Research team identifies “protective switches” in the protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Over 700 million people were infected and almost seven million died, making SARS-CoV-2 the most devastating pandemic of the 21st century. Vaccines and medication against Covid-19 have been able to mitigate the course of the disease in many people and contain the pandemic. However, the danger of further outbreaks has not been averted. The virus is constantly mutating, which enables it to infect human cells and multiply more…
In nature, most bacteria live on the bare minimum. If they experience nutrient deficiency or stress, they shut down their metabolism in a controlled manner and go into a resting state. In this stand-by mode, certain metabolic processes still take place that enable the microbes to perceive their environment and react to stimuli, but growth and division are suspended. This also protects bacteria from, say, antibiotics or from viruses that prey exclusively on bacteria. Such bacteria-infecting viruses, known as phages,…
Cold, flu and COVID-19 season brings that now-familiar ritual: swab, wait, look at the result. But what if, instead of taking 15 minutes or more, a test could quickly determine whether you have COVID-19 with a glowing chemical? Now, in ACS Central Science, researchers describe a potential COVID-19 test inspired by bioluminescence. Using a molecule found in crustaceans, they have developed a rapid approach that detects SARS-CoV-2 protein comparably to one used in vaccine research. From fireflies to lantern fish,…
A research group led by Prof. WANG Hui and Prof. ZHANG Xin from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences introduced a new strategy to prepare ultrahigh density copper single atom enzymes for tumor self-cascade catalytic therapy. “The powerful enzymes can help to fight tumors,” said Dr. LIU Hongji, member of the research team. The study was published in Chemical Engineering Journal. The low-valence Cu single atom enzymes (CuⅠ SAEs) contribute to alleviate inefficient generation of ·OH…
By tightly regulating nitrogen uptake, microorganisms avoid overeating nitrogen and thus wasting energy. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology now reveal how some methanogenic archaea manage to do so. Life is not possible without nitrogen. There are many ways for organisms to acquire nitrogen. For example, humans eat proteins for their high nitrogen content. Most microorganisms take up nitrogen from their environment in the form of ammonia (NH3). As this process consumes cellular energy – which is…
Molecular defense system protects bacteria from viruses and at the same time makes them susceptible to antibiotics. Bacteria have an immune system that protects them against viruses known as bacteriophages. A research team from the Universities of Tübingen and Würzburg has now shown how this immune system enhances the effect of specific antibiotics against the cholera pathogen Vibrio cholerae. The immune system is the reason why this bacterium is particularly sensitive to one of the oldest known classes of antibiotics…
Kenshu Shimada at DePaul University co-authors research with 26 shark experts. A new scientific study shows that the prehistoric gigantic shark, Megalodon or megatooth shark, which lived roughly 15-3.6 million years ago nearly worldwide, was a more slender shark than previous studies have suggested. Formally called Otodus megalodon, it is typically portrayed as a super-sized, monstrous shark in novels and sci-fi films, including “The Meg.” Previous studies suggest the shark likely reached lengths of at least 50 to 65 feet…
How a few soldier cells confer virulence to an entire bacterial population by sacrificing themselves. You suddenly feel sick – pathogenic bacteria have managed to colonize and spread in your body! The weapons they use for their invasion are harmful toxins that target the host’s defense mechanisms and vital cell functions. Before these deadly toxins can attack host cells, bacteria must first export them from their production site – the cytoplasm – using dedicated secretion systems. The group of Stefan…
Researchers at the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) have discovered a new quality control mechanism that regulates the energy production in human cells. This process takes place in mitochondria, the power plants of the cell. Malfunctions of mitochondria lead to serious diseases of the nerves, the muscles and the heart. The findings could contribute to the development of new therapies for affected patients. The results have been published in the renowned Molecular Cell journal. (umg) Mitochondria are the power plants…
Long Covid patients suffer from chronic symptoms such as fatigue or shortness of breath. As researchers at the University of Zurich and University Hospital Zurich have discovered, this is to some extent due to a part of our immune system called the complement system. The study identified a pattern in the blood proteins that will improve the diagnosis and perhaps also the targeted treatment of Long Covid. Most people infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus recover after the acute illness. However,…
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. The development of breast cancer often originates from epithelial cells in the mammary gland – the very cells that specialise in milk production during and after pregnancy. A team of researchers from Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany), the university in Shenzhen (China) and Jena University Hospital (Germany) has taken a closer look at this specialisation process and deciphered a molecular mechanism that also appears to play an important role in cancer…
Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy (LIT) have demonstrated that killer T cells of the immune system not only eliminate pathologically altered cells, but also promote the subsequent tissue wound healing process. One of the main functions of the immune system is to defend the body against infections or cancer. This task is efficiently carried out by immune cells known as killer T cells. These cells possess the ability to destroy body cells that are, for example, infected by…
The layered crystal, CeSiI, with heavier-than-normal electrons is a new platform to explore quantum phenomena. Researchers at Columbia University have successfully synthesized the first 2D heavy fermion material. They introduce the new material, a layered intermetallic crystal composed of cerium, silicon, and iodine (CeSiI), in a research article published today in Nature. Heavy fermion compounds are a class of materials with electrons that are up to 1000x heavier than usual. In these materials, electrons get tangled up with magnetic spins…
Water electrolysis is a promising approach to generate hydrogen by the means of transforming electric energy powered by sustainable energy into chemical energy stored in hydrogen bonds. Due to the lower operation temperature, higher voltage efficiency, higher current densities, and better compatibility over traditional alkaline electrolyzers, proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer (PEMWE) has emerged as a promising technology for green hydrogen generation. However, the anode oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with sluggish reaction kinetics usually requires excessive energy consumption, which significantly…
New insights into how proton-coupled electron transfers occur at an electrode could help researchers design more efficient fuel cells and electrolyzers. A key chemical reaction — in which the movement of protons between the surface of an electrode and an electrolyte drives an electric current — is a critical step in many energy technologies, including fuel cells and the electrolyzers used to produce hydrogen gas. For the first time, MIT chemists have mapped out in detail how these proton-coupled electron…
In recent years, ultrasmall metal nanoclusters have unlocked advances in fields ranging from bioimaging and biosensing to biotherapy thanks to their unique molecular-like properties. In a study published in the journal Polyoxometalates on December 11, 2023, a research team from Qingdao University of Science and Technology proposed a design to synthesize atomically precise, water-soluble alloy nanoclusters. “The novelty of this study is in a new strategy for the synthesis of water-soluble alloy nanoclusters and a further contribution to the fundamental…
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