To adapt to perceived changes in our environment, the brain constantly updates the activity of neural circuits in the prefrontal cortex, a region involved in attention, anticipation, and decision-making. But until now, researchers did not know what mechanisms were responsible for these modifications – which are essential to rodents, primates, and humans if they are to survive. “By studying this fascinating ability, we have found a specific type of neuronal connection in the prefrontal cortex, which helps to update our…

… smallest particles will deliver the drug to the lungs in future. KIT and Research Center Borstel present nanoparticles with a high antibiotic concentration for inhalation – nanocarriers of antibiotics can reduce resistances and enhance compatibility. Tuberculosis is the infectious disease with the highest death rate worldwide. As reported by WHO, therapy-resistant tuberculosis infections are increasing. Diseases due to this bacterial infection may also occur in Germany. Tuberculosis represents a special challenge for two reasons: First, the bacteria encapsulate in…

New mass spectrometry combo offers promise for tapping nature’s unknown chemical universe. The universe is awash in billions of possible chemicals. But even with a bevy of high-tech instruments, scientists have determined the chemical structures of just a small fraction of those compounds, maybe 1 percent. Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) are taking aim at the other 99 percent, creating new ways to learn more about a vast sea of unknown compounds. There may…

… enters Phase II trials, with first patients dosed. After completing Phase 0 and Phase I human safety studies, INS018_055, Insilico’s AI-discovered and AI-generated drug, has entered multi-regional Phase II clinical trials in the U.S and China. The first human patients were administered the drug. This is a potentially first-in-class anti-fibrotic drug candidate that has reached clinical Phase II, and it is fully delivered by generative AI, with a novel AI-discovered target and a novel AI-generated molecular structure. Powered by…

The demonstration has implications for drug delivery and bioprinting, according to scientists. Acoustic waves may be able to control how particles sort themselves. While researchers have been able to separate particles based on their shape — for example, bacteria from other cells — for years, the ability to control their movement has remained a largely unsolved problem, until now. Using ultrasound technology and a nozzle, Penn State researchers have separated, controlled and ejected different particles based on their shape and…

Diet found to affect learning in older nematodes. A group from Nagoya University in Japan has discovered that when the diet of nematodes, tiny worms measuring about a millimeter or less in length, includes the bacteria Lactobacillus reuteri, the weakening of associative learning ability caused by aging does not occur. These results may suggest ways to use diet to reduce age-related cognitive decline in other animals, including humans. Their findings were published in the journal eLife. “This research is significant…

Streptomyces bacteria produce a group of signalling molecules that trigger a variety of processes. Bacteria of the genus Streptomyces produce chemical substances called arginoketides, to which many other microorganisms react: Bacteria form biofilms, algae join together to form aggregates, and fungi produce signalling substances that they would not otherwise produce triggering new responses from other organisms. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (Leibniz-HKI) show this in a study, in which they investigated various Streptomyces…

New assistant professor at ISTA develops chemical reactions powered by light. The Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) welcomes Assistant Professor Bartholomäus Pieber. The chemist started in June and tries to harness the safe and waste-free power of light as an energy source for synthetic chemistry. With his team, he develops novel reactions that are fueled by visible light, aiming to provide powerful and sustainable strategies for the synthesis of fine chemicals such as pharmaceuticals. Lacing up his running…

Bacteria that “sense” Earth’s magnetic field found on deep undersea vents. Magnetotactic bacteria, which can align with the Earth’s magnetic field, have been discovered in a new location. Previously observed on land and in shallow water, analysis of a hydrothermal vent has proven that they can also survive deep under the ocean. The bacteria were able to exist in an environment that was not ideal for their typical needs. Magnetotactic bacteria are of interest not only for the role they…

… creating uniform DNA-encapsulating microgels that mimic a living cell. Researchers devise a new method for producing cell-sized microgel structures using water/water phase separation. The living cell harbors physiologically relevant components such as the genetic material (DNA) and proteins in a ‘self-organized’ setting. Understanding this process of self-assembly can reveal the underlying mechanism of self-organization of living matter. Water/oil (w/o) or water/water (w/w) droplets may be used as prototypes or “models” that mimic cells and can be used to study…

MIT engineers’ new technology can probe the neural circuits that influence hunger, mood, and a variety of diseases. The brain and the digestive tract are in constant communication, relaying signals that help to control feeding and other behaviors. This extensive communication network also influences our mental state and has been implicated in many neurological disorders. MIT engineers have now designed a new technology that can be used to probe those connections. Using fibers embedded with a variety of sensors, as…

New approach could provide insights into cancer progression and treatment response, leading to more precise therapie. Using 3-D models of ovarian cancer tumors, scientists found differences in gene activity based on where a cell is in a tumor, demonstrating how a cell’s location and environment in a cancerous tumor can strongly influence which genes are active and the cell’s role in the cancer’s biology. More specifically, the team co-led by researchers at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS),…

Salk scientists discover that pairing disease-causing bacteria with dietary interventions creates long-term immunity in mice. Worldwide, more than a million deaths occur each year due to diarrheal diseases that lead to dehydration and malnutrition. Yet, no vaccine exists to fight or prevent these diseases, which are caused by bacteria like certain strains of E. coli. Instead, people with bacterial infections must rely on the body taking one of two defense strategies: kill the intruders or impair the intruders but keep…

… enters clinical trial led by CI Med and U of Iowa researchers. Clinical testing is underway for a potentially groundbreaking new treatment for cystic fibrosis. Pioneered by scientists at Carle Illinois College of Medicine at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa in partnership with the spin-out biotechnology company, cystetic Medicines, this promising inhalable molecular prosthetic is intended to improve lung function in people with CF who cannot benefit from…

Platform combines structural details with molecular information about a tumor. At a glance: Researchers have developed a new tool that merges structural details with molecular information about tumors. The detailed information could enable pathologists to identify biological markers that better predict how patients will fare.   The ultimate goal is to provide physicians with details that would improve cancer diagnosis and treatment. When it comes to diagnosing, staging, and assessing cancer, for more than a century pathologists have relied on…

The herpes simplex virus-1 can sometimes cause a dangerous brain infection. Combining an anti-inflammatory and an antiviral could help in these cases, report scientists with the Rajewsky and Landthaler labs and the Organoid Platform at the Max Delbrück Center in Nature Microbiology. About 3.7 billion people — 67% of us — carry the herpes simplex virus-1 in our nerves cells where it lies quiescent until triggered by stress or injury. When activated, its symptoms are usually mild, limited to cold…