Aspergillus fumigatus adapts to life in humans – and shapes their lung microbiome. Aspergillus fumigatus strains that infect humans have a significantly altered metabolism compared to other strains in the environment. At the same time, infection with the fungus leads to an apparent change in the human lung microbiome. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (Leibniz-HKI) came to this conclusion after using machine learning models to analyze genome data from about 250 fungal strains…

Came to stay: Once infected – always infected: Herpes viruses lie dormant in the body and can be reactivated by certain circumstances. The herpes virus HCMV is particularly widespread, yet despite its impact, well-tolerated and effective antiviral drugs or vaccinations do not exist. However, a team of researchers from FMP and Charité has now found out a lot about the interaction between HCMV and its host cells, which could also be useful for the development of antiviral agents. The paper…

University of Melbourne researchers have developed a fast, inexpensive and scalable method for engineering blood vessels from natural tissue. Co-led by ARC Future Fellow Associate Professor Daniel Heath and Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor and Shanahan Chair in Frontier Medical Solutions Andrea O’Connor, both from the Department of Biomedical Engineering, the researchers employed a novel approach to ‘tissue engineering’ blood vessels. By combining multiple materials and fabrication technologies, they developed a method to create blood vessels with complex geometries like native…

Heliconius butterflies are capable of spatial learning, scientists have discovered. The results provide the first experimental evidence of spatial learning in any butterfly or moth species. The findings, published today in Current Biology, also suggest Heliconius butterflies may be able to learn spatial information at large scales, consistent with the apparent importance of long-range spatial learning for traplining, which involves foraging within a home range of a few hundred square metres. Spatial learning is known in insects, but much of…

New technology could provide early warnings for health problems. Engineers have developed nanoscale tattoos—dots and wires that adhere to live cells—in a breakthrough that puts researchers one step closer to tracking the health of individual cells. The new technology allows for the first time the placement of optical elements or electronics on live cells with tattoo-like arrays that stick on cells while  flexing and conforming to the cells’wet and fluid outer structure. “If you imagine where this is all going…

Researchers with the University of Oklahoma’s Natural Products Discovery Group recently published findings that indicate a novel breakthrough treatment for fungal infections. Fungal infections are killing thousands of Americans each year, some with a morbidity rate of nearly 80%. To make matters worse, only a handful of antifungal treatments are available, and even those are becoming less effective as fungi become more resistant. However, University of Oklahoma researchers recently published findings in the Journal of Natural Products indicating that a…

Catalytic molecules can form metabolically active clusters by creating and following concentration gradients – this is the result of a new study by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS). Their model predicts the self-organization of molecules involved in metabolic pathways, adding a possible new mechanism to the theory of the origin of life. The results can help to better understand how molecules participating in complex biological networks can form dynamic functional structures, and provide a…

Scripps Research scientists discovered the unique molecular structure, which could have implications in age-related diseases like neurodegeneration. Often referred to as the “powerhouses of the cell,” mitochondria are well known for their role as energy suppliers, but these organelles are also critical for maintaining our overall health. Mitochondrial stress is associated with aging and age-related diseases, including neurodegeneration, but there has been a limited understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind this mitochondrial stress signaling. Now, a study by Scripps Research…

How does it work? Scientists from the Universities of Leicester and Nottingham have received nearly £600,000 to research how sexual development and gene shuffling within the malaria parasite could help to control malaria transmission. Scientists from the Universities of Leicester and Nottingham have received nearly £600,000 to research how sexual development and gene shuffling within the malaria parasite could help to control malaria transmission. Led by Dr David Guttery from the University of Leicester and Professor Rita Tewari from the…

Bacteria make up more than 10% of all living things but until recently we had little realization that, as in humans, soil bacteria have internal clocks that synchronize their activities with the 24-hour cycles of day and night on Earth. New research shows just how complex and sophisticated these bacterial circadian clocks are, clearing the way for an exciting new phase of study. This work will provide diverse opportunities, from precision timing of the use of antibiotics, to bioengineering smarter…

For someone with a blood cancer, receiving stem cells from a donor offers the possibility of a cure. But patients undergoing this procedure, called allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation, also face the possibility of a common side effect – graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD). In GVHD, the donated cells start attacking the patient’s own healthy cells, believing them to be intruders. Chronic GVHD ranges from mild to severe; unfortunately, it can be quite debilitating and is a major cause of death for patients. Treatments…

A new discovery in a cause of inner-ear bone loss. The researchers from Osaka University showed how bone erosion caused by cholesteatoma occurs. This study showed that a subset of cells called osteoclastogenic fibroblasts expresses a protein, activin A, which causes the breakdown of the bones. Because of this discovery, novel medical treatments can be developed as first-line management for cholesteatomas. Researchers from Osaka University show that the possible cause of local bone erosion in cholesteatomas are fibroblasts from the…

… quickly adapts to new environmental conditions. Hospital-acquired infections are often hard to treat because the corresponding pathogens become increasingly resistant against antibiotics. Here, the bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii is particularly feared, and there is great pressure to devise novel therapeutic approaches to combat it. Bioinformaticians from Goethe University Frankfurt and Research Unit FOR2251 of the German Research Foundation have now detected an unexpectedly wide diversity of certain cell appendages in A. baumannii that are associated with pathogenicity. This could lead…

Research from the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience has identified a mechanism through which insulin-like growth factors facilitate brain plasticity. The insulin superfamily of hormones, including insulin, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1), and insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2), play a crucial role not only in regulating blood sugar, metabolism, and growth, but also in healthy brain development and function, including learning and memory. These hormones can enter the brain through the bloodstream from the liver or can be synthesized…

Researchers at TU Graz have gained new insights into the functioning of a protein found in bacteria, whose enzymatic activity is activated by blue light. Light affects living organisms in many different ways: for example, plants orient their growth direction towards the sun, while circadian rhythms in humans are controlled by daylight. These processes always involve photoreceptors, which are proteins that can sense different colours and intensities of light. 10,000-fold increase in enzymatic activity Now, researchers at Graz University of…

On Thursday, RV Polarstern is scheduled to set off from Tromsø, Norway, towards the North Pole. For two months, a good fifty scientific expedition participants will explore the Arctic in transition as sea ice extent reaches its annual minimum in September. They will explore the biology, chemistry and physics of sea ice as well as the effects of sea ice retreat on the entire ocean system from the surface to the deep sea. Eleven years ago, Antje Boetius was part…