… boosts immune system’s attack on several cancers in mice. A new biodegradable gel improves the immune system’s ability to keep cancer at bay after tumors are surgically removed. The gel, tested in mice, releases drugs and special antibodies that simultaneously deplete immune-blocking cells called macrophages from the surgical site and activate T cells so they can attack cancer. University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists tested the gel on mouse models of several cancers. They found that the gel effectively kept in…
At TU Wien (Vienna), it was now possible to explain how a chemical reaction takes place that, at first glance, should not be possible at the temperatures observed. What happens when a cat climbs onto a sunflower? The sunflower is unstable, will quickly bend, and the cat will fall to the ground. However, if the cat only needs a quick boost to catch a bird from there, then the sunflower can act as a “metastable intermediate step”. This is essentially…
KIT Researchers use CRISPR-Kill to prevent the formation of specific organs during plant development. With the help of the CRISPR/Cas molecular scissors, genetic information in a plant can be modified to make the latter more robust to pests, diseases, or extreme climatic conditions. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now developed this method further to eliminate the complete DNA of specific cell types and, thus, prevent their formation during plant development. This will also help to better understand…
Some jellyfish have simple eyes; some have complex ones. Other jellyfish have no eyes at all. Indeed, recent research has shown jellyfish eyes in different species have evolved separately and independently many times in different ways over many millennia, making them an ideal model to better understand how the trait expresses itself genetically. Now, a team of researchers that includes Paulyn Cartwright, professor of ecology & evolutionary biology at the University of Kansas; Maria Pia Miglietta of Texas A&M University,…
The birds and the bees… Study calculates winged helpers’ effects on coffee—while pioneering a better way to measure nature’s ‘unpaid labor’. A groundbreaking new study finds that coffee beans are bigger and more plentiful when birds and bees team up to protect and pollinate coffee plants. Without these winged helpers, some traveling thousands of miles, coffee farmers would see a 25% drop in crop yields, a loss of roughly $1,066 per hectare of coffee. That’s important for the $26 billion…
University of Jena research team studies molecular components of the endogenous clock in the green lineage. Life on Earth runs in 24-hour cycles. From tiny bacteria to human beings, organisms adapt to alterations of day and night. External factors, such as changes in light and temperature, are needed to entrain the clock. Many metabolic processes are controlled by the endogenous clock. Scientists at the University of Jena have now studied the molecular rhythms of the endogenous clock in the “green…
The presence of dendritic cells, so-called ‘sentinel’ immune cells, is vital to maintain and regulate the balance of the body’s immune response. Researchers have discovered an essential role of these cells in the treatment of cancer and severe viral infections. Chronic viral infections and cancers can cause a permanent impairment to the immune system, reducing the ability of immune killer T cells to remove tumour cells, or those infected by a virus – this is referred to as ‘immune exhaustion’….
Learning from the single cell: How is the activity of genes regulated by the packaging of DNA? To answer this question, a technique to measure both gene expression and DNA packaging at the same time was developed by Franka Rang and Kim de Luca, researchers from the group of Jop Kind (group leader at the Hubrecht Institute and Oncode Investigator). This method, EpiDamID, determines the location of modified proteins around which the DNA is wrapped. It is important to gather…
To test if a single gene could affect an entire ecosystem, a research team of the University of Zurich conducted a lab experiment with a plant and its associated ecosystem of insects. They found that plants with a mutation at a specific gene foster ecosystems with more insect species. The discovery of such a “keystone gene” could change current biodiversity conservation strategies. More than 50 years ago on the shoreline of a rocky tide pool, the US ecologist Robert Paine…
Cichlids and stingrays can perform simple addition and subtraction in the number range of one to five. This has been shown in a recent study by the University of Bonn, which has now been published in the journal Scientific Reports. It is not known what the animals need their mathematical abilities for. Suppose there are some coins on the table in front of you. If the number is small, you can tell right away exactly how many there are. You…
Scientists are looking for a connection between bacterial genes and disease severity. The bacterium Escherichia coli is found in the human intestine, and elsewhere. There it is harmless, but in certain conditions it can become a pathogen. It can cause bladder infections or even sepsis. A team of researchers led by RESIST professor Marco Galardini at TWINCORE, together with colleagues from the medical faculty of the University of Paris, has now investigated whether certain genes of the bacterium are associated…
Scientists identify a pathway of immune cell inhibition that may provide the basis for novel approaches to immunotherapy of colon cancer. Their results also highlight important roles of the intestinal microbiota in the development of the disease. Colon cancer is one of the most common types of cancer. Particularly in advanced stages of disease, the treatment still largely relies on traditional chemotherapy. The new generation of cancer treatments, so-called immunotherapies, has only been effective in a small subgroup of colon…
Scientists have published the first complete, gapless sequence of a human genome, two decades after the Human Genome Project produced the first draft human genome sequence. According to researchers, having a complete, gap-free sequence of the roughly 3 billion bases (or “letters”) in our DNA is critical for understanding the full spectrum of human genomic variation and for understanding the genetic contributions to certain diseases. The work was done by the Telomere to Telomere (T2T) consortium, which included leadership from researchers…
Less waste from lower enriched Uranium targets: Nuclear medicine utilizes technetium-99m among other things for tumor diagnostics. With over 30 million applications worldwide each year, it is the most widely used radioisotope. The precursor material, molybdenum-99, is mainly produced in research reactors. A study at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Research Neutron Source (FRM II) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) now illustrates options to significantly reduce the radioactive waste produced during processing to a medical product. Over 85 percent of…
Very premature babies need extra oxygen and mechanical intervention to breathe, but this damages their lungs, causing a chronic lung disease called bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). These babies have smaller and weaker lungs that can’t send as much oxygen to their growing brains. The lack of oxygen during brain development can lead to learning disabilities, or problems walking, hearing and seeing. There is no cure for BPD, but Dr. Bernard Thébaud and his team are hoping to change that. The team previously…
Refining metals, manufacturing fertilizers and powering fuel cells for heavy vehicles are all processes that require purified hydrogen. But purifying, or separating, that hydrogen from a mix of other gases can be difficult, with several steps. A research team led by Chris Arges, Penn State associate professor of chemical engineering, demonstrated that the process can be simplified using a pump outfitted with newly developed membrane materials. The researchers used an electrochemical hydrogen pump to both separate and compress hydrogen with…
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