A team of researchers from Helmholtz Munich, the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) and Novo Nordisk have developed a new hormone combination for the future treatment of type 2 diabetes. The scientists have combined the blood sugar-reducing effects of the drugs tesaglitazar and GLP-1 (Glucagon-like peptide-1) in a new and highly effective drug. The advantage is that, by combining Tesaglitazar with GLP-1, the Tesaglitazar only enters tissue that contains GLP-1 receptors. This reduces the adverse effects of tesaglitazar while…
Researchers capture the release of dopamine across the entire neuron with unparalleled spatial resolution using new technology developed at Janelia. Astronomers build new telescopes and peer at the night sky to see what they might find. Janelia Group Leader Abraham Beyene takes a similar approach when looking at the cells that make up the human brain. Beyene and his team design and synthesize new types of highly sensitive biosensors they use to peer at neurons to see what they can…
Wax flowers and numerous plant genera related to them evolved about 33 million years ago. Shortly thereafter, they split into three independent evolutionary lineages, according to a new international study led by Bayreuth plant systematist Prof. Dr. Sigrid Liede-Schumann. A total of 37 genera and 740 species emerged, distributed over the tropics and subtropics worldwide. Only the combination of well-established morphological studies with the latest molecular genetic analysis methods ensures a correct taxonomic description and classification. The research results have…
Many tumor cells mist themselves with a protective perfume that disables the immune system. But a drug already approved for other purposes can apparently render this weapon harmless. This is shown in a study by the University of Bonn and the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, which has now appeared in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. The researchers now want to further optimize the compound. In the medium term, this could pave the way for new anti-cancer drugs. Many cancer…
During development, lack of sensory experience elicits powerful plasticity mechanisms that alter brain circuitry. Many inhibitory neuron subtypes are known to influence circuit dynamics, however, how they interact with plasticity is not yet fully understood. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt have investigated how synaptic plasticity in rodents, who were deprived of vision in one eye, affects network activity in a circuit model of the sensory cortex. Their findings point to the role of different…
A team headed by Prof. Jörg Kudla at Münster University has discovered that salt stress triggers calcium signals in a special group of cells in plant roots, which form a “sodium-sensing niche”. Also, the researchers identified a calcium sensor switch mechanism as for tolerance to elevated salt stress in which a particular calcium-binding protein (CBL8) specifically conveys salt tolerance under severe salt stress conditions. The results of the study have now been published in the journal “Developmental Cell”. Unfavourable environmental…
New research shows greater separation of molecules in smaller-sized artificial cells. New research shows that cell size and membranes may play a key role in regulating the distribution of molecules inside cells. This discovery offers a new unconventional method for manipulating artificial cells via their size and interfacial properties, or their boundaries, instead of through molecular modification of their chemical structure. This could aid multiple industries, from cosmetics to pharmaceuticals, which want to avoid unexpected changes to the properties of…
Researchers identify a new class of drugs that offer a safer, more targeted treatment for leukemia patients. Chemotherapy sucks. The treatments generally have awful side effects, and it’s no secret that the drugs involved are often toxic to the patient as well as their cancer. The idea is that, since cancers grow so quickly, chemotherapy will kill off the disease before its side effects kill the patient. That’s why scientists and doctors are constantly searching for more effective therapies. A…
Isoprene is used as a precursor to produce terpenes and terpenoids. However, the direct catalytic conversion of isoprene to terpenoids is challenging. Recently, a research team led by Prof. CHEN Qing’an from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) realized nickel-catalysed asymmertric heteroarylative cyclotelomerization of isoprene to access a series of unnatural chiral monoterpenoids bearing quaternary carbon stereocenter. This study was published in Nature Catalysis on August 18. Terpenoids exist in almost all living organisms and function…
Two new approaches could help scientists use existing sequencing technology to better-distinguish RNA changes that affect how their genetic code is read. Kyoto University scientists are getting closer to finding ways to identify changes to RNA sequences that impact protein formation and can cause diseases. Their approach, published in the journal Genomics, utilizes probability algorithms together with an already-available, high-throughput sequencing technology. “Modifications that are found in all types of biological RNA influence gene regulation, which ultimately decides how different…
Nearly all vital functions in the human body are regulated by so-called G protein-coupled receptors on the cell surface. These receptors thus serve as attractive drug targets to treat various diseases. Researchers led by Prof. Stephan Grzesiek from the Biozentrum, University of Basel, have now discovered that empty spaces inside these receptors are important for their activation and thus for relaying messages to the inner cell. Their approach to locate these voids may help to direct the search for novel…
In humans, and many other species, both genes inherited from the mother and from the father influence how embryos develop. In the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, however, the mother has total control, as researchers from the Berger lab at GMI now uncovered. In a study published in eLife, the researchers show that the “mother plant“ has total control and completely inactivates the paternal genes in its embryos to ensure they develop properly. Humans have two sets of chromosomes, one maternal and…
Lymph nodes trigger very different immune responses – depending on which body tissue they are connected to. Special T cells are responsible for this newly discovered relation. The human body contains 600 to 800 lymph nodes, which are specialised organs that trigger immune responses. To be informed about infections in the body, lymph nodes are connected to the individual organs via lymph vessels. From the organs, the lymph vessels transport fluids and special immune cells to the lymph nodes. These…
Scientists at the Francis Crick Institute have identified a group of latent stem cells that respond to injury in the central nervous system of mice. If a similar type of cell exists in humans, they could offer a new therapeutic approach to treat brain and spinal cord injuries. After disease or injury, stem cells help repair the damage by replacing cells that have died. In some organs, like the skin and intestine, these stem cells are constantly active, while in…
The new public dataset captures billions of electrical spikes from brains of mice trained to identify “oddball” photos. From 300,000 mouse neurons, scientists hope to glean how the brain drives behavior. A newly released publicly available dataset is the largest of its kind and represents billions of split-second electrical pulses that comprise the brain’s language of information. From this massive collection of cellular activity, scientists hope to decode the neural computations that underlie behavior. The dataset was collected using Neuropixels,…
Large pieces of plastic can break down into nanosized particles that often find their way into the soil and water. Perhaps less well known is that they can also float in the air. It’s unclear how nanoplastics impact human health, but animal studies suggest they’re potentially harmful. As a step toward better understanding the prevalence of airborne nanoplastics, researchers have developed a sensor that detects these particles and determines the types, amounts and sizes of the plastics using colorful carbon…
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