Research team develops new system for imaging and treating tumors. Thanks to the radiation they emit, radioactive compounds are suited both to imaging and treating cancers. By appropriately combining them in novel, so-called radionuclide theranostics, both applications can be dovetailed. A radiopharmacy team at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and Heidelberg University has now presented such a system in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c08438) that successfully solves one of the biggest problems to date: it works at physiologically…

… offer new insights on plant growth. Technology used in cancer research leads to roadmap of chemicals important for agriculture, food production and climate resilience. On a sunny springtime stroll through a park, it’s easy to ignore the parts of plants that are hidden from view. Plant biologists see things differently. They look below the surface where plant roots are organized in elaborate systems that are critical to the organism’s development. Intricately organized tree root systems, for example, can span…

Chen’s team used ultrasound to safely, noninvasively induce a torpor-like state in mice, rats. Some mammals and birds have a clever way to preserve energy and heat by going into torpor, during which their body temperature and metabolic rate drop to allow them to survive potentially fatal conditions in the environment, such as extreme cold or lack of food. While a similar condition was proposed for scientists making flights to space in the 1960s or for patients with life-threatening health…

Researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology used deep learning to develop a new framework for super-resolution ultrasound. Traditional super-resolution ultrasound techniques use microbubbles: tiny spheres of gas encased in a protein or lipid shell. Microbubbles are considered to be a contrast agent, which means they can be injected into a blood vessel to increase the clarity of an ultrasound image. Conventional ultrasound has been commonplace for over 50 years. The development of super-resolution technology in the…

Researchers at the Institute for Theoretical Biology at Humboldt Universität have solved a long-standing mathematical puzzle about the emergence of electrical activity patterns during insect flight. Together with colleagues at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, they report a novel function for electrical synapses in governing the flight of fruit flies in the current issue of Nature. To keep their small bodies up in the air, fruit flies have to beat their wings extremely fast. They use a trick that…

A breakthrough in fluorescence microscopy has been achieved by the research group of Ralf Jungmann at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (MPIB) and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich. The team developed Resolution Enhancement by Sequential Imaging (RESI), a revolutionary technique that enhances the resolution of fluorescence microscopy down to the Ångström scale. This innovation is poised to usher in a paradigm shift in our approach to study biological systems with thus far unprecedented detail. Cells, the fundamental units of life, contain…

New process simulates decomposition of too long stored drugs in 15 minutes. Before their approval, pharmaceuticals not only have to be tested for their effectiveness and safety, but also for their stability, since they are usually stored in pharmacies and private households for years and are not allowed to change. To test their stability, a process is needed that decomposes the drug “in fast motion”. Such a method was recently developed by a team of scientists from the Leibniz Institute…

Finally delicious: Daisies, peas, canola, etc.: Researchers at the University of Hohenheim want to replace gluten protein with new alternatives. Instead of ovens, 3-D printers would be possible. Gluten is one of the largest natural proteins and has fantastic properties: It keeps a well-cooked dough airy until baking stabilizes the open-pore structure. Prof. Dr. Mario Jekle from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart is working on processes in which selected proteins from peas, rapeseed, rice, or maize, for example, directly…

Genetic diversity is also a component of biodiversity. Species known as marine habitat-forming species —gorgonians, corals, algae, seaweeds, marine phanerogams, etc.— are organisms that help generate and structure the underwater landscapes. These are natural refuges for other species, and provide biomass and complexity to the seabeds. But these key species in marine ecosystems are currently threatened by climate change and other perturbations derived from human activity. Now, a study published in the journal Global Ecology and Biogeography warns that even…

To know when it’s time for a meal – and when to stop eating again – is important to survive and to stay healthy, for humans and animals alike. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence investigated how the brain regulates feeding behavior in mice. The team found that the hormone ghrelin activates specialized nerve cells in a brain region known as the amygdala. Here, the interaction between ghrelin and the specialized neurons promotes food consumption and conveys…

… to continue replicating. The findings of the study reported in the article offer hope for the development of novel treatments for the disease. Some 30,000 new cases of leishmaniasis are notified annually, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In an article published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil show how protozoans of the genus Leishmania that cause leishmaniasis manipulate a protein that plays an essential role in the organism’s defense in order to continue…

Heidelberg biologists identify the molecular mechanism that controls root branching. Along with sugar reallocation, a basic molecular mechanism within plants controls the formation of new lateral roots. An international team of plant biologists has demonstrated that it is based on the activity of a certain factor, the target of rapamycin (TOR) protein. A better understanding of the processes that regulate root branching at the molecular level could contribute to improving plant growth and therefore crop yields, according to research team…

Researchers at the University of Basel have developed a new approach for a vaccine against COVID-19. This vaccine is based on a modified coronavirus that can enter body cells and trigger an effective immune response but cannot multiply in the body. In animal studies, the vaccine effectively protected against the disease and even prevented virus transmission. Clinical trials in humans are to follow. Although safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines have been available since early 2021, SARS-CoV-2 continues to spread, with…

A new study focusing on the number of dividing bacterial cells in the North Sea challenges some dogmas about marine microbial life. Seawater is full of bacteria, hundreds of thousands live in every litre. But the sheer number of bacteria living in the water does not necessarily mean a lot. More important is how active they are and how quickly they duplicate, as demonstrated in a study by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, now…

Engineers at UC San Diego develop a fully integrated system for deep-tissue monitoring. A team of engineers at the University of California San Diego has developed the first fully integrated wearable ultrasound system for deep-tissue monitoring, including for subjects on the go. It facilitates potentially life-saving cardiovascular monitoring and marks a major breakthrough for one of the world’s leading wearable ultrasound labs. The paper, “A fully integrated wearable ultrasound system to monitor deep tissues in moving subjects,” is published in…

… shedding light on the development of new smart active materials. In nature, the skin of cephalopods (animals with tentacles attached to the head) exhibits unparalleled camouflage ability. Their skin contains pigment groups that can sense changes in environmental light conditions and adjust their appearance through the action of pigment cells. Although intricate in nature, this colour-changing ability is fundamentally based on a mechanical mechanism in which pigment particles are folded or unfolded under the control of radial muscles. Inspired…