A living cell is exposed to a variety of stimuli. Countless messengers dock on its surface, where receptors in the cell membrane receive the incoming “orders.” Signaling cascades are then triggered inside the cell, which ultimately responds by producing or breaking down substances, or by switching genes on and off in the cell nucleus. So far so clear. But what’s exactly going on here? Researchers at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC) have now…

Around 500,000 people in the UK live with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), a life-long, chronic condition characterised by sporadic bouts of gut inflammation causing debilitating symptoms. Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis – the latter affecting around 1 in 400 people – are the two most common types of IBD. Current treatments are ineffective and seriously impact the quality of life of the patients and those of their families. Scientists at the Earlham Institute, Quadram Institute and University of East Anglia on the…

Mutations that lead to muscle atrophy can be repaired with the gene editor CRISPR-Cas9. A team led by ECRC researcher Helena Escobar has now introduced the tool into human muscle stem cells for the first time using mRNA, thus discovering a method suitable for therapeutic applications. It may be only a tiny change in the genome, but this small difference can have fatal consequences: Muscular dystrophies are almost always caused by a single faulty gene. As different as the mutations…

Made from cheap chemicals, this polymer packs a punch. An imaginative approach to polymer surface coating has produced a sustainable way to remove mercury from water – while providing a wide range of protection including for preventing metal corrosion and solvent damage of plastic PVC pipes. The smart coating, made from low-cost chemicals from oil refining and other sources, also can prevent acid and water damage of concrete surfaces and be repaired in situ by a simple heating process, says…

… for early-phase drug discovery. The existence of various molecular arrangements that occur in the solid-state is called polymorphism. During early-phase drug discovery, researchers commonly look at hydrogen-bonding networks to identify potential metastable polymorphs. But what if a system doesn’t have hydrogen bonding? Or what if the hydrogen-bonding networks are the same in two different solid forms? Going beyond hydrogen-bonding networks with CSD-Materials CCDC’s CSD-Materials suite provides a comprehensive analysis of a potential active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) that helps researchers explore…

The formation of the greenhouse gas is driven by reactive oxygen species. It is well known that methane, a greenhouse gas, is produced by special microorganisms, for example in the intestines of cows, or in rice fields. For some years, scientists had also observed the production of methane in plants and fungi, without finding an explanation. Now researchers from Heidelberg and the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg have shed light on the underlying mechanism. Their findings suggest…

A single-celled marine microbe capable of photosynthesis and hunting and eating prey may be a secret weapon in the battle against climate change. A single-celled marine microbe capable of photosynthesis and hunting and eating prey may be a secret weapon in the battle against climate change. Scientists at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) have discovered a new species that has the potential to sequester carbon naturally, even as oceans warm and become more acidic. The microbe, abundant around the…

Molecular sieve membrane-based separation technology, featured with low energy consumption and small carbon footprint, has attracted much attention in gas separation. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising in gas separation membranes due to their diversified structures, high porosity and tailored functionalities. However, defect-free MOF membrane fabrication still remains challenging. Recently, a research group led by Prof. YANG Weishen and Dr. PENG Yuan from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has fabricated flexible soft-solid MOF composite membrane on commercial polyvinylidene fluoride…

A metal foam could underpin a low-cost method for generating carbon-free fuels, researchers from KAUST have shown. The team seamlessly coated the foam with iron and cobalt nanomaterials to create a highly active electrode for a device that splits water molecules to release oxygen and hydrogen, a potential green fuel. Due to the intermittent nature of wind and solar energy electricity, there is a need to develop methods to convert renewable electricity into a carbon-free fuel that could be stored…

… before spreading to other species. An international research team led by Queen Mary University of and Dr. Eckart Stolle from the Leibniz-Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) has discovered that a new form of ant society spread across species. They found that after the new form of social organization evolved in one species of fire ants, a “social supergene” carrying the genetic information for the new social form, spread into other species. This spread occurred through hybridisation,…

Patent pending for combination of scintillation and upconversion luminescence. Researchers Dr Yansong Feng and Prof. Hong Zhang at the Van ‘t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) have designed and synthesized novel multi-layered, multi-functional nanoparticles that enable a combination of radiotherapy and photodynamic therapy for deep cancer tissue. An initial pre-clinical evaluation of the particles has demonstrated their therapeutic potential. A patent is pending, and the university is now seeking partners for further development or…

Scientists at the University of Cologne have shown that the recycling program of cells, autophagy, leads to the fusion of several single cells into multinucleated cell units during wound healing / publication in ‘The EMBO Journal’. A team led by Professor Dr. Maria Leptin has shown in animal models that autophagy, a mechanism of stress responses in cells, plays an important role in wound healing: When a wound develops, the process of autophagy is initiated and regulated by the protein…

Diabetes is a long-term chronic disease with many complications and requires care over a lifetime. The longer a patient suffers from diabetes, the higher the risk of developing retinopathy which can progressively lead to a decline in vision and even to blindness. A POSTECH research team led by Professor Sei Kwang Hahn and Ph.D. candidate Geon-Hui Lee (Department of Materials Science and Engineering) in collaboration with Dr. Sangbaie Shin of PHI BIOMED Co. has recently developed a smart contact lens-type…

Successful innitial laboratory research results at the Dresden High Magnetic Field Laboratory of the HZDR. In motor neuron diseases of the nervous system, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commands can no longer be sent to the muscles. This gradually leads to paralysis. Physicist Dr. Thomas Herrmannsdörfer from the German national lab Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and physician Prof. Richard Funk from the TU Dresden formulated the idea to selectively revive the motor neurons using magnetic fields. Initial laboratory research results…

… is first-ever fish described by a Maldivian scientist. Named after the country’s national flower, the species is added to the tree of life as part of the California Academy of Sciences’ global Hope for Reefs initiative.  Though there are hundreds of species of fish found off the coast of the Maldives, a mesmerizing new addition is the first-ever to be formally described—the scientific process an organism goes through to be recognized as a new species—by a Maldivian researcher. The…

Findings could lead to new ways to treat brain injuries and disease. A single protein can reverse the developmental clock on adult brain cells called astrocytes, morphing them into stem-like cells that produce neurons and other cell types, UT Southwestern researchers report in a PNAS study. The findings might someday lead to a way to regenerate brain tissue after disease or injury. “We’re showing that it may be possible to reprogram the fate of this subset of brain cells, giving…