During one lifetime, the human body experiences ten quadrillion cell divisions. This biological process is essential to form and maintain tissues and organs within the body. Now, Professor Carl-Philipp Heisenberg and his team at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria discovered how mechanical tension from surrounding tissue influences the division process. The scientists published their study in the journal Developmental Cell. This study presents an entirely new influence on cell division and could also be important for tumor research….
Infections with two pathogens pose a serious threat in the clinics. Researchers from Würzburg and Jena have developed a technique that provides new insights into this process and can be used as an early warning system. Organ and stem cell transplants are proven and frequently used methods in everyday modern clinical practice. However, even when performed regularly in specialized centers, some patients still experience a number of serious complications afterwards. Among other things, infections with fungi and viruses can jeopardize…
The protein complex TFIIH is responsible for essential cellular functions such as reading genes or repairing DNA damage. These processes must be carried out with extreme precision in order to prevent serious diseases, such as cancer. The enzyme XPB is part of the TFIIH complex and is indispensable for both processes. How XPB is simultaneously activated and repressed by its interaction partners p8/p52 within the TFIIH complex has now been demonstrated by a Würzburg research group. The results improve the…
Carbon monoxide is a very poisonous gas. Humans die within minutes when they inhale it. However, some microorganisms tolerate carbon monoxide and even use it to breathe and replicate. Knowledge about how these bacteria survive opens a window into the primeval times of the earth and the origin of life. At the same time, they might be very useful for the future as they can be used to clean waste gases and produce biofuels. In this context, scientists from the…
New study identifies a region of the thalamus as a key source of signals encoding past experiences in the neocortex. The brain encodes information collected by our senses. However, to perceive our environment and to constructively interact with it, these sensory signals need to be interpreted in the context of our previous experiences and current aims. In the latest issue of Science, a team of scientists led by Dr. Johannes Letzkus, Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for…
Scientists at Osaka University develop a label-free method for identifying respiratory viruses based on changes in electrical current when they pass through silicon nanopores, which may lead to new rapid COVID-19 tests. The ongoing global pandemic has created an urgent need for rapid tests that can diagnose the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the pathogen that causes COVID-19, and distinguish it from other respiratory viruses. Now, researchers from Japan have demonstrated a new system for single-virion identification of common respiratory…
Heidelberg researchers unravel the mechanism of amyloid fibril disaggregation. In many neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, protein aggregates form in the brain and are assumed to contribute to neuronal cell death. Yet there exists a cellular defence mechanism that counteracts these aggregates, known as amyloid fibrils, and can even dissolve fibrils already formed. This defence mechanism is based on the activity of molecular chaperones, i.e. protein folding helpers, of the heat shock protein 70 family (Hsp70). Molecular biologists from Heidelberg University…
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany, develop artificial cilia that can be programmed to move in waves. In experiments, the researchers show how the millimeter-small cilia can pump viscous liquids just as effectively as their natural counterparts. Their research helps shed light on the mystery regarding which movement pattern generates a maximal fluid flow. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) have developed millimeter-sized magnetic arrays, which can pump viscous fluids…
New method bridges in situ microscopy with single cell omics. Scientists can now select individual cells from a population that grows on the surface of a laboratory dish and study their molecular contents. Developed by University of Toronto researchers, the new tool will enable a deeper study of stem cells and other rare cell types for therapy development. The method is the first to marry cell microscopy with omics platforms to link the cells’ physical parameters that are visible by…
New complex for damage detection in DNA identified Our body can repair damage to our DNA that can lead to the development of cancer by means of repair complexes. But how does the repair machinery recognize the damage? Scientists from the University of Würzburg and the University of Kent have now identified a complex that plays an important role in damage recognition in nucleotide excision repair. Due to its key position, the complex represents a starting point for research on…
Bacteria are considered to be true experts in survival. Their rapid adaptive response to changing environmental conditions is based, among other things, on two competing signaling molecules. As the “Yin and Yang” of metabolic control they decide on the lifestyle of bacteria, as reported by researchers from the University of Basel. The new findings also play a role in the context of bacterial infections. Whether they are pathogens, deep-sea microbes or soil-dwelling organisms, in order to survive, microorganisms must be…
A genetic disposition that plays a role in the development of the heart in the embryo also appears to play a key role in the human immune system. This is shown by a recent study led by the University of Bonn. A genetic disposition that plays a role in the development of the heart in the embryo also appears to play a key role in the human immune system. This is shown by a recent study led by the University…
New insights into a mechanism that reduces the ice formation ability of bacterial ice-nucleating proteins in an acidic environment. Because of mild winters, ski resorts produce artificial snow to supplement the natural snowfall or extend the ski-season. Ice-nucleating proteins, extracted from the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae, can make ice better than any other known material and are already used in snow making. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research have now unraveled why an acidic environment can inhibit ice…
At high concentrations, reactive oxygen species – known as oxidants – are harmful to cells in all organisms and have been linked to ageing. But a study from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, has now shown that low levels of the oxidant hydrogen peroxide can stimulate an enzyme that helps slow down the ageing of yeast cells. One benefit of antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, is that they neutralise reactive oxygen species – known as oxidants – which…
Chemists at the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis in Rostock discovered the molecular mechanism of a photocatalyst that completely breaks down organic contaminants in wastewater with the help of sunlight. Worldwide, for example, more and more residues of drugs such as anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics or contraceptives are entering treatment systems where they are difficult to remove. Laboratories are increasingly working on photocatalytic solutions, but knowledge of the active principles is incomplete. Researchers around Angelika Brückner and Jabor Rabeah at LIKAT have…
It appears that autophagy protects our neurons in the brain, but evidently for entirely different reasons than previously assumed, as researchers from the Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) and Charité in Berlin have now shown. When the scientists used a genetic trick to switch off autophagy-mediated “cellular waste disposal”, instead of detecting protein deposits, as expected, they found elevated levels of the endoplasmic reticulum, a system composed of membrane sacs which acts, among other functions, as a calcium store. This…
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