The Stowers Institute's Rong Li Lab has characterized a mechanism that allows for asymmetrical cell division during meiosis in oocytes. By tracking chromosome movement in live mouse oocytes, the team discovered that chromosomes can recruit to their vicinity a protein called formin-2. This protein allows the oocyte to retain the majority of the cytoplasm – a requirement for embryonic development after fertilization – while the other daughter cell (called a polar body) resulting from the asymmetric division gets only a minimal amount and subsequently dies.

Ozone hole during Oct. 7, 2008, as measured by the Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Cartography (SCIAMACHY) atmospheric sensor onboard ESA's Envisat. The 2008 ozone hole – a thinning in the ozone layer over Antarctica – is larger both in size and ozone loss than 2007 but is not as large as 2006.

By killing off "angry" immune cells that take up residence in obese fat and muscle tissue, researchers have shown that they can rapidly reverse insulin resistance in obese mice. The findings reported in the October Cell Metabolism, a publication of Cell Press, suggest that treatments aimed at specific subsets of the so-called macrophage cells might offer a very effective new antidiabetic therapy, according to the researchers.

A simulated gastrointestinal system is helping scientists test contaminated soil for its potential to harm humans. The method is likely to save time and money for people hoping to repurpose land with an industrial past.

A protein that enables nerve cells to communicate with each other plays a key role in controlling the developing nervous system. Research into how that protein helps precise connections to form among nerve cells may provide a basis for eventual treatments for patients who suffer injuries to their nervous system, including spinal cord injury.

The National Institutes of Health has awarded $4 million to a group of Philippine and American scientists led by Oregon Health & Science University to aid in the discovery of new molecules and biofuels technology from marine mollusks for development in the Philippines.

Health experts from the Wildlife Conservation Society today released a report that lists 12 pathogens that could spread into new regions as a result of climate change, with potential impacts to both human and wildlife health and global economies. Called The Deadly Dozen: Wildlife Diseases in the Age of Climate Change, the new report provides examples of diseases that could spread as a result of changes in temperatures and precipitation levels. The best defense, according to the report's authors, is a good offense in the form of wildlife monitoring to detect how these diseases are moving so health professionals can learn and prepare to mitigate their impact.