Scientists have identified a protein that may be key to proper sperm formation. Without it, male mice produced no viable sperm, they found. A team at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research in Japan found that a protein called Poc5 appears critical to the development of sperm's tailthe vital part that helps them swim toward an egg in order to fertilize it.
Green tea is an ancient beverage recognized for its medicinal and antioxidant properties. It has been widely studied for its beneficial effects on metabolic diseases, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. Recent studies funded by FAPESP have deepened our understanding of the mechanisms of action of this infusion and revealed that green tea treatment reduced weight and significantly improved glucose sensitivity and insulin resistance in obese mice.
Your peripheral nervous system (PNS) is crucial to navigating daily life. It lets you walk, controls your eye movements, and rings your brain's alarms when you step on a Lego brick. Yet researchers have never built a complete map of this essential network in any mammalian body. Now a study published in Cell shows a complete, three-dimensional map of every single nerve fiber threading through a mouse.