Despite considerable advances in research, there is still no cure for many age-related diseases, such as Alzheimer’s. One hypothesis for the development of Alzheimer’s is the aggregation of peptides, i.e. their “clumping”, in the brains of people with the disease. But stress has also been suspected as a possible trigger. Scientists from Leipzig University, Monash University in Australia, the Leibniz Institute of Surface Engineering (IOM) and the University of Göttingen have investigated the links between oxidised cell membranes and peptide…

With the aim of being able to ensure comprehensive preclinical care in even the most remote areas of Africa, researchers from the Fraunhofer institutes for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST and for Solar Energy Systems ISE, in collaboration with Stellenbosch University and South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) in South Africa, have developed a mobile care platform which, on 3rd March 2023, was handed over to the NGO Rhiza Babuyile during a ceremonial event. The non-profit organization has a…

New technology useful for cancer therapy. Cell membranes are barriers that maintain cellular homeostasis, and the intracellular delivery of biologically functional molecules, including peptides, proteins, and nucleic acids to manipulate cellular functions. Conventional intracellular uptake processes require high concentrations of biofunctional molecules with low permeability to pass through the cell membrane. This results in low drug activity because the probability of the biofunctional molecules entering target cells and their organelles is low. In addition, many drugs damage healthy cells as…

In autoimmune encephalitis, a rare but serious and sometimes life-threatening inflammation of the central nervous system, the body’s own defences are directed against the central nervous system. This disease was first identified in 2007, and the most common type is Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. In this autoimmune disease, a protein that plays an important role in signal transmission in the brain is disrupted: the NMDA-type glutamate receptor, or NMDA receptor for short. Researchers from Braunschweig, Jena, Leipzig and Berlin have developed…

… that paralyzes immune system cells. Bacteria of the species Pseudomonas aeruginosa are antibiotic-resistant hospital germs that can enter blood, lungs and other tissues through wounds and cause life-threatening infections. In a joint project, researchers from the Universities of Freiburg and Strasbourg in France have discovered a mechanism that likely contributes to the severity of P. aeruginosa infections. At the same time, it could be a target for future treatments. The results were recently appeared in the journal EMBO Reports….

A team of biologists led by UNIGE and UNIL has discovered how to awaken neural stem cells and reactivate them in adult mice. Some areas of the adult brain contain quiescent, or dormant, neural stem cells that can potentially be reactivated to form new neurons. However, the transition from quiescence to proliferation is still poorly understood. A team led by scientists from the Universities of Geneva (UNIGE) and Lausanne (UNIL) has discovered the importance of cell metabolism in this process…

Researchers from the group of Eva van Rooij in collaboration with the UMC Utrecht identified a new mutation that leads to the cardiac disease arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM). They assessed the effect of this mutation on heart muscle cells and obtained new insights into the underlying mechanism that causes the disease. The results of this study, published on March 2nd in Stem Cell Reports, could contribute to the development of new treatments for ACM. Desmosomes Millions of heart muscle cells contract…

Researchers working with pharma collaborations to develop better treatments. Bone marrow is the spongy tissue inside bone responsible for making red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Bone marrow failure syndromes lead to an increased risk of developing dangerous infections, anemia and an increased risk of blood cancers. Research led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has identified a possible treatment strategy for a rare bone marrow failure syndrome that is named poikiloderma with neutropenia. The…

In the worst-case scenario, getting chemicals in your eyes can lead to blindness. Until now, the eye irritancy potential of chemical substances has had to be assessed using the Draize test on live rabbits – a standard implemented worldwide. Researchers at the Translational Center for Regenerative Therapies TLC-RT of the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC want to work with partners to replace animal testing: Tissue models of the human cornea cultivated in the laboratory are expected to completely replace…

The success of cancer treatment depends not only on the type of tumor, but also on the surrounding tissue. Tumors influence it to their advantage, promoting the growth of blood vessels or fooling incoming immune cells. Developing methods to predict the nature of the resulting tumor microenvironment is the goal of researchers from the Clusters of Excellence ImmunoSensation2 and the Hausdorff Center for Mathematics (HCM) led by Prof. Kevin Thurley at the University of Bonn. The German Federal Ministry of…

The Fraunhofer Heinrich-Hertz-Institut (HHI) is part of the EU project TEF-Health (Testing and Experimentation Facility for Health AI and Robotics), which aims to establish a test infrastructure for artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics in healthcare. The infrastructure will facilitate comprehensive and rapid testing of innovative methods and enable them to reach market maturity. Led by the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité Berlin, TEF-Health involves 51 partners from nine European countries. The project started in January 2023 and will…

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), one of the most common forms of dementia, has no cure. Previous studies suggested that gut bacteria, the microorganisms that live in the human digestive tract, play a role in Parkinson’s disease, another neurodegenerative disorder, but the bacteria involved in DLB had not been identified. Now, a group led by researchers at the Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan has identified three bacteria involved in DLB: Collinsella, Ruminococcus, and Bifidobacterium. Their findings, reported…

Infections with the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus are difficult to fight – especially because the fungus forms a biofilm and can thus protect itself from antifungal drugs and the immune defence system. The cancer drug Imatinib prevents the compartmentalisation. There are up to 10,000 fungal spores in every cubic metre of air that can enter our bodies when we breathe them in. Some of these belong to the species Aspergillus fumigatus, a widespread fungus found everywhere in the environment. In immunocompromised…

RNA nanosatellite leads researchers at Aarhus University and Berkeley Laboratory to the discovery of rules and mechanisms for RNA folding that will make it possible to build more ideal and functional RNA particles for use in RNA-based medicine. The RNA molecule is commonly recognized as messenger between DNA and protein, but it can also be folded into intricate molecular machines. An example of a naturally occurring RNA machine is the ribosome, that functions as a protein factory in all cells….

By monitoring the body’s molecular response to a viral attack, the new method developed by Flatiron Institute researchers and their colleagues can diagnose even asymptomatic patients with 98.4 percent accuracy. By inspecting the body’s immune response at a molecular level, a research team has developed a new way to test patients for COVID-19. Their method can potentially catch infections a matter of hours after exposure — far earlier than current COVID-19 tests can detect the virus — with near-perfect accuracy….

New cell therapy offers potential treatment option for patients with chronic heart failure. Physician-scientists at The Texas Heart Institute announced today the results of the largest cell therapy trial to date in patients with chronic heart failure due to low ejection fraction. The therapy benefited patients by improving the heart’s pumping ability, as measured by ejection fraction, and reducing the risk of  heart attack or stroke, especially in patients who have high levels of inflammation. Also, a strong signal was…