According to folklore, silver bullets kill werewolves, but in the real world, researchers want to harness this metal to fight another deadly foe: bacteria. Recently, scientists have tried to develop a silver coating for implantable medical devices to protect against infection, but they’ve had limited success. In a study in ACS Central Science, one team describes a new, long-acting silver-ion releasing coating that, in rats, prevents bacteria from adhering to implants and then kills them. Sometimes medical care requires surgeons to…

… after scientists discover cause of disease. Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) have identified a gene called TLR7 that, when over-activated, is responsible for causing lupus, an autoimmune disease that can be life-threatening in severe cases. TLR7 is programmed to help the immune system guard against viral infections, but in its mutated form it can become aggressive and cause the immune system to attack healthy cells. The discovery, made by an international team of scientists, could pave the way…

Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Columbia University/New York State Psychiatric Institute are studying G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), membrane proteins that are the target of one-third of approved drugs. Using single-molecule imaging techniques, researchers gained fresh insight into the process by which cellular signals are relayed by GPCRs. The work may aid the development of novel drugs by manipulating the way they activate certain pathways. A paper on the work appeared today in Cell. The human genome encodes…

EMBL Barcelona scientists have recapitulated for the first time in the laboratory how the cellular structures that give rise to our spinal column form sequentially. The spinal column is the central supporting structure of the skeleton in all vertebrates. Not only does it provide a place for muscles to attach, it also protects the spinal cord and nerve roots. Defects in its development are known to cause rare hereditary diseases. Researchers from the Ebisuya Group at EMBL Barcelona have now created a…

… and reveals key steps in reaction process. Researchers have developed a new ligand that promotes a direct nickel-photocatalyzed cross-coupling reaction. In recent years, the golden word in precious metals is palladium. A crucial component in automobile catalytic converters and in emerging hydrogen fuel cell technology, the demand for this rare silvery white transition metal continues to outstrip supply, driving its price per ounce far above gold and silver. Palladium and other rare, costly precious metals like platinum, iridium, and…

Researchers use new method to study microbial communities in their environment / Hydrothermal fluids transform coastal sediments into hotspots of microbial production. Regardless of the water depth at which they occur, hydrothermal vents are an extreme habitat. The microbial communities that live here adapt to this environment and use the energy sources it provides, which can be seen as a kind of hydrothermal catering. For the first time, Dr. Solveig Bühring of MARUM – the Center for Marine Environmental Sciences…

By developing a tool to visualize the membrane association and activation status of normal and oncogenic proteins, scientists at the UNIGE have established the basis for innovative drug discovery. Peripheral membrane proteins have the particularity of temporarily binding to cell membranes, a necessary step for them to be able to fulfil their biological function. To do this, certain enzymes that catalyse their lipid modification come into action. This process is called “palmitoylation”. Some of these proteins can mutate and become oncogenic,…

A research group led by Sa Kan Yoo at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR) has discovered a completely unknown type of cell death that takes place in the guts of the common fruit fly. The new process, coined “erebosis” by the researchers is thought to play a role in gut metabolism. The findings necessitate a revision of the conventional concept of cell death, and at the same time, overturn the previously established theory of tissue homeostasis in…

Research team led by Göttingen University describes fundamental principle of enzyme catalysis. It is well known in physics and chemistry that equal charges repel each other, while opposite charges attract. It was long assumed that this principle also applies when enzymes – the biological catalysts in all living organisms – form or break chemical bonds. It was thought that enzymes place charges in their “active centres”, where the chemical reactions actually take place, in such a way that they repel…

KIT researchers use polymer membranes coated with titanium dioxide for photocatalytic cleaning – results are reported in Nature Nanotechnology. Wherever people are living, hormones used in e.g. contraceptives or agriculture enter the wastewater. Steroid hormones, such as sex hormones and corticosteroids, may accumulate in the environment and adversely affect humans and animals, as they impair behavioral development and fertility. Sex hormones, for instance, may cause male fish to develop female sexual characteristics. It is therefore important to remove hormones, together…

A research team co-led by chemists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and Imperial College London (Imperial College) has developed new, highly efficient and stable perovskite solar cells. The breakthrough invention is expected to greatly accelerate the commercialisation of perovskite photovoltaic technology, providing a promising alternative to silicon solar cells. Traditional solar cells are made of silicon, which has high power conversion efficiency and good stability. But they are relatively expensive and are reaching their practical and economic photovoltaic…

New research from the University of Sheffield gives scientists a better understanding of how meningitis spreads, paving the way for new treatments. New research from the University of Sheffield gives scientists a better understanding of how meningitis spreads, paving the way for new treatments Groundbreaking study shows Cryptococcus neoformans helps the life threatening infection spread from the blood by blocking and bursting blood vessels An estimated 2.5 million cases of meningitis occur globally each year The findings will also help…

Researchers at ISTA discover a crucial process that enables immune cells to get to where they are needed. Study published in Science. Imagine a stone wall in the countryside. Tightly packed, one stone sits on top of the other filling the tiniest gaps. A seemingly unbreachable obstacle. On their way throughout the body to fight infections, immune cells face such barriers in the form of cell-dense tissues. To do their job as the body’s rescue service, they need to find…

A new study shows that it is possible to use the genetic sequences of a person’s antibodies to predict what pathogens those antibodies will target. Reported in the journal Immunity, the new approach successfully differentiates between antibodies against influenza and those attacking SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. “Our research is in a very early stage, but this proof-of-concept study shows that we can use machine learning to connect the sequence of an antibody to its function,” said Nicholas Wu,…

A tiny stroke for each microbe, a giant impact on the ocean. Although invisible to us, every teaspoon of seawater contains more than a million marine bacteria. These tiny microbes play pivotal roles in governing the chemical cycles that control our climate and shape the health of the global ocean, but are they passive drifters or purposeful hunters? New research demonstrates that bacteria in the ocean use similar behaviours to many foraging animals, swimming through their environment while hunting and…

Untangling genomic architecture of acute promyelocytic leukaemia reveals gene that can suppress tumour. A new study published today in the journal Genes & Development reveals a gene that normally suppresses the formation of tumours but is reprogrammed at the onset of acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL), an aggressive type of blood cancer that is responsible for 5-15% of all types of leukaemia. The findings pave the way for the development of drugs that boost the expression of the gene at the…