In this issue of Clinical Cancer Research, Zoglmeier and colleagues show that CpG, via the induction of IFN-α, matures myeloid-derived suppressor cells to abrogate immune suppression in 2 murine solid tumor models.

Metal-capping of one hemisphere of a nano or microparticle breaks the particle’s optical symmetry, allowing its orientation to be tracked using fluorescence and reflection. Tracking orientation and rotation allows the torques acting on the particles be inferred. In addition to serving as rotational nanoviscometers these probes report on local Brownian, magnetic and biomechanical torques. r 2005...

The density of a single cell is a fundamental property of cells. Cells in the same cycle phase have similar volume, but the differences in their mass and density could elucidate each cell's physiological state. Here we report a novel technique to rapidly measure the density and mass of a single cell using an optically induced electrokinetics (OEK) microfluidic platform. Presently, single cellul...

Axonal target-derived BMP and neurotrophin signaling are both known to regulate neuronal gene expression, differentiation, and axon growth. In this issue of Neuron, Ji and Jaffrey (2012) discovered that BMP-signaling endosomes depend on BDNF-induced axonal synthesis of SMADs to retrogradely regulate transcription in developing trigeminal neurons, providing a mechanism of integrating the two tar...

We report a novel optothermal trapping mechanism that occurs in air-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. In the confined environment of the core, the motion of a laser-guided particle is strongly influenced by the thermal-gradient-driven flow of air along the core surface. Known as "thermal creep flow," this can be induced either statically by local heating, or dynamically by the absorpti...

The electrostatic acceleration of charged iron macroparticles is considered. These macroparticles are directed toward the center of a sphere and energy densities above 2 megajoules/cm3 are expected. The conversion of the kinetic energy of the beam into heat results in very high temperatures, possibly in the fusion range. Revue Phys. Appl. 23 (1988) 1531-1534 SEPTEMBRE 1988, Classification Physi...

Optical trap assisted nanopatterning is a laser direct-write technique that uses an optically trapped microsphere as a near-field objective. The type of feature that one can create with this technique depends on several factors, one of which is the shape of the microbead. In this paper, we examine how the geometry of the bead affects the focus of the light through a combination of experiments a...

During development, newly born neurons migrate away from their initial birth sites to their final positions in the mature brain. The neurotrophin BDNF has been shown to regulate the migration of granule cells in the cerebellum. The cellular mechanisms that mediate this chemotactic response have not been resolved. In this issue of Neuron, Zhou et al. show that vesicle trafficking is critical for...