New cooperation of GSI/FAIR, Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen and Varian. It is an important step to extend future treatment methods in the fight against cancer: The GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, the Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen (THM) and Varian, a Siemens Healthineers company from Palo Alto, California, intend to jointly advance medical-technical developments in the field of FLASH therapy and further pave the way to clinical application. To this purpose, an agreement was concluded among the three collaborators. The collaboration aims to allow…

… offer potential to improve delivery of drugs into the eyeball. Published research on new eye treatment delivery shows improvement over hypodermic needles. A collaborative team, including scientists from the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI), has developed a novel, self-plugging microneedle for injecting therapeutics into the eyes, potentially solving one of the major challenges of treating eye diseases – accurate delivery of therapeutic drugs to the retina, while guarding against possible complications at the injection site. Recently published in…

The molecule is unusual and has ‘great potential’ in catalysis, conduction and other applications. Scientists at Kyoto University’s Institute for Cell-Material Sciences have discovered a novel cluster compound that could prove useful as a catalyst. Compounds, called polyoxometalates, contain a large metal-oxide cluster carry a negative charge. They are found everywhere, from anti-viral medicines to rechargeable batteries and flash memory devices. The new cluster compound is a hydroxy-iodide (HSbOI) and is unusual, as it has large, positively charged clusters. Only…

A researcher at the University of Tsukuba develops a method for creating optically active polymers using a helical liquid crystal template, which may allow for future computer and TV displays to operate based on circularly polarized light. A scientist from the Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences at the University of Tsukuba developed a method for producing electrically conductive polymers that assume a helical configuration. By using a liquid crystal as a template, he was able to produce optically active…

Heidelberg plant researchers identify key protein in a mechanism that controls the life of proteins. Proteins are existential building blocks of life that also have numerous functions in plants. An average plant cell contains more than 20 billion protein molecules that maintain cellular metabolism and stabilise their structure. Researchers at the Centre for Organismal Studies of Heidelberg University recently shed light on a cellular mechanism that extends the life of plant proteins. They have now identified a key protein that…

To develop new drugs and vaccines, detailed knowledge about nature’s smallest biological building blocks – the biomolecules – is required. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, are now presenting a groundbreaking microscopy technique that allows proteins, DNA and other tiny biological particles to be studied in their natural state in a completely new way. A great deal of time and money is required when developing medicines and vaccines. It is therefore crucial to be able to streamline the work…

Scientists have identified the biochemical signals that control the emergence of the body pattern in the primate embryo. This will guide work to understand birth defects and pregnancy loss in humans. The study also provides a crucial reference for foetal tissue generation in the lab – such tissue is in short supply but is needed for drug screening and studies into stem cell-based treatments to regenerate body tissues in diseases like Parkinson’s, for example. Embryos develop from a clump of…

Scientists in the UK are starting to understand the precise workings of a type of gene that, unlike other genes, does not code for proteins – the building blocks of life. Scientists are starting to understand the precise workings of a type of gene that, unlike other genes, does not code for proteins – the building blocks of life. New research led by the University of Bath shows the mechanism by which genes coding for a subset of long non-coding…

RNA regulates proteins and thereby can control cell growth, study shows. European Molecular Biology Laboratory’s research on the enzyme Enolase 1 (ENO1) points to a possible new way RNA exerts a leading role in how cells develop. The new heroics of RNA in cell differentiation. Scientists are increasingly learning of new reasons to appreciate RNA, and the glycolytic enzyme ENO1 seems to have provided yet another in new research from European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) this week, as published in…

In Nature Communications: The Politecnico di Milano study that synthesised a nanocluster of superfluorinated gold for the first time. The SupraBioNano Lab (SBNLab) at the Politecnico di Milano’s Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, in partnership with the University of Bologna and the Aalto University of Helsinki (Finland) has, for the first time, synthesised a superfluorinated gold nanocluster, made up of a core of only 25 gold atoms, to which 18 branch-structured fluorinated molecules are linked. The…

Potential Achilles heel in the protective layers surrounding Gram-negative bacteria identified that could aid in the development of next-generation antibiotics. A new study published in Nature today has identified a potential Achilles heel in the protective layers surrounding Gram-negative bacteria that could aid in the development of next-generation antibiotics. The study, carried out jointly by Professor Waldemar Vollmer and Dr Federico Corona at Newcastle University, alongside Professor Colin Kleanthous and Dr Gideon Mamou in the Department of Biochemistry at the…

‘Barcoding’ studies find two independent sources for blood cells in mice; if confirmed in humans, the understanding of blood cancers, bone marrow transplant, and the aging immune system will change. The origins of our blood may not be quite what we thought. Using cellular “barcoding” in mice, a groundbreaking study finds that blood cells originate not from one type of mother cell, but two, with potential implications for blood cancers, bone marrow transplant, and immunology. Fernando Camargo, PhD, of the…

… to bring health care closer to precisely targeted drug delivery. If you’ve ever swallowed the same round tablet in hopes of curing everything from stomach cramps to headaches, you already know that medicines aren’t always designed to treat precise pain points. While over-the-counter pills have cured many ailments for decades, biomedical researchers have only recently begun exploring ways to improve targeted drug delivery when treating more complicated medical conditions, like cardiovascular disease or cancer. A promising innovation within this…

Scientists at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares ( (CNIC) have discovered a complex network of connections between tissues that allows the liver to regulate body temperature. The research team found that the secretion of a molecule called interleukin 12 (IL-12) by immune cells present in the liver reduces heat generation by brown fat. The study is published in Hepatology. When a person begins to gain weight, fat accumulates in adipose tissue. But eventually fat also accumulates in the liver, a…

… using AI-enabled surgical robot. A novel AI-empowered robotic device successfully underwent clinical trial for assisting in percutaneous nephrolithotomy— surgery for removing kidney stones. Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is an efficient, minimally-invasive, gold standard procedure used for removing large kidney stones. Creating an access from the skin on the back to the kidney—called renal access, is a crucial yet challenging step in PCNL. An inefficiently created renal access can lead to severe complications including massive bleeding, thoracis and bowel injuries, renal…

Researchers discover and characterize a novel membraneless organelle that could play a role in Alzheimer’s treatment. Researchers in UC Santa Barbara neuroscientist Kenneth S. Kosik’s lab have discovered a novel organelle — a previously unknown cell structure whose function it is to help clean up faulty proteins in times of stress and keep cells functioning in top condition. Optimizing this membraneless organelle, which they call a BAG2 condensate, could lead to treatments for conditions that are the result of misfolded proteins, including…