Bacteria named after well-known microbiologists from the Leibniz Institute DSMZ. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures led by Dr Yvonne Mast and Dr Imen Nouioui have published scientific descriptions for five new antibiotic-producing bacteria. Using state-of-the-art technologies to examine strains which have been in the collection for more than 40 years the researchers discovered their ability to produce antibiotics. The findings have been published in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. Modern analyses lead to…
Highlights Laboratory research led by MSK and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory demonstrates the potential for CAR T cells to improve “healthspan” by eliminating senescent cells associated with aging-related diseases. Not only was the treatment able to improve the metabolic function of aging mice and mice fed a high-fat diet, but it also proved protective against metabolic decline when given to younger mice. The CAR T cell-based approach offers a powerful alternative to more traditional small-molecule drugs target senescent cells, supported…
Researchers from Bonn and Munich also find “thermostat” in the animals’ brains. Zebrafish are smaller than your little finger, with a brain no more than half the size of a pinhead. Yet these animals possess an efficient navigation system that enables them to find their way back to spots in the water where the temperature suits them. This has been revealed in a recent study by the University of Bonn and University Hospital Bonn together with the Technical University of…
RNAi therapy for viral respiratory diseases. A research team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM and the Hannover Medical School (MHH) have made significant progress in developing a new antiviral therapy. The drug, which is inhaled, uses RNAi to target and deactivate parainfluenza viruses before they multiply. Parainfluenza viruses can trigger serious respiratory illnesses, especially in people with weakened immune systems and in children. There are currently few effective treatment options for patients except for bed…
– New Catalyst Developed at LIKAT. This is the vision: to produce the raw material methanol at the edge of the field or on the farm using renewable energies. In addition to wind or sun, water and CO2 would be needed to produce the raw materials for the green methanol process: Carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2), which react catalytically to form methanol. This is made possible by a new catalyst developed in Rostock. A process based on this completely…
Max Planck researchers from Dortmund reveal the first-ever detailed structure of the bacterial toxin Mcf1. Insect-killing bacteria typically release toxins to slay their hosts. The bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens, for example, pumps insect larvae full of the lethal ‘Makes caterpillars floppy 1’ (Mcf1) toxin, leading them to first become droopy and then dead. However, it has so far been a mystery how Mcf1 unfolds its devastating effect. Researchers led by Stefan Raunser, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology…
To rapidly transmit electrical signals in the brain, the long nerve fibers are insulated by specialized cells called oligodendrocytes. These cells also respond to the electrical signals of active nerve fibers and provide them with energy on demand, as UZH researchers have discovered. If this process, regulated by potassium, is disabled in mice, the nerve fibers are severely damaged as the animals age – resembling the defects of neurodegenerative diseases. Brain function depends on the swift movement of electrical signals…
Whether we stay healthy or become seriously ill is determined by our genes. But also, the folding of our genome has a significant influence on this, as the 3D genome organization regulates which genes are switched on and off. Researchers led by Marieke Oudelaar and Elisa Oberbeckmann at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Multidisciplinary Sciences have now succeeded in recreating the 3D folding of the yeast genome in the laboratory and deciphering the underlying mechanisms. Our body consists of…
Black gold and solar light’s renaissance. In a significant breakthrough, Prof. Polshettiwar’s group at TIFR, Mumbai have developed a novel “Plasmonic Reduction Catalyst Stable in Air,” defying the common instability of reduction catalysts in the presence of air. The catalyst merges platinum-doped ruthenium clusters, with ‘plasmonic black gold’. This black gold efficiently harvests visible light and generates numerous hot spots due to plasmonic coupling, enhancing its catalytic performance. What sets this catalyst apart is its remarkable performance in the semi-hydrogenation…
Scripps Research team restored neuron-to-neuron connections in human cells. Nerve cells in the brain demand an enormous amount of energy to survive and maintain their connections for communicating with other nerve cells. In Alzheimer’s disease, the ability to make energy is compromised, and the connections between nerve cells (called synapses) eventually come apart and wither, causing new memories to fade and fail. A Scripps Research team, reporting in the journal Advanced Science on January 18, 2024, has now identified the…
“Artificial molecular motors are molecules that absorb light from an external source, such as sunlight, and convert the energy in light into kinetic energy,” says Bo Durbeej, professor at Linköping University (LiU), who led the study published in Chemistry – a European Journal. “Molecular motors” may sound like science fiction, but in the body there are many biological molecular motors that drive muscles and transport substances inside cells. Chemistry and nanotechnology researchers have long been aiming to develop artificial molecular…
The spongelike structure of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) allows these polymers to possibly carry and deliver a range of therapeutic compounds. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Bio Materials treated a chromium-containing MOF with a dose of acetic acid, more concentrated than in vinegar, to expand its pore size and surface area. The puffed-up MOFs held more ibuprofen or chemotherapy drug compared to the original version and had improved performance as a potential drug-delivery vehicle. Taking medications by mouth is…
Humans are attracted to symmetry: in our buildings, our gardens, in our potential partners. For plants, the symmetrical shapes of organs are a matter of survival because the form directly impacts the function. If we can unravel the mechanisms underlying the shapes of leaves, petals, or the complex reproductive parts of plants, then it may be possible to fine tune this physiology to make our crops more sustainable and productive. A challenge is the huge morphological diversity of these shapes…
For the first time, scientists have engineered an enzyme that can break stubborn man-made bonds between silicon and carbon that exist in widely used chemicals known as siloxanes, or silicones. The discovery is a first step toward rendering the chemicals, which can linger in the environment, biodegradable. “Nature is an amazing chemist, and her repertoire now includes breaking bonds in siloxanes previously thought to evade attack by living organisms,” says Frances Arnold, the Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering…
Ovarian cancer is often very aggressive and responds poorly to the therapies currently available. A recent study by Goethe University Frankfurt and University Hospital Frankfurt offers hope that this could change in the medium term. The researchers used an mRNA as a therapeutic. With its help, the tumor cells produced a protein again that prevents their own uncontrolled proliferation or induces cell death. The mRNA therapeutic successfully combated cancerous cells and tumors in vitro as well as metastases in mice….
In findings that have implications for potential new HIV therapies, researchers from Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Texas Biomed) used genetic sequencing techniques on the nonhuman primate version of the virus to identify that lymph nodes in the abdomen are the leading source of rebound infection after the first week of stopping antiretroviral treatment. The study regarding simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) was reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine. SIV is very closely related to HIV and is commonly used as a…
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