The signaling molecules of the immune system should trigger a response only where necessary. To prevent a life-threatening spread to the rest of the body, connective tissue can absorb these molecules like a sponge. A team led by Thomas Blankenstein presents this mechanism in “Nature Immunology.” Joint press release of Max Delbrück Center and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Medizin When the T cells of the immune system communicate, they do so with the help of cytokines. An important member of the…

Researchers led by Osaka University have used cryogenic electron microscopy analysis to reveal the structural change of the centromere at an atomic level during cell division. The genetic material inside cells is organized into structures called chromosomes. The centromere is essential for the correct division of the chromosomes via interaction with spindle microtubules when cells divide and grow. Now, a study by researchers at Osaka University has clarified the structure of the centromeric region in chicken cells using a technique…

Blocking an immune-regulating protein reverses the damage caused by acute and chronic kidney disease, a preclinical study suggests. In a world first, scientists at Duke-NUS Medical School, the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) and colleagues in Germany have shown that regenerative therapy to restore impaired kidney function may soon be a possibility. In a preclinical study reported in Nature Communications, the team found that blocking a damaging and scar-regulating protein called interleukin-11 (IL-11) enables damaged kidney cells to regenerate, restoring impaired…

Researchers at UCL (University College London) have discovered a new type of ice that more closely resembles liquid water than any other known ices and that may rewrite our understanding of water and its many anomalies. Researchers at UCL and the University of Cambridge have discovered a new type of ice that more closely resembles liquid water than any other known ices and that may rewrite our understanding of water and its many anomalies. The newly discovered ice is amorphous…

Researchers used a chemical synthesis robot and computationally cost effective A.I. model to successfully predict and validate highly selective catalysts. Artificial intelligence (A.I.) has made headlines recently with the advent of ChatGPT’s language processing capabilities. Creating a similarly powerful tool for chemical reaction design remains a significant challenge, especially for complex catalytic reactions. To help address this challenge, researchers at the Institute for Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery and the Max Planck Institut für Kohlenforschung have demonstrated a machine learning…

Wyss Institute’s eRapid electrochemical sensor technology enables detection of SARS-CoV-2 antigen-specific antibodies to detect virus and assess vaccine-induced immunity. Not all SARS-CoV-2 infections are created equal. We have learned this through multiple virus waves are taking their toll on the world’s population. Improving vaccines and new anti-viral therapies that target distinct viral molecules (antigens) and the changes they undergo over time have helped to soften this blow. However, to control the disease even better and everywhere, we have to be…

A research group funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation has identified a gene that drives T lymphocytes to exhaustion. This opens up new approaches for more effective immunotherapies. A tough battle requires endurance. This is also true for white blood cells as they tackle cancer – or more specifically for T lymphocytes or T cells, a group of white blood cells involved in the immune system’s fight against cancer cells. However, T cells can become exhausted during this fight….

Classic graphite pencils can be used and transformed into colorful works using plasma irradiation, without a drop of colored ink used. New developments for achieving structural coloring through plasma irradiation of graphite can reduce the reliance upon harmful color dyes. Colors achieved by plasma irradiation are completely erasable and can be manipulated using time exposed to the plasma irradiation, intensity of the irradiation and the thickness of the graphite layer applied. The application of plasma-structural coloring aims to lessen the…

They are barely the size of a thumbnail, able to communicate with each other and respond to each other, and designed to make life easier for people with functional limitations. We are talking about a new generation of interactive microimplants developed by the innovation cluster INTAKT, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT. These miniature assistants can act as a stimulus in cases of…

Glaucoma is a common ocular disease in which the optic nerve malfunctions due to the increased intraocular pressure (IOP) caused by drainage canal blocking in the eye. This condition narrows the peripheral vision and can lead to vision loss in severe cases. Glaucoma patients have to manage IOP levels for their life-time. Automatic monitoring and control of the IOP in these patients would significantly improve their quality of life. Recently, a research team at POSTECH has developed a smart contact…

Coenzyme Q distribution within the cell is regulated by mitochondria. Antioxidants are often advertised as a cure-all in nutrition and offered as dietary supplements. However, our body also produces such radical scavengers itself, one of which is coenzyme Q. Now researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne, Germany, have discovered how the substance, which is produced in our mitochondria, reaches the cell surface and protects our cells from dying. Coenzyme Q is an antioxidant that…

EPFL researchers have combined low-power chip design, machine learning algorithms, and soft implantable electrodes to produce a neural interface that can identify and suppress symptoms of various neurological disorders. Mahsa Shoaran of the Integrated Neurotechnologies Laboratory in the School of Engineering collaborated with Stéphanie Lacour in the Laboratory for Soft Bioelectronic Interfaces to develop NeuralTree: a closed-loop neuromodulation system-on-chip that can detect and alleviate disease symptoms. Thanks to a 256-channel high-resolution sensing array and an energy-efficient machine learning processor, the…

Disabling hearing loss affects one in every ten people and up to 25% of people over 60, according to the World Health Organization, and can have both genetic and environmental causes such as infections and noise exposure. Sensorineural hearing loss, the most frequent form of hearing loss, is caused by damage to specialized cells in the cochlea called hair cells (HCs) and spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs), respectively, both of which are essential for hearing. Hair cells receive sounds as mechanical signals…

In non-cirrhotic liver diseases, organ transplantation in two steps, especially with a living donation, is a safe therapy option for donors and recipients. This is the conclusion of a case series evaluated by surgeons from the Jena University Hospital in “Annals of Surgery”. Due to the normal organ function e.g. in liver metastases and legal requirements, no donor organs are available for these patients according to the waiting list criteria. Far above 1,200 patients were listed waiting for a liver…

… changes how we utilize sunlight. The importance of solar power as a renewable energy resource is increasing. Sunlight contains high-energy UV light with a wavelength shorter than 400 nm, which can be broadly used, for example, for photopolymerization to form a resin and activation of photocatalysts to drive reactions that generate green hydrogen or useful hydrocarbons (fuels, sugars, olefins, etc.). The latter of these is often called “artificial photosynthesis.” Photocatalytic reaction by UV light to efficiently kill viruses and…

– the first FDA-approved drug for Ebola virus infection. New findings emphasize the benefits of antibody cocktails over monotherapy approaches. Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have uncovered the structure and function of the first FDA-approved treatment for Zaire ebolavirus (Ebola virus). Inmazeb (REGN-EB3), developed by Regeneron, is a three-antibody cocktail designed to target the Ebola virus glycoprotein. The drug was first approved for clinical use in October 2020, but its exact mechanism of action has remained unclear….