Krabbe disease (KD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by the lack of β- galactosylceramidase enzymatic activity and by widespread accumulation of the cytotoxic galactosyl-sphingosine in neuronal, myelinating and endothelial cells. Despite the wide use of Twitcher mice as experimental model for KD, the ultrastructure of this model is partial and mainly addressing peripheral nerves. More details are requested to elucidate the basis of the motor defects, which are the first to appear during KD onset. Here we use transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to focus on the alterations produced by KD in the lower motor system at postnatal day 15 (P15), a nearly asymptomatic stage, and in the juvenile P30 mouse. We find mild effects on motorneuron soma, severe ones on sciatic nerves and very severe effects on nerve terminals and neuromuscular junctions at P30, with peripheral damage being already detectable at P15. Finally, we find that the gastrocnemius muscle undergoes atrophy and structural changes that are independent of denervation at P15. Our data further characterize the ultrastructural analysis of the KD mouse model, and support recent theories of a dying-back mechanism for neuronal degeneration, which is independent of demyelination.

Crystallography of nanocrystalline materials has witnessed a true revolution in the past 10 years, thanks to the introduction of protocols for 3D acquisition and analysis of electron diffraction data. This method provides single-crystal data of structure solution and refinement quality, allowing the atomic structure determination of those materials that remained hitherto unknown because of their limited crystallinity. Several experimental protocols exist, which share the common idea of sampling a sequence of diffraction patterns while the crystal is tilted around a noncrystallographic axis, namely, the goniometer axis of the transmission electron microscope sample stage. This Outlook reviews most important 3D electron diffraction applications for different kinds of samples and problematics, related with both materials and life sciences. Structure refinement including dynamical scattering is also briefly discussed.

We report an advanced lithium-ion battery based on a graphene ink anode and a lithium iron phosphate cathode. By carefully balancing the cell composition and suppressing the initial irreversible capacity of the anode in the round of few cycles, we demonstrate an optimal battery performance in terms of specific capacity, that is, 165 mAhg(-1), of an estimated energy density of about 190 Wh kg(-1) and a stable operation for over 80 charge-discharge cycles. The components of the battery are low cost and potentially scalable. To the best of our knowledge, complete, graphene-based, lithium ion batteries having performances comparable with those offered by the present technology are rarely reported; hence, we believe that the results disclosed in this work may open up new opportunities for exploiting graphene in the lithium-ion battery science and development.