Earthquake crisis unveils the growth of an incipient continental fault system.

Large continental faults extend for thousands of kilometres to form boundaries between rigid tectonic blocks. These faults are associated with prominent topographic features and can produce large earthquakes. Here we show the first evidence of a major tectonic structure in its initial-stage, the Al-Idrissi Fault System (AIFS), in the Alboran Sea.

Nucleic acid delivery to magnetically-labeled cells in a 2D array and at the luminal surface of cell culture tube and their detection by MRI.

The magnetic labeling of living cells has become of major interest in the areas of cell therapy and tissue engineering. Magnetically labeled cells have been reported to allow increased and controlled seeding, tracking, and targeting of cells. In this work, we comprehensively characterize magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) possessing a magnetite core of about 11 nm, and which are coated with the fluorinated surfactant F(CF2)nCH2CH2SCH2CH2C(O)OLi and 1,9-nonandithiol (NDT) for the nonspecific labeling of human pulmonary epithelial (H441) cells.

Effects of weak static magnetic fields on endothelial cells.

Pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) have been used extensively in bone fracture repairs and wound healing. It is accepted that the induced electric field is the dose metric. The mechanisms of interaction between weak magnetic fields and biological systems present more ambiguity than that of PEMFs since weak electric currents induced by PEMFs are believed to mediate the healing process, which are absent in magnetic fields.

Direct magnetic tubular cell seeding: a novel approach for vascular tissue engineering.

Optimizing seeding efficiency, reducing delayed culture periods and mimicking native tissue architecture are crucial requirements for the development of seeding procedures in tissue engineering. In vascular applications, the tubular geometry of the grafts further hampers the efficient delivery of cells onto the scaffold. To overcome these limitations, a novel technology based upon the use of magnetic fields is presented in this study: a radial magnetic force drives the cells immediately onto the luminal surface of a tubular scaffold and immobilizes the cells on the substrate's surface promoting cell attachment.