…could provide insight into vaccine development. In a new study, University of Missouri biochemist Steven Van Doren examines the properties of a key part of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to understand how infection occurs. Although the COVID-19 pandemic was the first time most of humanity learned of the now infamous disease, the family of coronaviruses was first identified in the mid-1960s. In a new study, molecular biologist Steven Van Doren, a scientist in the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food…

Using a standardized assessment, researchers in the UK compared the performance of a commercially available artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm with human readers of screening mammograms. Results of their findings were published in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Mammographic screening does not detect every breast cancer. False-positive interpretations can result in women without cancer undergoing unnecessary imaging and biopsy. To improve the sensitivity and specificity of screening mammography, one solution is to have two readers…

A UNIGE team has identified a key mechanism in the regulation of microtubules, the internal communication pathways of our cells. Cancers, degenerative diseases: deregulation of our cells’ internal communication pathways is at the root of many conditions. Microtubules – microscopic protein filaments – play a crucial role in controlling these exchanges. However, their mechanisms remain poorly understood. A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has identified a new mechanism, involving two proteins, that governs their growth. The discovery opens…

New mapping of neurons involved in locomotion. For those fortunate enough to walk normally, wandering is such an expected behavior that we hardly consider that it involves complex, partly involuntary processes. “Animals move to explore their environment in search of food, interaction with others, or simply out of curiosity. But the perception of danger or a painful stimulus can also activate an automatic flight reflex”, Martin Carbo-Tano, a post-doctoral fellow at Paris Brain Institute, explains. In both cases, movement initiation…

Important progress for RNA research: A team led by Würzburg chemistry professor Claudia Höbartner has discovered a new ribozyme that can label RNA molecules in living cells. RNA molecules are real all-rounders. They transfer the genetic information from the DNA in the cell. They regulate the activity of genes. And some of them have a catalytic effect: just like enzymes, they enable biochemical reactions that would be difficult or impossible to occur on their own. These special RNA molecules that…

How can we halt biodiversity declines? A new study led by the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) shows possible solutions for agricultural landscapes. The study shows that intercropping promotes the diversity of insects and other arthropods in agriculture without affecting yields. The study has now been published in the journal Ecological Solutions and Evidence. Arthropods play a particularly important role in ecosystems. Until now, there has been a lack of strategic experiments on how arthropods develop…

Scientists in Mainz and Kaiserslautern use molybdenum for photocatalysis and photon upconversion. Given the urgent need for transforming how we use and produce energy, researchers are working hard to find sustainable and cost-effective materials for light-driven chemical applications. To date, this research field heavily relies on expensive precious metal or rare-earth metal complexes with limited abundance in Earth’s crust. While significant progress has been made in recent years establishing alternatives using earth-abundant elements, these materials are usually very difficult to…

… to collectively move through narrow spaces. Tubificine worms are segmented worms that are capable of forming entangled blobs that behave as a single organism to adapt to extreme environmental conditions or migrate more efficiently. Individual worms are capable of elongating, entwining an uneven area of terrain and dragging the collective worm ball through a narrow passageway in laboratory experiments. A group of scientists from Tohoku University and Hiroshima University recently created an uneven and confined terrain to study the…

Electrochemical processes like water electrolysis will become increasingly important in the future in light of climate change and the resultant need for an energy and raw materials transition. The Fraunhofer Institute for Microengineering and Microsystems IMM is collaborating with hte GmbH to develop modular electrochemical cells. These flow cells are used in screening tasks, thereby helping optimize electrochemical production processes, such as water electrolysis. In the context of the energy and raw materials transition, electrochemical processes pose an advantage, as…

MHH researchers are working on vascular prostheses made from the blood protein fibrin. The biocompatible alternative to synthetic plastic prostheses is now to be made increasingly fit for clinical use with spider silk. The aorta is the largest blood vessel in the human body. It originates in the heart and carries oxygen-rich blood to all parts of the body. The most common disease of the aorta that requires treatment is an aneurysm. Because the diameter of the aorta is enlarged…

After a heart attack it might be worth it to already treat constrictions in blood vessels not involved in the heart attack right away during the first intervention to treat the heart attack. In a large international study, USZ cardiologists were able to show that this treatment strategy has advantages over a delayed procedure. The result is highly relevant to clinical practice. A heart attack is caused by the acute blockage of a coronary artery. The affected blood vessels are…

TU Wien (Vienna) has achieved a breakthrough in the production of important enzymes: Previously they were extracted from horseradish roots, but now they can be produced recombinantly in the laboratory. It is one of the most important enzymes in medical diagnostics: Horseradish peroxidase is used for many medical products – it is often used when a color change of a test strip is to detect the presence of antibodies or other proteins. Recently, however, there has been a shortage of…

A new reaction pathway shows direct formation of sulfuric acid from reduced sulfur compounds that is particularly important at cloud edges and over the pristine oceans. Leipzig. In the atmosphere, gaseous sulfuric acid can form particles that influence the physical properties of clouds. Thus, the formation of sulfuric acid in the gas phase directly affects the radiative forcing and Earth’s climate. In addition to the known formation from sulfur dioxide, researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) have…

Machine learning image analysis rapidly determines chemical mixture composition. Machine learning model provides quick method for determining the composition of solid chemical mixtures using only photographs of the sample. Have you ever accidentally ruined a recipe in the kitchen by adding salt instead of sugar? Due to their similar appearance, it’s an easy mistake to make. Similarly, checking with the naked eye is also used in chemistry labs to provide quick, initial assessments of reactions; however, just like in the…

International research team clarifies mode of action of cannabinoids in inflammation. While the German government is planning to relax legislation on the use of cannabis, researchers from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, together with colleagues from Italy, Austria and the USA, have identified the mode of action underlying anti-inflammatory effects demonstrated by cannabinoids. A few days ago, the federal government took the controversial decision to make the acquisition and possession of small amounts of cannabis exempt from punishment. Provided the…

Working together with Chinese researchers, Münster physicists and chemists have, for the first time, produced long-chain mobile polymers on metallic surfaces, doing so by means of ballbot-type molecules which glide over the surface. Details of the work have been published in the journal “Nature Chemistry”. N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are small, reactive ring molecules which bond well with metallic surfaces and which, over the past few years, have attracted a great deal of interest in the field of the stable chemical…