New synthetic molecule highly effective against drug-resistant bacteria. A new antibiotic created by Harvard researchers overcomes antimicrobial resistance mechanisms that have rendered many modern drugs ineffective and are driving a global public health crisis. A team led by Andrew Myers, Amory Houghton Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, reports in Science that their synthetic compound, cresomycin, kills many strains of drug-resistant bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. “While we don’t yet know whether cresomycin and drugs like it are…
A new method for precision delivery of nanoparticles and small molecules to individual cells. The delivery of materials to individual cells with exactness and exclusivity has long been a much sought-after ability in biology. With it comes the promise of deciphering many longstanding secrets of the cell. A research team at the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin, Erlangen led by Professor Vahid Sandoghdar has now shown how small molecules and single nanoparticles can be applied directly onto the surface of…
When the female gametes in plants become fertilized, a signal from the sperm activates cell division, leading to the formation of new plant seeds. This activation can also be deliberately triggered without fertilization, as UZH researchers have shown. Their findings open up new avenues for the asexual propagation of crop plants. Seed structure with a large, dividing central cell in the center (cell nucleus in yellow) surrounded by the tissue of the mother plant (purple). Credit: Sara Simonini / University…
A new mechanism to control the activity of transposable elements. Transposable elements are mobile genetic elements that can relocate within the genome and disrupt the normal function of genes, but are at the same time a source of evolutionary diversity. The lab of Tugce Aktas at the MPIMG has identified a novel pathway that keeps the activity of transposons in somatic cells in check after they have been transcribed. Their findings have now been published in Nature. The work is…
… plays important role in brain development. An international research team has uncovered that a previously overlooked repetitive DNA element known as Long Interspersed Nuclear Element (L1) helps maintain neural progenitor cells, and thus plays an important role in mammalian brain development. The study, published recently in the journal Cell Reports, was led by Tomohisa Toda, Professor of Neural Epigenomics at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), associated with the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin, Erlangen, together with Professor Rusty Gage, PhD,…
Cells need energy to function. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg can now explain how energy is guided in the cell by small atomic movements to reach its destination in the protein. Imitating these structural changes of the proteins could lead to more efficient solar cells in the future. The sun’s rays are the basis for all the energy that creates life on Earth. Photosynthesis in plants is a prime example, where solar energy is needed for the plant to…
Scientists may be able to direct immune cells toward diseased areas. Nearly 150 years ago, scientists discovered that specialized blood cells serve a vital role in immune system protection against infection and illness. Certain groups of these white blood cells, now known as neutrophils, feature a nucleus that is structured strikingly different than most nuclei. The majority of cells feature round- or oval-shaped nuclei that are rigid, but neutrophils differ in that their nuclei adopt multiple lobular structures akin to…
The waste system of living cells, the proteasome, not only shreds disused or damaged proteins. It also supports the immune system in recognizing virally infected or cancerous cells by producing protein fragments, so-called immunopeptides. In an international collaboration, researchers led by Juliane Liepe at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Multidisciplinary Sciences have now simulated protein degradation by the proteasome in the laboratory and identified and quantified the peptides thereby produced. In future, the resulting data set could help predict…
ISTA researchers analyze brain region using new method. Fear and addiction exert significant influence within society. Managing them is often challenging, as they are driven by intricate neuronal circuits in our brains. Understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms is crucial to intervene when these processes malfunction. Pioneered by scientists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), the novel “Flash and Freeze-fracture” technique provides a unique glimpse into the respective brain region. The results were recently published in the journal…
Desert ants find their way during an early learning phase with the help of the Earth’s magnetic field. The associated learning process leaves clear traces in their nervous system. This is shown in a new study by a Würzburg research team. They are only a few centimeters tall and their brains have a comparatively simple structure with less than one million neurons. Nevertheless, desert ants of the Cataglyphis genus possess abilities that distinguish them from many other creatures: The animals…
When we walk down the street, we have an internal sense of which way we are heading, from looking at street signals and physical landmarks, and also a sense of where we’d like to go. But how does the brain coordinate between these directions, doing the mental math that tells us which way to turn? Now, new research describes such a neural process in fruit flies, providing insight into how an animal’s brain steers it in the right direction. The…
The macrophage is one of the body’s most important inhabitants. Meaning “big eater” in Greek, this immune cell consumes and digests problematic elements from microbes and cancer cells to dust and debris. Macrophages are especially important in the lungs, where they both fight bacterial infection and clear the lungs of excess surfactant, a protein- and lipid-rich layer that’s essential to healthy function but can create a sticky buildup if not controlled. In a recent study, investigators from Rockefeller University and…
Salk scientists outline mouse cell inflammation pathway from mitochondrial stress to leaking endosomes to immune system initiation, revealing new potential therapeutic targets to reduce inflammation in aging and disease. Cells in the human body contain power-generating mitochondria, each with their own mtDNA—a unique set of genetic instructions entirely separate from the cell’s nuclear DNA that mitochondria use to create life-giving energy. When mtDNA remains where it belongs (inside of mitochondria), it sustains both mitochondrial and cellular health—but when it goes…
Scientists developed a new molecular system made from the abundant element manganese for photooxidations. Highly reducing or oxidizing photocatalysts are a fundamental challenge in photochemistry. Only a few transition metal complexes with Earth-abundant metal ions have so far advanced to excited state oxidants, including chromium, iron, and cobalt. All these photocatalysts require high energy light for excitation and their oxidizing power has not yet been fully exploited. Furthermore, precious and hence expensive metals are the decisive ingredients in most cases….
A study by Brazilian researchers shows that the pigment is present not only in the seeds but also in other organs of Bixa orellana, the Annatto tree. They investigated the genetic pathways involved in synthesis of the substance. Researchers at the University of São Paulo’s Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ-USP) and the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV) in Brazil have shown for the first time that bixin or annatto powder, a carotenoid pigment extracted from the seeds of…
Ubiquitin is a small protein with a big impact. From yeast fungi to humans, it serves as a molecular tag that regulates many cellular processes. Ubiquitin ligases are indispensable labeling machines in this tagging process: They attach ubiquitin to target proteins. If this tagging fails, processes in the cell can be pathologically altered. A team led by Sonja Lorenz at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Multidisciplinary Sciences has now visualized the ubiquitin ligase HACE1 bound to an important target…
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