New technique unravels transport in living brain cells
Thursday, October 20, 2011 - 07:31
in Biology & Nature
A new technique has made it possible to study the functioning of motor proteins in living brain cells. Previously, this could previously only be done under artificial conditions outside the cell. Motor proteins transport building blocks from one location to another in a cell. NWO researcher Lukas Kapitein managed to image how motor proteins find their way around brain cells. The research into transport systems inside brain cells may lead to an improved understanding of how brain disorders such as Alzheimers disease progress. The new Cell Biology Department at Utrecht University, which opened on 7 October, will further develop and utilise this new technique.