A neuron, or nerve cell, consists of a cell body, short extensions called dendrites, and a long arm called an axon that branches off into axon terminals. For messages to be sent from one neuron to another, an electrical signal travels down the axon, and the axon terminals pass an electrochemical signal to the dendrites of other neurons.

November 13, 2024

From Viral Villain to Gene Therapy Hero: Assembling 3D Brain Organoids in Space to Advance...

In the classic dichotomy of hero versus villain, everything is black and white. Heroes are brave, noble, and the epitome of...

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The Beauty of Accelerated Aging

August 29, 2024

The Beauty of Accelerated Aging: Using Tissue Chips to Explore Age-Related Muscle Loss in...

Contrary to Bob Dylan’s famous song, it’s not possible to “stay forever young,” and aging is inevitable. As we get...

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Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques onboard the International Space Station

April 23, 2024

From Root Cause to Remedy: Can Microgravity Help Prevent Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis?

Alan Grodzinsky sees things differently. When he uses fluorescent dyes to test cell viability in the cartilage tissue he...

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ESA astronaut Lt. Samantha Cristoforetti installing the Ring Sheared Drop system.

September 29, 2023

A Small Drop With a Big Impact: Fundamental Science in Space to Improve Medicine on Earth

It’s 10 p.m., and researchers and students excitedly gather inside a lab at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in New...

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view from cupola lucie low

December 23, 2019

The View From the Cupola: Lucie Low

The opportunity to do biomedical research on the International Space Station (ISS) is so far outside the realm of possibility...

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heart hook2

July 11, 2019

Mending a Broken Heart Using Microgravity: Cardiovascular Progenitor Cells Hold Promise for...

The human heart is truly amazing. Each day, this small muscular organ beats approximately 100,000 times and pumps around 2,000...

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