Bactilluminati
Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere today are higher than at any point in the past 800,000 years. Cyanobacteria are major players in the global carbon cycle, since they can “fix” or remove carbon dioxide; in fact, these bacteria are responsible for almost half of the remediated atmospheric carbon dioxide because, just like plants, Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic, using light and carbon dioxide to grow. Cyanobacteria form green blooms in marine environments that can grow so massive that they can be seen from space! In this image, we zoom in to see single cells. The iridescent outlining of the cells artfully portrays their light harvesting abilities that maximize photosynthesis near the cell membrane. Investigators are now interested in developing these clever Cyanobacteria as a tool to combat climate change. (Anthony Vecchiarelli, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan)
Breathe In
With every breath we take, oxygen is brought into the body and with each exhale, carbon dioxide is removed. For this gas transfer to take place efficiently, the blood vessels must lie very close to the air spaces. This image shows a developing mouse lung, as both blood vessels (a subset of the blue cells) and airway epithelium (red) are actively branching and growing together. While this image shows the beginning stage of lung development, by the time of birth, the final airspaces of the lung (called alveoli) will consist of sac-like structures with extremely thin walls (1/10,000 of an inch thick; for comparison, paper is 1/3900 of an inch thick). Blood vessels are actually embedded in these thin alveolar walls. In severe cases of COVID-19, the virus damages the alveolar lining cells as well as the capillaries. These cells die and cellular debris builds up in the alveolar wall, causing it to thicken considerably. Such damaged thick-walled alveoli cannot function properly in gas exchange, which leads to a condition known as diffuse respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). - (Astrid Gillich, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow (Krasnow Laboratory) Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine)
