The nucleus is much more than a storage compartment for chromosomes: It also contains the complex machinery that produces transcripts of the genes that are currently needed and releases them into the cell body. Some of the proteins involved herein are not evenly distributed in the nucleus, but cluster at specific sites. A study by the universities of Würzburg, Heidelberg and Bonn with the help of Evotec SE at the Martinsried site now shows how these “flash mobs” are regulated….
A team of scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich has now discovered that the odorant receptor OR5K1 is specialized to recognize pyrazines in both humans and domesticated animals. These are volatile substances that contribute to the typical odor of many vegetables or are formed when food is heated. In addition, pyrazines also play a role as signaling substances in intra- or interspecific communication. The new research results contribute to a better…
Helsinki University research group used live tissue imaging for the first time to visualise the emergence of the mammary gland. Despite long-standing interest, the cellular mechanisms driving the initiation of mammary gland development have remained elusive for decades, mostly due to technical limitations in studying dynamic cell behaviors in live tissues. Recent advances in microscopic methods and availability of various mouse models allowed the research group of Marja Mikkola from HiLIFE Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki to address this…
In pioneering work, a German-Japanese research team at BESSY II has been able to determine the 3D structure of a metalloprotein that plays an important role as a catalyst in all plant cells. All plant cells obtain their energy mainly from two organelles they contain – chloroplasts (responsible for photosynthesis) and mitochondria (responsible for the biochemical cycle of respiration that converts sugars into energy). However, a large number of a plant cell’s genes in its mitochondria and chloroplasts can develop…
In the visual thalamus, neurons are in contact with both eyes but respond to only one. The visual thalamus is classically known to relay visual stimuli coming from the retina to the cerebral cortex. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology now show that although neurons in the mouse visual thalamus connect to both eyes, they establish strong functional connections only with one retina. These results settle partly contradictory results of earlier studies and demonstrate how important it can…
Using real-time deformability cytometry, researchers at the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin in Erlangen were able to show for the first time: Covid-19 significantly changes the size and stiffness of red and white blood cells – sometimes over months. These results may help to explain why some affected people continue to complain of symptoms long after an infection (long covid). Shortness of breath, fatigue and headaches: some patients still struggle with the long-term effects of a severe infection by the…
Understanding cellular metabolism – how a cell uses energy- could be key to treating a wide array of diseases, including vascular diseases and cancer. While many techniques can measure these processes among tens of thousands of cells, researchers have been unable to measure them at the single-cell level. Researchers at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and Biological Sciences Division have developed a combined imaging and machine learning technique that can, for the first time, measure a…
Max Planck researchers reveal how immune cells coordinate their swarming behavior to eliminate pathogens effectively together. The body is well protected against invading pathogens by barriers such as the skin. But if you injure yourself and break your skin, pathogens can easily enter your body through the wound and cause severe infections. If this occurs, the innate immune system takes over the first rapid defense with an effective arsenal of cellular weapons infiltrating the wounded tissue in large numbers. As…
Pheromones mediate asymmetric mating behavior in isogamous yeast. Researchers from the Max-Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology have discovered a surprising asymmetry in the mating behavior of unicellular yeast that emerges solely from molecular differences in pheromone signaling. Their results, published in the current issue of “Science Advances“, might shed new light on the evolutionary origins of sexual dimorphism in higher eukaryotes. Resemblant of higher organisms, yeast gametes communicate during the mating process by secreting and sensing sexual pheromones. However, in…
Inactivation of the X chromosome is dynamic and complex. Female mammals switch off one of their two X chromosomes during early stages of embryonic development. But how the cells decide which chromosome to turn off is still a mystery. The sequencing and analysis of thousands of single cultured cells now revealed more about the initial phase of this process. Apparently, in some cases both chromosomes will start the inactivation process before only one is activated again and emerges as the…
Human microRNA-506-Quaking axis as a master switch. A team of scientists of the Fraunhofer ITEM, the Hannover Medical School and FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg has discovered a novel molecular regulatory axis that plays a decisive role in the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The focus is on the RNA-binding protein Quaking and its functional interplay with microRNAs. In-silico as well as in-vitro experiments in human lung fibroblasts revealed a novel regulatory microRNA-506-Quaking axis that contributes to IPF pathogenesis. The study has…
A team of international researchers from the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory of the Max Planck Society developed a new DNA sequencing method that provides fast and efficient tracking of genetic information. Their new technique called haplotagging now enables scientists to quickly and precisely trace and match genome data. Haplotagging delivers rich genome information and facilitates accurate determination of our genetic make-up. This allows for fast genetic analyses in human populations or reveals previously unsuspected mixing of species in nature. The results…
Researchers have succeeded for the first time in demonstrating the role of hypothalamic astrocytes in obesity-related hypertension. In addition, they showed that the hormone leptin is involved in the increase of blood vessels in the hypothalamus of obese mice, contributing of hypertension. Helmholtz Zentrum München led the study and collaborated with Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, the Technical University of Munich and the German Diabetes Center. Hypertension is a widespread comorbidity of patients with obesity that greatly increases the risk of mortality and…
Organic semiconductors have earned a reputation as energy efficient materials in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) that are employed in large area displays. In these and in other applications, such as solar cells, a key parameter is the energy gap between electronic states. It determines the wavelength of the light that is emitted or absorbed. The continuous adjustability of this energy gap is desirable. Indeed, for inorganic materials an appropriate method already exists – the so-called blending. It is based…
Penn scientists have developed a new method for tracing the lineage and gene expression patterns of metastatic cancer at the single-cell level. It’s often cancer’s spread, not the original tumor, that poses the disease’s most deadly risk. “And yet metastasis is one of the most poorly understood aspects of cancer biology,” says Kamen Simeonov, an M.D.-Ph.D. student at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. In a new study, a team led by Simeonov and School of Veterinary Medicine…
An international team of researchers has identified the cause of a rare, severe muscle disease. According to these findings, a single spontaneously occurring mutation results in the muscle cells no longer being able to correctly break down defective proteins. As a result, the cells perish. The condition causes severe heart failure in children, accompanied by skeletal and respiratory muscle damage. Those affected rarely live beyond the age of 20. The study also highlights experimental approaches for potential treatment. Whether this…
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