Volume 8 Issue 5, May 2011

Multiple synchrotron beams make infrared imaging faster and clearer.

Researchers have taken first steps toward functional connectomics. By combining large-scale serial electron microscopy and functional imaging data, the structure of neural networks can be related to their function.

Nanoparticles made of the natural pigment porphyrin combine desirable properties of both organic and inorganic particles.

High-coverage sequencing of RNA interference targets gives insight into parasite phenotypes.

Maps of chromatin-state dynamics identify regulatory elements across nine human cell types.

A recent study turns the creation of conditional short hairpin RNA transgenic mice into a rapid, flexible and scalable process.

A compound for staining amyloid aggregates is found to slow aging and increase lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans.

A technique to substantially increase the resolution and imaging area of Fourier-transform infrared microspectroscopy, while decreasing the amount of time required for image acquisition, may augment the use of this technology in biomedical and environmental research.

Improved methods for human pluripotent stem cell culture and for reprogramming of human somatic cells to pluripotency may bring us closer to the routine generation of personalized pluripotent stem cells.

A parallel microfluidic cytometer combines low-pixel-count, one-dimensional images with parallel-channel flow cytometry for high-speed, high-throughput screening of cells.

Incorporation of one-dimensional imaging capability into a parallel microfluidic flow cytometer allows fast, low-resolution acquisition of images that permit classification of cells by automated analysis of preselected features.

Short hairpin RNAs, expressed from microRNA scaffold–containing vectors, efficiently silence gene expression in female germ cells as well as somatic cells in the fly. A genome-wide resource is being developed.

Human induced pluripotent stem cells are generated with episomal plasmid vectors at increased efficiency using non-transforming L-Myc and knockdown of p53. Also in this issue, Chen et al. report defined conditions for human cell reprogramming and culture.

Rapid, high-resolution, label-free Fourier-transform infrared imaging of biological samples is made possible by combining multiple synchrotron beams with wide-field detection.

Light sheet microscopy using a scanned Bessel beam in combination with structured illumination or two-photon excitation reduces photobleaching and phototoxicity, improves axial resolution and allows isotropic three-dimensional imaging. The authors demonstrate performance of the method via fast volumetric subcellular imaging of several dynamic processes in single living cells.

A defined and simplified culture system for the derivation and growth of human induced pluripotent stem cells is reported. It permits increased efficiency of human reprogramming with an episomal approach. Also in this issue, Okita et al. describe methods for more efficient episomal reprogramming of human cells.

mProphet, a computational tool for statistically validating selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mass spectrometry data, is described.