#lymphatics

"Lymphatics of the head and eye." The American encyclopedia and dictionary of ophthalmology. 1913.

The carotid arteries are vital pathways that deliver blood from the heart to the brain. When forward head posture is present, this alignment can interfere with optimal blood flow, creating a constant traffic jam that reduces circulation to the brain and places ongoing stress on the nervous system and the body as a whole. Improving this begins with simple, consistent strategies such as regular walking to restore natural movement patterns, strengthening and mobilising the neck to support better posture, and identifying and addressing any underlying jaw dysfunctions that may be reinforcing the forward head position.

A simple but effective exercise to help correct forward head posture is the chin tuck: Sit or stand tall with your shoulders relaxed. Gently draw your chin straight back, as if making a double chin, keeping your eyes level and not tilting your head up or down. Hold for 5–10 seconds, then relax. Repeat 10–15 times, 2–3 times per day. This exercise strengthens the deep neck flexors, helps realign the head over the spine, and supports better blood flow through the carotid arteries.

Cell Out

Circulating tumour cells can increase the frequency that Ca2+ ions oscillate (which affects molecular signalling pathways) in blood vessel lining (endothelial) cells triggering remodelling of the endothelial cell cytoskeleton, allowing tumour cells to creep through the vessel wall (extravasation) and spread around the body (metastasis)

Read the published research article here

Adapted image from work by Marina Peralta and colleagues

Tumor Biomechanics lab, INSERM UMR_S1109, Strasbourg, France

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Published in iScience, February 2025

(via Human and nonhuman primate meninges harbor lymphatic vessels that can be visualized noninvasively by MRI | eLife)

Heart-wrapping Lymphatics

The heart's system of lymphatic vessels transports immune cells and is involved in fluid regulation. This study reveals that these vessels develop in the epicardium – one of the heart's membranous coverings, and that they're initiated by signalling of proteins called VEGFC and D

Read the published research article here

Image from work by Ester de la Cruz and colleagues

Cardiovascular Regeneration ProgramCentro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) Madrid, Spain

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in EMBO Reports, March 2025

Clearing the Cache

While HIV infection is successfully controlled by antiretroviral drugs, the virus can persist at low levels in lymph nodes. Using a mouse model with Friend virus this study shows that treatment with an antibody directed against the protein CD137 induces clearance of the viral reservoir by a type of cytotoxic T cell

Read the published research paper here

Image still from a video from work by Anna Malyshkina and colleagues

Institute for Virology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany

Video originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in PLOS Pathogens, October 2023

Tonsil like Us

Organ of the immune system akin to our tonsils discovered in the popular model organism zebrafish and other bony fish

Read the published research paper here

Image from work by Julien Rességuier and colleagues

Section for Physiology and Cell Biology, Departments of Biosciences and Immunology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in and on the cover of Science Advances, November 2023