Novel Framework to Study Polygenic Diseases. The human genetic code is fully mapped out, providing scientists with a blueprint of the DNA to identify genomic regions and their variations responsible for diseases. Traditional statistical tools effectively pinpoint these genetic “needles in the haystack,” yet they face challenges in understanding how many genes contribute to diseases, as seen in diabetes or schizophrenia. A new study from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), published in PNAS, tackles this problem. Many…
New approach: Using the Pareto principle an international research team with Dr. Silvia Cattelan from the Leibniz Institute on Aging – Fritz Lipmann Institute analyzed the complex relationships between sperm length, body masse, sperm competition, and clutch size to capture evolutionary trade-offs among these traits. An international research team has developed an innovative method to study the evolution of sperm length in tetrapods. Using the Pareto principle, scientists from Germany and Italy analyzed the complex relationships between sperm length, body…
Scientists have found an alternative way to produce atoms of the superheavy element livermorium. The new method opens up the possibility of creating another element that could be the heaviest in the world so far: number 120. The search for new elements comes from the dream of finding a variant that is sufficiently stable to be long-lived and not prone to immediate decay. There is a theory in nuclear physics about an island of stability of superheavy elements. This is…
DNA method improves capacity and efficiency for digital archives, ASU researchers say. As the digital world expands, scientists are exploring DNA’s remarkable capacity to store data, converting this ancient molecule into a next-gen information archive. Since the 1980s, DNA has been considered an ideal medium for data storage due to its extraordinary density and stability. DNA can store up to a billion times more information in the same volume compared with traditional silicon-based storage, and encoded sequences can last for…
Researchers at Constructor University make crucial breakthrough in cell research. It is a breakthrough in cell research that’s poised to open up new possibilities in the fight against diseases. In cooperation with researchers from the China University of Petroleum, the working group of Dr. Werner Nau, Professor of Chemistry at Constructor University, has demonstrated the effectiveness of a new method of intracellular protein transport. The results of their research can now be read in Proceedings of the National Academy of…
How does the embryo in the rapeseed react to mechanical constraints? In 2021, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded for elucidating the biology of mechanosensors. These discoveries revealed how mechanical forces generated by touch influence tissue differentiation and morphogenesis in animals and humans. Plants use similar means to sense mechanical forces, but the role of biomechanics and mechanosensory proteins is less understood. This particularly applies to embryogenesis. In a project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG),…
In the AqQua project Hereon is involved in monitoring global populations of organisms in water. Plankton and organic particles take up carbon from the atmosphere, transporting it from the water’s surface to the deep sea. As a result, the Earth’s climate is heavily influenced by life in the water. The AqQua project aims to determine how many of these microscopic organisms exist globally, how they are distributed, and how these patterns are changing due to climate change. Researchers are analyzing…
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have succeeded in elucidating the structure of specific photoreceptors. With their help, it may be possible to switch cellular activities on and off using light. This capability could become an important tool in biological research and medical applications. Researchers in biology and medicine have long dreamed of controlling the activities of cells without, for example, having to use chemicals. After all, in a structure as complex as an entire organism, unwanted side-effects can often arise. The ideal solution…
Scientists have discovered how the antiviral protein TRIM25 finds and binds viral RNA to activate an immune response. Every second of every day, our body is under attack. The invading agents are viruses, bacteria, parasites, toxins – living and non-living entities that might negatively impact our body’s functioning. What keeps us safe is a squad of patrolling superheroes – proteins that form an essential part of our innate immune system, the body’s first line of defence against invaders. A new…
Experiments at KIT show virtually no PFAS emissions when household waste containing Fluoropolymers is incinerated according to European standards. In contrast to fluoropolymers, which are also referred to as “polymeric PFAS” and are considered to be non-mobile and non-bioaccumulative, used e.g. in medical products, semiconductors, aerospace, automotive and chemical processing, “low-molecular PFAS” are integrated in a wide range of dispersive consumer applications. They are found, for instance, as water-repellent impregnation in textiles, garments, paper (pizza boxes, burger boxes, baking backpaper)….
A team led by chemist Prof Frank Glorius has synthesised so-called heteroatom-substituted cage-like 3D molecules. The innovative structures could help address key challenges in drug design by serving as more stable alternatives to traditional, flat, aromatic rings. As its name suggests, ring-shaped “cage molecules” resemble a cage, and it is this three-dimensional structure that makes them significantly more stable than related, flat molecules. Consequently, they could be of interest to drug developers as they represent a possible alternative to conventional…
Researchers from the University of Bonn have trained an AI process to predict potential active ingredients with special properties. Therefore, they derived a chemical language model – a kind of ChatGPT for molecules. Following a training phase, the AI was able to exactly reproduce the chemical structures of compounds with known dual-target activity that may be particularly effective medications. The study has now been published in Cell Reports Physical Science. Anyone who wants to delight their granny with a poem…
Future studies that manipulate this RNA could help treat neurodevelopmental diseases in humans. Study focused on ‘Goldilocks Gene’ CHD2 that causes autism and epilepsy Deletion of long non-coding RNA CHASERR produces too much CHD2 protein in the cell, leaving patients wheelchair-bound, nonverbal and with intellectual delays Patient’s dad from study: ‘We intuitively understood this was a lot bigger than just Emma’ ‘It is mind-boggling that we only know what 1% of the human genome does’ When a gene produces too…
Scientists from Bremen, Germany, characterize novel enzymes from deep-sea microbes with a key function in the ethane degradation process, revealing surprises in the metabolism of these organisms. Seeps on the deep seafloor naturally emit alkanes, which are pollutants that are potentially dangerous to life and act on global warming. Fortunately, the sediments around the seeps host microbes that act as a biological filter: They consume most of the alkanes before their release into the oceans and our atmosphere. This so-called…
Politecnico di Milano’s study on the cover of Angewandte Chemie. Research opens up new possibilities for clean energy production. Against the backdrop of the energy transition and the fight against climate change, a study conducted by Politecnico di Milano’s Department of Energy heralds in new ways of using greenhouse gases. Blazoned on the front cover of the prestigious scientific journal Angewandte Chemie, the research offers a new key to understanding how to improve the efficiency of processes that convert greenhouse…
Plants adapt their water consumption to environmental conditions by counting and calculating environmental stimuli with their guard cells. Plant researchers from Würzburg report this in ‘Current Biology’. Plants control their water consumption via adjustable pores (stomata), which are formed from pairs of guard cells. They open their stomata when there is a sufficient water supply and enough light for carbon dioxide fixation through photosynthesis. In the dark and in the absence of water, however, they initiate the closing of the…
Feedback
