Pesticide pollution of streams in agricultural areas has adverse effects for stream organisms. A new study, led by researchers from the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB), provides evidence that aquatic insect larvae respond to insecticide exposure with alterations of the genetic program. Crop protection products (Pesticides) are among the most widely applied chemicals and threaten freshwater ecosystems at a global scale. Unknown in particular are genetic responses of aquatic animals such as insects evoked by pesticide…
Our behavior is controlled through neural circuits in the brain. Molecular disturbances can lead to stereotypical behavior, as seen in neuropsychiatric disorders like obsessive-compulsive and autism spectrum disorders. A research team has now demonstrated that the absence of two proteins, Intersectin1 and Intersectin2, in mice leads to disrupted neural signaling and compulsive repetitive behavior, which is also observed in patients with Intersectin 1 mutations. This supports the idea that such defects can cause neuropsychiatric diseases. The study is published in…
Monitoring wildlife species present in specific areas is a critical first step to estimating the risk of transmission of infectious diseases to humans. In a new study, an international research team shows that the very cotton buds, which we all got to know so intimately during the COVID-19 pandemic, are a valuable tool to map biodiversity. This was the result of an international research team led by scientists at the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) in Greifswald, a site…
Natural tobacco mutants impaired in their defenses produce more offspring in years of low herbivore pressure and thus persist in plant populations. In a recent study in PNAS, a team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, shows that a single mutation that has immediate effects on plant fitness is maintained over the long term in natural plant populations.When fewer herbivores attack, plants with this mutation even grow faster and produce more offspring. In…
Research team from the University of Jena, Jena University Hospital and Harvard Medical School clarifies an important mechanism of the effect of cortisone preparations in the treatment of acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. Whether you have a sports injury, repetitive strain injury or pain in the knee, cortisone preparations are often used to treat acute inflammations. Chronic inflammatory diseases such as asthma, diabetes and chronic inflammatory bowel diseases are also treated with drugs containing cortisone or derived drugs. This is…
Genetic remnants of viruses that are naturally present in the human genome could affect the development of neurodegenerative diseases. Researchers at DZNE come to this conclusion on the basis of studies on cell cultures. They report on this in the journal “Nature Communications”. In their view, such “endogenous retroviruses” could contribute to the spread of aberrant protein aggregates – hallmarks of certain dementias – in the brain. Thus, these viral relicts would be potential targets for therapies. It has been…
SARS-CoV-2 viruses manage to hijack human cells with a minimum of their own proteins and use them as incubators for their offspring. One of these multifunctional viral proteins is the nucleocapsid protein (N), which plays a key role in viral replication and packaging. Researchers from Goethe University Frankfurt have now discovered how N recognizes both viral RNA in general as well as specific RNA positions with the help of “fingers”. In the latter, N adapts to the increased temperature of…
How a supposed “nuclear” receptor makes TCR signaling possible. According to new research in the journal Immunity, T cells have a nuclear receptor doing something very odd—but very important—to help them fight pathogens and destroy cancer cells. This receptor, called retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARα), is known to control gene expression programs in the nucleus, but it also now appears to operate outside the cell nucleus to coordinate the early events triggered at the cell surface that lead to T cell…
… achieves positive phase I trial results. Cultivated autologous limbal epithelial cells (CALEC) procedure shown to be safe and feasible with early positive results of restored cornea surfaces or vision gains in four patients with severe chemical burns. A team led by researchers from Mass Eye and Ear, a member of Mass General Brigham, reports the results of a phase I trial of a revolutionary stem cell treatment called cultivated autologous limbal epithelial cell transplantation (CALEC), which was found to…
Mohammad Asadi partners with SHV Energy to distribute electrolyzer device that can convert carbon dioxide into propane in a way that is economically viable and scalable. A paper recently published in Nature Energy based on pioneering research done at Illinois Institute of Technology reveals a promising breakthrough in green energy: an electrolyzer device capable of converting carbon dioxide into propane in a manner that is both scalable and economically viable. As the United States races toward its target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by…
New research in mice demonstrates how the signaling molecule somatostatin acts to dampen neural circuits in the prefrontal cortex and stimulate exploratory behavior. Somatostatin, a signaling molecule produced by many inhibitory neurons in the brain, broadly dampens communication among a variety of cell types in the prefrontal cortex and promotes exploratory and risk-taking-like behavior in mice, according a Penn State-led research team. Their new paper, published online today (August 17) in the journal Cell Reports, describes the signaling mechanism of…
Woody plants are unusually common on oceanic islands. Scientists at the University of Bayreuth, together with research partners in Italy, Great Britain, Norway and Spain, have now discovered a new explanation for this phenomenon: With the lignification of biomass, many plant species native to oceanic islands have protected themselves from the impact of frequent volcanic eruptions, during which large areas are covered with huge amounts of ash. Woody plants can survive even in ash layers of up to half a…
Surgeons at NYU Langone Health have transplanted a genetically engineered pig kidney that continues to function well after 32 days in a man declared dead by neurologic criteria and maintained with a beating heart on ventilator support. This represents the longest period that a gene-edited pig kidney has functioned in a human, and the latest step toward the advent of an alternate, sustainable supply of organs for transplant. Multimedia Materials Available Multimedia materials, including photos and a B-roll package, are…
Forschung an Bakteriophagen enthüllt ein bislang unbekanntes biologisches Prinzip. Until now, RNA and proteins were thought to interact only briefly during cellular processes. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg, Germany, have discovered that this is not the case. During their developmental cycle, bacterial viruses `glue` specific RNAs to host proteins. As the authors descibe in their publication in the journal “Nature”,`RNAylation` could open up new avenues for phage therapy or drug development. “Life is a…
UQ researchers have discovered that platelets secrete a protein that rejuvenates neurons in aged mice in a similar way to physical exercise. Pre-clinical trials by University of Queensland researchers have found an injection of a specific blood factor can replicate the benefits of exercise in the brain. Dr Odette Leiter and Dr Tara Walker from UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute led a team which discovered platelets, the tiny blood cells critical for blood clotting, secrete a protein that rejuvenates neurons in aged mice in a similar…
The SMNDC1 gene controls key functions in the human body and is linked to diseases such as diabetes and cancer. Scientists in Stefan Kubicek’s research group at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences have successfully pinpointed the exact location of the SMNDC1 protein within the cell nucleus and identified an inhibitor that opens up the potential for therapeutic applications of SMNDC1. The study has been published in Nature Communications. The protein SMNDC1 is…
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