Uniting with the enemy: Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen have discovered how benign strains of Pseudomonas protect against their harmful bacterial relatives. The study, now published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, shows that the coexistence of beneficial and pathogenic Pseudomonas on Arabidopsis thaliana improves plant health, but that the exact extent depends on the genetic makeup of both the plant and the microbes. The findings could help to design natural alternatives to synthetic pesticides. Plants host…

A recent study shows that certain immune cells can restore their normal functions when introduced back into the body, even after being multiplied in the laboratory to large numbers – the results pave the way to new cell therapies. Macrophages are immune cells crucial for immune response, tissue repair, and the removal of cancer cells. Scientists see macrophages as promising living therapeutics. However, to be effectively used for therapies, macrophages have to be grown to large numbers in laboratory culture…

Scientists at UCL have developed a new technique that uses microscopic magnetic particles to remotely activate brain cells; researchers say the discovery in rats could potentially lead to the development of a new class of non-invasive therapies for neurological disorders. Published in Advanced Science, the pioneering technique called “magnetomechanical stimulation” or , allows touch sensitive brain glial cells called astrocytes to be stimulated with a magnetic device outside the body. Microscopic magnetic particles, or micromagnets, are attached to astrocytes, and used as…

Living organisms produce an abundance of small molecular compounds, called metabolites. Although, it is clear that small molecules are central to all aspect of life, their exact functionalities are often unknown. To fill this knowledge gap, and because small molecules act by binding with proteins, Aleksandra Skirycz’s group at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology developed a novel strategy to identify such protein-molecule complexes. An important group of small molecules identified by this novel strategy are 2′,3′-cAMP nucleotides,…

Infections with several pathogens simultaneously increase the risk of cervical cancer—these results from a study conducted on artificial 3D tissue models at the University of Wuerzburg. Patients who develop cervical cancer are often infected not only with the human papillomavirus (HPV) but also simultaneously with the bacterial pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis. The suspicion is, therefore, that the two pathogens work together in a kind of team to “reprogram” the cells they infect in such a way that they degenerate and multiply…

MHH programme PRACTIS for the training of clinician scientists is supported with 1.3 million euros for another two years. In order to provide patients with the best possible care, the latest scientific findings must be incorporated into diagnostics and therapy. This requires so-called clinician scientists. These are doctors who not only have excellent clinical but also scientific training. They carry urgent questions from everyday clinical practice into research and at the same time translate scientific findings into patient care. In…

Researchers create minimalistic Sars-CoV-2 virions and discover the spike protein switching mechanism. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg and their collaborators at the Max Planck Bristol Center for Minimal Biology at the University of Bristol have developed a new approach to study Sars-CoV-2. For systematic and standardized research of Sars-CoV-2 they built minimalistic synthetic virus particles where they can incorporate distinct structures of the Sars-CoV-2 virus like the spike protein. This allowed scientists to study…

Collaboration achieves milestone with successful accelerator experiment. Molybdenum (Mo-99) plays a seminal role in the diagnosis of cancer and other diseases. After a few hours, the radioisotope decays to produce Technetium-99m, which is used in the imaging procedures needed to examine millions of people around the world every year. The current fission-based process has many challenges like the aging reactors and the environmental impact of the process. That is why researchers are searching for alternative methods of production. At the…

While there is currently no cure for blindness, a first-of-its-kind artificial vision system has undergone its first successful implantation, bringing with it the potential to restore partial vision to people who have lost their sight. The Intracortical Visual Prosthesis (ICVP), an implant that bypasses the retina and optic nerves to connect directly to the brain’s visual cortex, has been successfully surgically implanted in the ICVP study’s first participant at Rush University Medical Center this week. This surgery is part of…

New proof-of-concept study reveals a way to make ‘universal’ organs that could be used in all recipients regardless of blood type. A study published in Science Translational Medicine performed at the Latner Thoracic Surgery Research Laboratories and UHN’s Ajmera Transplant Centre has proved that it is possible to convert blood type safely in donor organs intended for transplantation. This finding is an important step towards creating universal type O organs, which would significantly improve fairness in organ allocation and decrease mortality…

How fat cells in the skin help fight acne. Acne is among the most common skin diseases in the United States, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, affecting up to 50 million Americans each year. It is also among the least studied. It’s known that hair follicles assist in the development of a pimple, but new research suggests the skin cells outside of these hair follicles play a larger role. The findings published in the February 16, 2022…

… by which the bacterium Legionella pneumophila regulates the immune response of its host cells. Legionellosis or Legionnaires’ disease affected more than 1 800 people in France in 2019 and caused 160 deaths. This emerging disease is caused by Legionella pneumophila, an environmental bacterium that thrives in hot water systems. Researchers from the Institut Pasteur, the CNRS, the University of Paris have discovered a mechanism that allows Legionella pneumophila to target the immune response of the cells it infects by…

Altered sensory processing of communication signals. For a long time it has been assumed that difficulties in processing communication signals in autism occur at the level of the cerebral cortex or structures in the brain associated with emotion processing. Neuroscientists at Technische Universität Dresden have now shown that adults with autism have altered processing of auditory communication signals already in the subcortical auditory pathway – a structure that connects the ears with the cerebral cortex. Their findings have been recently…

University of Jena biologists discover in fossils earliest proof of cooperative behaviour in ants. An international research team led by biologists from Friedrich Schiller University Jena has discovered material evidence that ants already lived in a special social system based on the division of labour more than 100 million years ago. Ants live in states organised according to the division of tasks. There are three castes, each of which has a different role: the queen lays eggs and the males…

A COVID-19 risk variant inherited from Neandertals reduces a person’s risk of contracting HIV by 27 percent. The genetic variants we are born with can increase or decrease our risk of falling seriously ill with COVID-19. The major genetic risk variant for severe COVID-19, one we inherited from Neandertals, is surprisingly common. This raises the question whether it may actually be of advantage to carry this variant. A study by Hugo Zeberg, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for…

The new tool has made it possible to detect SARS-CoV-2 in exudate from symptomatic patients with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 87.5%. This new methodology, whose first results are published in the journal Scientific Reports, from the Nature Group, has obtained a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 87.5% in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal exudate (the same samples used in a PCR test) from symptomatic people. It has also been possible to detect the…