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NIH Record - National Institutes of Health
Two cells form bubbles

July 26, 2019

  • Dr. Collins on stage interviewing Thomson.

    ‘Big Read’ Delves into Quirky Brains

    By Dana Talesnik

    The brain can perform in unusual ways beyond our imagination that, in some cases, defy explanation. So explained author Helen Thomson, guest speaker at NIH's 3rd annual Big Read.
  • Dr. Brigitte Kieffer

    Kieffer Dissects Opioid Effects on the Brain

    By Carla Garnett

    According to recent Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series guest Dr. Brigitte Kieffer, researchers are closer than ever to understanding, witnessing, mimicking and perhaps predicting opioids’ work within the gray matter.
  • Dr. Sean Conlan

    NHGRI, CC Sleuths Uncover an Uncommon Bacteria

    Using a cutting-edge NIH genomic center, a sophisticated microbiology lab and cross-disciplinary collaboration, experts at NIH were able to identify the source of a decade-long outbreak of rather uncommon hospital-acquired Sphingomonas koreensis infections, said NHGRI's Dr. Sean Conlan.
  • Drs. La Spada, Sayer and Sieving

    La Spada Plots Progress Leading to Vision-Saving Treatment

    By KATHRYN DEMOTT

    A therapy designed to prevent blindness in people with the inherited neurodegenerative disorder spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA-7) is nearing the launch pad for testing in clinical trials, said Dr. Albert La Spada, director of the Duke University Center for Neurodegeneration & Neurotherapeutics.
Two cells form bubbles

On the Cover

Cells forming bubbles. On the right, two cells (greenish yellow) are in the process of forming bubbles, or plasma membrane vesicles (PMVs). During the blebbing process, a cell’s membrane temporarily disassociates from its underlying cytoskeleton, forming a tiny pouch that, over the course of about 30 minutes, is “inflated” with a mix of proteins and lipids from inside the cell. After the PMVs are fully filled, these bubble-like structures are pinched off and released like those seen in the background.

Photo: Chi Zhao, David Busch, Connor Vershel & Jeanne Stachowiak, University of Texas at Austin

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