An international team involving chemists, physicists and materials scientists implements protection/deprotection strategies for the on-surface synthesis of technologically prominent graphene nanostructures. In the last decades, a new synthetic approach has been developed, generally termed as “on-surface synthesis” that substantially departs from standard wet-chemistry. Instead of the three-dimensional space of solvents in the latter, the environment of the reactants in this new approach are well-defined two-dimensional solid surfaces that are typically held under vacuum conditions. These differences have allowed the successful…
Model animals, such as mice and fruit flies, have provided scientists with powerful insights into how cellular biology works. However, model animals are really just a guide, and it can be risky to generalize findings across animals from studying a selection of model organisms. Cysteine is an important amino acid used in multiple biological processes, including metabolism and protein synthesis. In animals, cysteine biosynthesis was thought to be created exclusively via the transsulfuration pathway, with the cystathionine β-synthase (CBS) enzyme…
Tiny nets woven from DNA strands can ensnare the spike protein of the virus that causes COVID-19, lighting up the virus for a fast-yet-sensitive diagnostic test – and also impeding the virus from infecting cells, opening a new possible route to antiviral treatment, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and collaborators demonstrated the DNA nets’ ability to detect and impede COVID-19 in human cell cultures in a paper published in the Journal of the…
… to prevent future zoonotic diseases. The current global outbreak of monkeypox is yet another warning for the adoption of a preventative, One Health, approach to minimise the risk of future emergence of known and unknown zoonotic pathogens, argue Professors Diana Bell and Andrew Cunningham. The scientists, writing a commentary published in the CABI One Health journal, say the world “cannot afford to ignore yet another warning” such as that presented by monkeypox which has so far seen 62,406 cases…
The human immune system is a thing of wonder. Up until now it had been widely assumed that the ability of killer T cells to destroy tumour cells and pathogens would deteriorate with age. It turns out, however, that the opposite is true – they become better killers, the older they get. This surprising finding is the result of research conducted by the pharmaceutical scientist Dr. Annette Lis and molecular biologist Dorina Zöphel at Saarland University. Their work suggests that…
Research team at the University of Jena discovers novel approach to treating certain B-cell lymphomas. Together with researchers from University Hospital Mainz, the University of Regensburg and the IRCM in Montreal (Canada), a research team from Friedrich Schiller University Jena has discovered a novel therapeutic approach for treating malignant tumours of the lymphatic system. The team led by Dr Christian Kosan from Jena University’s Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics shows that treating certain B-cell lymphomas with the enzyme inhibitor “Marbostat…
Computer simulations visualize how an essential stem cell protein opens wrapped DNA. A key protein for converting adult stem cells into cells that resemble embryonic stem cells has been visualized in unprecedented detail by an international team of researchers around Hans Schöler and Vlad Cojocaru of the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Münster. By combing experiments and computer simulations, the team visualized how the Oct4 protein binds and opens short pieces of DNA while wrapped around nuclear storage…
Scientists identify WASH protein complex as a gatekeeper of neutrophil-driven inflammation. A team led by Scripps Research scientists has uncovered key details of an immune-cell process that frequently underlies excessive inflammation in the body. The findings could lead to new ways of preventing and/or treating inflammation-related conditions such as sepsis, arthritis, and coronary artery disease. In the study, published September 21, 2022 in Nature Communications, the researchers showed that a multi-protein “molecular machine” called WASH has a powerful role in…
If introns remain in certain RNAs, worms live longer. RNA is an important transmitter of information in our cells and serves as a blueprint for the production of proteins. When freshly formed RNA is processed, so-called introns are cut out to produce the mature mRNA coding for protein. This cutting is called “splicing” and is controlled by a complex called the “spliceosome”. Long-lived worms “We found a gene in worms, called PUF60, that is involved in RNA splicing and regulates…
If everything is to run smoothly in living cells, the genetic information must be correct. But unfortunately, errors in the DNA accumulate over time due to mutations. Land plants have developed a peculiar correction mode: they do not directly improve the errors in the genome, but rather elaborately in each individual transcript. Researchers at the University of Bonn have transplanted this correction machinery from the moss Physcomitrium patens into human cells. Surprisingly, the corrector started working there too, but according…
Sensory Neurons in Human Skin Play Key Role in Pigmentation. Our skin forms the physical boundary between us and the outside world, yet it still holds a surprising number of secrets. Now, researchers from Japan have discovered that sensory nerve cells in our skin do more than just help us feel our way around. In a study published this month in Cell Reports, a research group led by the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, has revealed that…
A new study by SISSA and the University of Campania ‘Luigi Vanvitelli’ delves into the dynamics that cause prion proteins to take on the pathological form responsible for serious neurodegenerative diseases. Prion diseases, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (‘mad cow disease’), are lethal neurodegenerative infectious diseases that affect humans and other mammals and for which there is currently no cure. These diseases are caused by the accumulation of prions, which are misfolded versions of proteins that are naturally present in…
Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare pediatric tumor. For more than 40 years there has not been any new development regarding treatment. Research led by Prof. Dr. Anton Henssen at Charité University Berlin has now identified a new therapeutic option, using a drug that is currently under investigation for other types of cancer. The group observed that alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma cancer cells have high levels of DNA damage and are more dependent to the repair processes than non-cancer cells. This drug blocks…
Researchers of the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung participate in an international project. Two scientists Claudia Weidenthaler and Ezgi Onur Sahin of the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung are part of the international “Ambh2er” project. The goal of this project is a greener synthesis of ammonia. For their work they are funded by the EU. There are not many chemicals as often synthesized as Ammonia. The substance, which consists of hydrogen and nitrogen, is used primarily for the production of fertilizers. However, scientists are…
Possible new directions in cancer therapy… Scientists elucidate the regulatory mechanisms underlying “autophagy” mediated competitive elimination of cancer cells. The maintenance of a healthy cell population is a dynamic process, whereby unhealthy cells are eliminated by a defense mechanism called “cell competition”. This process is crucial as unhealthy cells or cells that have accumulated detrimental “genetic mutations” (defects in genes) over time, can initiate the formation of cancer. Cell competition is achieved by healthy normal cells that surround mutant cancer…
Cilia are small hair-like organelles that extend from cells and perform many functions, including motility and signaling. Researchers have now revealed that cilia have a specialized transport hub at their base, where trains and cargos are assembled for transport throughout the cilia. Since defects in this cilia transport system can lead to e.g. cystic kidneys or blindness, the results published in Science also provide new insights into molecular basis for a variety of diseases. Cilia perform numerous functions for the…
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