Findings from a new study could point the way to new treatments for blood diseases including cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma. Scientists have found a way to prove that biochemical signals sent from cell to cell play an important role in determining how those cells develop. The study from researchers at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences was published in the journal Development on Dec. 22. A little background: All cells within the body begin as…
They are at the forefront in the fight against viruses, bacteria, and malignant cells: the T cells of our immune system. But the older we get, the fewer of them our body produces. Thus, how long we remain healthy also depends on how long the T cells survive. Researchers at the University of Basel have now uncovered a previously unknown signaling pathway essential for T cell viability. Like human beings, every cell in our body tries to ward off death…
Using targeted gamma radiation, researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces have revealed the appearance and the specific role of non-crystalline phases during the formation of mesocrystals – crystals consisting of aligned nanoparticles. Their findings provide fundamental insights for the controlled development and design of new mesocrystalline. Wouldn’t it be practical if the bricks of a house assembled all by themselves? This has been happening in nature for millions of years in the form of mesocrystals. These…
Equal rights in the brain? A new ESI paper shows that the call for equal rights also affects one of the smallest components of the brain: the dendrites. These are the sections of nerve cells that receive and transmit stimuli. The findings have been published in the scientific journal Neuron. We know that neurons of different shapes perform different computations. But do the different shapes also help to make their functions more similar? Hermann Cuntz, a researcher at the Ernst…
Human microbiome encodes resistance to acarbose. Acarbose is a commonly prescribed antidiabetic drug that helps control blood sugar levels by inhibiting human enzymes that break down complex carbohydrates. Now, new research from the laboratory of Princeton researcher Mohamed Donia demonstrates that some bacteria in the mouth and gut can inactivate acarbose and potentially affect the clinical performance of the drug and its impact on bacterial members of the human microbiome. The paper appeared online and in the December 2, 2021…
WEHI researchers have discovered how dormant Toxoplasma parasites in the brain manipulate their host cells to ensure their own survival. The researchers showed that the parasites were able to lay dormant and undetected inside neurons (brain cells) and muscle cells by releasing proteins that switch off the cells’ ability to alert the immune system. With expertise and technologies from WEHI’s Advanced Genomics facility and Centre for Dynamic Imaging, they were able to visualise the parasites in real-time. The discovery provides…
The active plant ingredient anemonin could provide a new approach in the treatment of malaria. It was identified by researchers from Ethiopia and Germany in a buttercup that is traditionally used in some African countries as a medicinal plant to treat malaria. Extracts from the plant significantly alleviated the symptoms of infected mice, as the team from Arba Minch University (AMU), Addis Ababa University (AAU) and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) reported in the journal “Molecules”. A tea made from…
Heidelberg researchers investigate how the spoonweed genus successfully adapted to extreme climatic changes over millions of years. As cold relics in an increasingly warming world, plants of the spoonweed group time and again quickly adapted to a changing climate during the Ice Ages of the last two million years. An international team of evolutionary biologists and botanists led by Prof. Dr Marcus Koch of Heidelberg University used genomic analyses to study what factors favour adaptation to extreme climatic conditions. The…
When cells are exposed to ionising radiation, more destructive chain reactions may occur than previously thought. An international team led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics has for the first time observed intermolecular Coulombic decay in organic molecules, which is triggered by ionising radiation such as from radioactivity or from outer space. The effect damages two neighbouring molecules and ultimately leads to the breaking of bonds, as they also exist in DNA and proteins. The finding…
Johns Hopkins-led imaging research helps quantify antibiotic levels, improve antibiotic action and prevent bacterial resistance. Treating bacterial infections associated with orthopaedic implants has often been a case of too little, too late. The traditional therapy has been a combination of prolonged antibiotics, including rifampin, a 50-year-old drug that has been a staple in the global fight against tuberculosis and other bacterial diseases. However, the inability to determine how much rifampin reaches the target site can be disastrous. If not enough…
A UCSC team obtained an x-ray ‘snapshot’ of a novel protein structure with potential applications in biomedicine and materials science. By mixing a small peptide with equal amounts of its mirror image, a team of scientists at UC Santa Cruz has created an unusual protein structure known as a “rippled beta sheet” and obtained images of it using x-ray crystallography. They reported their findings in a paper published December 8 in Chemical Science. The rippled sheet is a distinctive variation…
Up to 20 percent of children and three percent of adults worldwide suffer from the chronic inflammatory skin disease eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis. Typical symptoms are dry, inflamed and very itchy patches of skin on the inside of the elbows or on the back of the knees – but eczema can occur all over the body. The condition is often triggered by exposure to allergens, which leads to an overactive immune response and an inflammatory reaction in the…
… help prepare for future coronaviruses. Small, unique antibody-like proteins known as VNARs — derived from the immune systems of sharks — can prevent the virus that causes COVID-19, its variants, and related coronaviruses from infecting human cells, according to a new study published Dec. 16. The new VNARs will not be immediately available as a treatment in people, but they can help prepare for future coronavirus outbreaks. The shark VNARs were able to neutralize WIV1-CoV, a coronavirus that is…
New method enables simple tritium labeling and could provide added value to the discovery and development of pharmaceuticals. The new tritiation reaction is practical and robust to execute and could have an immediate impact in the discovery and development of pharmaceuticals. Tritium 3H, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, is commonly used in medicinal chemistry as a label to follow the course of a drug in the human body. Chemists like to use the technique to evaluate drug candidates and their…
The respiratory chain plays a central role in energy metabolism of the cell. It is localized in mitochondria, the cell´s own power plants. In a new study, researchers from Goethe University, the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics and the University of Helsinki have determined the high-resolution structure of a central component of the respiratory chain, mitochondrial complex I, and simulated its dynamics on the computer. These findings both support basic research and enhance our understanding of certain neuromuscular and neurodegenerative…
With their altered metabolism, cancer cells grow faster than normal cells. Scientists at Leipzig University’s Faculty of Medicine have now discovered that cancer cells need the succinate receptor to control their metabolic rate. This knowledge should in future help doctors to develop treatments. Cancer cells show unchecked rapid growth beyond tissue boundaries that is no longer stopped by normal control mechanisms. Due to this rapid growth, the metabolism of cancer cells is altered compared to that of cells that grow…
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