This article creates a microkinetic assay for human and zebrafish plasmas using 1 μl plasma under conditions similar to prothrombin time (PT) and partial thromboplastin time (PTTs). The established microkinetic assay could measure blood coagulation activity in models like zebrafish and human blood samples obtained from a finger prick in adults or heel prick in infants.

Article examining the the metabolic cost of self-righting in the terrestrial Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise using respirometry and kinematic video analysis and comparing this to the metabolic cost of locomotion at a moderate, easily sustainable speed. The results found that self-righting is, relatively, metabolically expensive and costs around two times the mass-specific power required to walk.

This study further explores a prior screening program carried out using MTT assay that identified a series of novel benzimidazole derivatives, among which Methyl 2-(5-fluoro-2-hydroxyphenyl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazole-5-carboxylate (MBIC) showed highest anticancer efficacy compared to that of chemotherapeutic agent, cisplatin. In this article, the authors find that MBIC inhibited cell viability in different hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines without exerting significant cytotoxic effects on normal liver cells. The results of this study demonstrate that MBIC may inhibit cell proliferation via ROS-mediated activation of the JNK signaling cascade in HCC cells.

Article describes study analyzing the effects of a new purine derivative drug, PDD005, in attenuating mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, using both in vivo and in vitro models.

Article investigating if the exposure to diesel exhaust particles (DEP) can alter commensal lung microbiota, thereby promoting alterations in the lung’s immune and inflammatory responses. This article also explores if diet contributes to the alteration of the commensal lung microbiome.

Article assessing membrane lipids in M. truncatula tissues using electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry. The results suggest that specific PC species may be differentially important in diverse nodule zones and cell types, and that membrane lipid remodeling during P stress is not uniform across the nodule.

This article provides the summary of the reports of the geographical distribution in the Maritime Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions of Parochlus steinenii (Gercke, 1889) (Diptera, Chironomidae), the only flying insect occurring naturally in the Antarctic continent. This database was developed as one of the main objectives of two Chilean-funded research projects addressing understanding the effects of climate change on sub-Antarctic and Antarctic insects.

Article states that gene editing tools such as CRISPR/Cas9 are often thought of as a means to prevent gene expression; however, a more subtle and yet powerful approach is the enhancement of gene expression by precise deletion of repressor sites within a gene of interest. Authors argue that gene editing of miRNA target sites is preferable over deletion of the miRNA genes themselves, given that it avoids the pitfalls of unspecific derepression of miRNA target(s) beyond the gene of interest.