Ants that leave the nest to forage are more likely to be infected by parasites than their nestmates who take care of the brood. In a new study in Nature Communications, an international research team including scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology reports that, given the same genetic makeup, individual behavior alone determines whether or not an individual in a social group will contract a disease. Clonal raider ants of the species Ooceraea biroi that forage outside…

The computational design of new proteins for biomedical or other applications involves long computing times on powerful servers. A joint team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen and the University Hospital Tübingen has now developed and tested a new computational method to greatly speed up the necessary energy calculations. Their framework, now published in the journal Cell Reports Methods, allows for a precise and efficient design of functional proteins. Evidencing the usefulness of their findings, the…

A prototype sensor that measures glucose levels in saliva could eventually offer a simple, rapid and painless way for people to monitor their diabetes, according to the KAUST researchers behind the technology. Diabetes is a disease that occurs when the body cannot regulate its blood glucose levels. Raised glucose levels can lead to cardiovascular disease and other conditions, so it is vital that people with diabetes maintain their blood glucose at moderate levels. People with diabetes have traditionally monitored their…

Though drug developers have achieved some progress in treating Alzheimer’s disease with medicines that reduce amyloid-beta protein, other problems of the disease including inflammation, continue unchecked. In a new study, scientists at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT describe a candidate drug that in human cell cultures and Alzheimer’s mouse models reduced inflammation and improved memory. The target of the new “A11” molecule is a genetic transcription factor called PU.1. Prior research has shown that amid Alzheimer’s…

“Every successful medicine has its origin story. And research like this is the soil from which new drugs are born,” says Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor Christopher Vakoc. For six years, Vakoc’s lab has been on a mission to transform sarcoma cells into regularly functioning tissue cells. Sarcomas are cancers that form in connective tissues like muscle. Treatment often involves chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation—procedures that are especially tough on kids. If doctors could transform cancer cells into healthy cells, it would…

Research team including Göttingen University describes seven new species of walking leaves. An international research team including the University of Göttingen has described seven previously unknown species of leaf insects, also known as walking leaves. The insects belong to the stick and leaf insect order, which are known for their unusual appearance: they look confusingly similar to parts of plants such as twigs, bark or – in the case of leaf insects – leaves. This sophisticated camouflage provides excellent protection…

Community circulation of ciprofloxacin-resistant E. coli paradoxically increased after six-year reduction in antibiotic prescriptions. After a nearly threefold drop in prescriptions for the antibiotic ciprofloxacin between 2015 and 2021, the rates of ciprofloxacin-resistant E. coli bacteria circulating in the community did not decline. In fact, a study of Seattle-area women over age 50 who had not taken any antibiotics for at least a year discovered that the incidence of gut-colonizing ciprofloxacin-resistant E. coli actually increased. About 1 in 5 women in the study were affected. Scientists…

The NSL complex is a key player in controlling intraciliary transport genes. Cilia are thin, eyelash-like extensions on the surface of cells. They perform a wide variety of functions, acting as mechanosensors or chemosensors, and play a crucial role in many signaling pathways. In the last few decades, the organelle has undergone a remarkable, but at the same time sinister, career transformation. It evolved from an organelle whose relevance was unclear to becoming a central player in the pathogenesis of…

…that could be used to quickly detect pathogens. The findings point to faster way to detect bacteria in food, water, and clinical samples. Getting results from a blood test can take anywhere from one day to a week, depending on what a test is targeting. The same goes for tests of water pollution and food contamination. And in most cases, the wait time has to do with time-consuming steps in sample processing and analysis. Now, MIT engineers have identified a…

Neuroblastomas are tumors of the nervous system. They can form in many places in the body and are the most common cause of cancer-related deaths in young children. A team of researchers at University Medicine Halle has discovered the processes involved in the development of neuroblastomas. The protein IGF2BP1 is considered the spark that can ignite a whole wildfire of cancer-causing processes. In preclinical trials, the team used a molecule that was able to inhibit IGF2BP1 and extinguish this spark….

Tübingen T-cell activator offers protection against coronaviruses in immunocompromised patients. Good news for patients with acquired or congenital immunodeficiency: The results of a clinical phase II study at the University Hospital Tübingen led by Prof. Dr. Juliane Walz and Prof. Dr. Helmut Salih show an effective activation of T cells against the coronavirus. After positive results in healthy volunteers in the previous phase I, the T-cell activator “CoVac-1” was now able to reproduce these effects in cancer patients for the…

MHH molecular physician Professor Dr. Dr. Schambach wants to use genetically modified natural killer cells to find new therapeutic options against three particularly malignant cancers. The EU is funding the project with 3.8 million euros. Natural killer cells (NK cells) are part of the first line of defense of our immune system. They eliminate virus-infested cells and tumor cells. This makes NK cells interesting helpers in cancer therapy. Professor Dr. Dr. Axel Schambach, head of the Institute of Experimental Haematology…

In the ADIUVO clinical trial, Professors of Internal Medicine and Endocrinology Massimo Terzolo (University of Turin, Italy) and Martin Fassnacht (University of Würzburg) and their teams were able to demonstrate that not all patients with adrenocortical carcinoma require the previous standard therapy Mitotane after complete tumour resection. In 2017, the teams of Massimo Terzolo and Martin Fassnacht published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine that provided evidence for the efficacy of Mitotane in the prevention of recurrence…

A new study, led by Hirofumi Nakagami at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne, Germany, demonstrates that one of the two branches of plant immunity was likely to have evolved early during the establishment of plants on dry land. This insight into prehistoric plant immunity may have implications for breeding more resistant plant species. During plant terrestrialization, plants evolved from being aquatic organisms to those that live on land, a crucial shift in shaping the planet’s…

A team of chemists from the University of Münster developed a novel concept in which a mixture of molecules that behave like mirror images is converted to a single form. To this end, they use light as external energy source. The conversion is relevant e.g. for the preparation of drugs. The study is now published in the journal “Nature”. Just like our hands, certain organic molecules relate to each other like an image and its reflection – a phenomenon that…

When Dr. Bodo Beck first saw the three children of a family who had fled Syria sitting in his consultation room at University Hospital Cologne, the human geneticist was surprised. His genetic analysis diagnosed Bartter syndrome type 3, but never before had he seen such severe joint changes in patients with this rare disease. The kidney disease is hereditary – affected individuals lack the CLCNKB gene, which is responsible for a specific chloride channel. The electrolyte balance becomes disrupted because…