive starvation, digesting their own molecules and organelles for use as energy. Lysosomes, in addition to breaking down macromolecules entering the cell to be used in energy synthesis during normal satiated conditions, can "eat" parts of its own cell through endocytosis and digest its own macromolecules for energy, according to Scitable.

Missing Enzymes and Empty Lysosomes-When one of the ~60 enzymes is missing from the lysosome, a lysosomal deficiency or disease occurs, Biosciencetechnology explains. In extremely rare cases of (Type III) in which none of the enzymes work, the lysosomes remain empty and the children die by age ten. 

Ribosomes

 [My favorite organelle is the] "ribosome... definitely the ribosome. Conserved in all cells and absolutely essential for life!" Amanda Evans, a freshman Biomedical Science Major at Colorado State University said.

Self Assembly- One of the requirements for a molecule that assembles RNA is that it must assemble its own 50-part structure, with the help of some proteins. Phys.org published an article in February, "Advanced techniques yield new insights into ribosome self-assembly" that explains how some of the auxiliary proteins, rather than locking the ribosome into its structure, bind the ribosome's components in other conformations (shapes not found in the ribosomes themselves) to allow other parts to come together. "The team was most interested in a central region of the 16s RNA because it contains signature sequences that differentiate the three cellular 'domains,' or superkingdoms, of life," the article explains.

Energy dependent translational throttle A (EttA)- A collaborative effort between researchers at Lethridge University (Canada) and Columbia University led to the suggestion that a protein, now EttA, binds to ribosomes to slow down protein production once a cell is fully grown, according to Caroline Zentner for the Lethbridge Herald. "Just like a laptop computer that will go into power-save mode when its battery is running low, YjjK [EttA] senses when the cell’s energy is low and then acts like a throttle to put it into energy-saving mode." Zentner writes.

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Leave a comment if you would like me to look into any other organelles! 

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-02-advanced-techniques-yield-insights-ribosome.html#jC

Prostate cancer survival related to organelle function, or malfunction

Researchers at A&M University recently discovered a new biomarker associated with Prostate Cancer prognosis, according to this BioNews Texas article.

The background for the article provided for the paper on Wiley.com, explains that cells' autophagy contributes to tumor production while the protein LRPPRC inhibits autophagy and maintains mitochondrial activity. Autophagy is the highly regulated and controlled recycling of wastes within the cell.

This image, borrowed from Yale Image Finder (and PubMed) shows the LRPPRC supressor protein (near the center), as well as other proteins, suppressing the expression of genes that trigger autophagy and regulate mitochondria activities.

The study, headed by Leyuan Liu found that higher levels of LRPPRC had a positive correlation with more severe prostate cancer.

Essentially, elevated levels of the protein prevent the cells from discarding cellular waste, and the resulting imbalance inhibits mitochondrial function.

This does not mean that elevated LRPPRC causes prostate cancer, but it does mean that generally, someone with a lower LRPPRC will survive longer than someone with elevated levels.

Following these findings, drug development will ensue to control levels of LRPPRC in prostate cancer patients to increase the timescale and chances of survival, according to Liu. Additionally, other cancers and their progression may be linked to similar mechanisms.  

Plants without chloroplasts or their genomes?

Perhaps the introductory biology class concept of plant cells as eukaryotes with chloroplasts is being defied, as Rappler writer KD Suarez points out in this article posted on rappler.com, a new social media that focuses on news.

This image, borrowed from a BBC KS3 Bitesize Science article, shows the most basic understanding of the animal versus plant cell comparison. Note the little green organelles in the Plant cell, chloroplasts.

In his article, KD Suarez draws attention to two plant population studies published in 2014 in which researchers have found neither chloroplasts nor their genomes. 

Although some plants do not have chloroplasts, it has been generally accepted that plants have chloroplast genomes, perhaps because they are similar to the mitochondria in providing energy to the cell.

The first study examined a parasitic flower species native to the Phillipines that gets its food from its plant host, and the researchers did not find the chloroplast genome, according to Suarez.

The second study looked at an algae and found that although it had neither chloroplasts nor its genomes, it did have proteins associated with the chloroplast and its function. 

The Scientist also pointed out the two studies in its article: "Plants Without Plastid Genomes:Two independent teams point to different plants that may have lost their plastid genomes."

Certainly this communicates a long history of parasitism and environmental dependency for these species, assuming that their ancestors had functioning chloroplasts. It may be more material as well as energy efficient for these plants that do not depend on photosynthesis for energy to not have the genome associated with the "useless organelle."

Nonetheless, these studies challenge how scientists classify plants. Perhaps parasites, like genetic mutants, are key to understanding what functions, what does not, and how some organisms have changed over time.