Kiel research team uses near-natural compost mesocosm experiment to demonstrate that worm hosts and the associated microorganisms jointly mediate adaptation to a novel environment. All multicellular organisms – from the simplest animal and plant organisms to humans – live in close association with a variety of microorganisms, known as the microbiome, which colonise on and in their tissues and form symbiotic relationships with the host. Many vital functions such as nutrient uptake, regulation of the immune system or even neurological…
Liverpool chemists make breakthrough in solving long-standing puzzle in polymer science. New research by the University of Liverpool’s Chemistry Department represents an important breakthrough in the field of polymer science. In a paper published in the journal Nature Chemistry and featuring on the front cover, Liverpool researchers use mechanochemistry to characterise how a polymer chain in solution responds to a sudden acceleration of the solvent flow around it. This new approach allows a fundamental and technological question that has preoccupied…
From toxin to medicine in one go. The Vilsmeier reagent is necessary for producing a large range of pharmaceuticals, but its unstable nature and toxic precursor phosgene are challenges for its use. A new process that efficiently produces phosgene, the Vilsmeier reagent and the desired products in one flow is poised to make the industry greener and safer. For the production of many active pharmaceutical ingredients, a chemical called Vilsmeier reagent is necessary, but it is extremely unstable. That’s why…
Language is one aspect that makes us human. Other animals can learn words or calls and communicate, but the ability to generate an infinite number of utterances based on a small number of syntactic rules is unique to humans. A team of researchers led by Angela Friederici from MPI CBS in Leipzig, together with scientists from the Universities of Texas and Washington (USA), have now published a study in the journal PLOS Biology in which they directly compared the region…
NIH clinical trial of universal flu vaccine candidate begins. Enrollment in a Phase 1 trial of a new investigational universal influenza vaccine candidate has begun at the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The trial is sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the NIH, and will evaluate the investigational vaccine for safety and its ability to elicit an immune response. Currently available seasonal influenza (or “flu”) vaccines are effective at…
Mitochondrial genome editing technique yields useful traits. North Carolina State University researchers have successfully transferred an important gene from one compartment of a plant cell to another to produce tobacco plants that lack pollen and viable seeds, while otherwise growing normally. Their findings could lead to better ways of producing hybrid seeds to maximize crop productivity, or to introduce seedlessness in fruit species lacking the often-desired trait, such as raspberries, blackberries or muscadine grapes. The researchers began the work in…
New research improves understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind why some cancers respond to immunotherapy and others don’t. A new study has shed light on why immunotherapy does not always work in certain types of cancer. Led by researchers at EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the work focuses on understanding why some tumours fail to respond to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy, an approved immunotherapy that harnesses the…
… may be key to slowing the progression of breast tumors. A study led by the IBEC demonstrates that laminin, a protein present in healthy breast tissues, prevents the effects of stiffening, protecting cells against tumor growth. Cells are capable of translating mechanical changes into biological responses. This process is known as mechanotransduction and plays a fundamental role in the progression of solid tumors, such as breast cancer. It is well-established that a common mechanical alteration in cancer progression involves…
SARS-CoV-2 lineage EG.5.1 has an advantage at evading neutralizing antibodies. As a result of vaccination or infection, our immune system produces antibodies that attach to the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, preventing the virus from entering and replicating within cells. In response, the virus develops mutations that cause antibodies to bind less effectively to the spike protein. Since May 2023, the EG.5 lineage of SARS-CoV-2, known as Eris, has been spreading globally and was classified as a “Variant of Interest” by…
The vertebral bones that form the spine are derived from a distinct type of stem cell that secretes a protein favoring tumor metastases, according to a study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine. The discovery opens up a new line of research on spinal disorders, helps explain why solid tumors so often spread to the spine, and could lead to new orthopedic and cancer treatments. In the study, published Sept. 13 in Nature, the researchers discovered that vertebral bone is…
Researchers at Utah State University have successfully demonstrated that hagfish slime proteins can accurately replicate membranes in the human eye. Professor Elizabeth Vargis and her team study a condition called age-related macular degeneration that causes damage to the retina, making it difficult to see. They study in vitro models, or a model developed in a laboratory setting, of Bruch’s membrane, a layer in the retina of the eye, to compare the natural aging process to the effects of AMD. They…
Scientists find evolutionary clues while examining microbes in far-flung hot springs. Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists studied hot springs on different continents and found similarities in how some microbes adapted despite their geographic diversity. The findings yield clues to the evolution of life and whether some of the hardiest microbes may be harnessed for biotechnology. The study was the first of its kind to sample hot springs on three continents with water temperatures above 65 C (149 F) in the United States, Iceland and…
Does the human brain have an Achilles heel that ultimately leads to Autism? With a revolutionizing novel system that combines brain organoid technology and intricate genetics, researchers can now comprehensively test the effect of multiple mutations in parallel and at a single-cell level within human brain organoids. This technology, developed by researchers from the Knoblich group at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Treutlein group at ETH Zurich, permits the identification of…
… by converting it into methanol with a new enzyme. A team led by Professor Osami Shoji at Nagoya University in Japan has developed a technology to convert methane, the principal component of natural gas, into methanol at room temperature in water. They used an enzyme that can be easily mass-produced, offering the possibility of a cheap and effective means to reduce the carbon footprint of natural gas. They published the results in ACS Catalysis. Methane is the key component…
Researchers have invented a nano-thin superbug-slaying material that could one day be integrated into wound dressings and implants to prevent or heal bacterial infections. The innovation – which has undergone advanced pre-clinical trials – is effective against a broad range of drug-resistant bacterial cells, including ‘golden staph’, which are commonly referred to as superbugs. Antibiotic resistance is a major global health threat, causing about 700,000 deaths annually, a figure which could rise to 10 million deaths a year by 2050…
There’s a rhythm to developing life. Growing from a tiny cell cluster into an adult organism takes precise timing and control. The right genes must turn on at the right time, for the right duration, and in the correct order. Losing the rhythm can lead to diseases like cancer. So, what keeps every gene on beat? Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Professor Christopher Hammell has found that in the worm C. elegans, this genetic orchestra has no single conductor. Instead, a quartet of…
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