… a fundamental discovery. Scientists at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna have developed a CRISPR-Cas9 screening assay that allows to systematically pinpoint regulators of any gene of interest, including cancer-related genes. Using this approach, they discovered how cells transport their clean-up machinery, the proteasome, into the nucleus to maintain protein balance and get rid of unwanted nuclear proteins. The results of this study are now reported in the journal Nature. At the Research Institute of Molecular…

Oregon State University research has shed new light on the way malignant cells change their shape and migration techniques to invade different types of tissue. The findings, published in Scientific Reports, are a key step toward understanding and preventing cancer metastasis, the internal spreading of the disease that’s responsible for 95% of all cancer deaths. “Through billions of years of evolution, cells have learned a number of distinct ways to migrate,” said OSU biophysicist Bo Sun, who led the study….

The SARS-CoV-2 virus does not infect blood vessels, despite the high risk of blood clots to COVID-19 patients, University of Queensland researchers have found. Dr Emma Gordon and Dr Larisa Labzin from UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience and Dr Kirsty Short from UQ’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences pooled their expertise in vascular biology and virology to determine how the virus causes damage to blood vessels. The researchers found that the cardiovascular complications of COVID-19 are triggered by inflammation…

Researchers at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience (MPFI) have uncovered a surprisingly complex yet precisely ordered map of visual space in area V2 of the cortex. Requiring a discerning eye, mathematical precision, and keen sense of aesthetics, map making is a unique application of both art and science. Though the scale may differ, neuroscientists that study vision are like cartographers of the brain; investigating and mapping how our brain represents and makes sense of what we see in…

Archaea are often mistaken as bacteria, given that both are small, single-cell organisms. However, archaea are as genetically different from bacteria as humans are from bacteria. While archaea are found in most environments, including the human gut microbiome, relatively little is known about them. An international team of researchers from Germany and Austria, led by Nicholas Youngblut at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen, Germany, has compiled the first large scale assessment of archaeal diversity in the…

The sharpest images ever of living bacteria have been recorded by UCL researchers, revealing the complex architecture of the protective layer that surrounds many bacteria and makes them harder to be killed by antibiotics. The study, published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA and done in collaboration with scientists at National Physical Laboratory, King’s College London, University of Oxford and Princeton University, reveals that bacteria with protective outer layers – called Gram-negative bacteria –…

Existing analysis software fails to detect missing gene building blocks. Automated gene analyses of Sars-CoV-2 samples consistently miss gene segments in the virus genome that have undergone deletion due to mutations. This is revealed in a new study by researchers at Bielefeld University’s Center for Biotechnology (CeBiTec) and the Evangelical Hospital Bethel (EvKB), one of the supporting hospitals of Medical School OWL. The research team was able to show that a large part of the ORF8 gene segment was missing…

Researchers at Heidelberg University Hospital currently describe in “Neuron” where heat-sensitive neurons in the brain obtain the necessary information / “Outsourced” sensor proteins allow adapted thermoregulation. The mechanisms by which the body measures temperature and regulates its own body heat are vital, but still poorly understood. The discovery of the first heat sensor on nerve cells in the skin, for which the U.S. molecular biologist David Julius received this year’s Nobel Prize for Medicine, was therefore pioneering. However, a very…

A novel electrochemical strategy for efficient hydrogen storage. The catalytic hydrogenation of N-heteroarenes showcases wide and important applications in the fields of synthetic chemistry, drug discovery, materials science, and hydrogen storage. However, it remains a long-standing scientific and technological challenge in breaking the aromaticity of substrates and overcoming catalyst poisoning by either substrates or hydrogenated products. Although different homogeneous systems mainly based on precious metal catalysts have been developed, harsh conditions with extra additives are always required. Furthermore, homogeneous catalysis…

Vahey’s lab investigates shape-shifting protein in common respiratory virus. Respiratory syncytial virus, more commonly known as RSV, is a highly contagious respiratory virus that can be very serious and even fatal for young children and the elderly. In summer of 2021, health-care providers saw an unseasonable spike in the virus, which typically causes illness from October through March. While the virus has been recognized since the 1950s, there is no vaccine available. Michael D. Vahey, a biomedical engineer at the…

Rice chemists discover mechanism in controlled growth of tetrahedron-shaped nanoparticles. Nature clearly likes symmetry. Look at your own hands, for example. But sometimes nature produces asymmetric things, and the reasons aren’t always clear. Rice University chemist Matthew Jones and his team have been seeking answers to such questions about useful nanoparticles — and now appear to have one. A new study by Jones, lead author and postdoctoral researcher Muhua Sun and graduate students Zhihua Cheng and Weiyin Chen demonstrates how symmetry breaking during particle…

Researchers from Japan develop a platform based on nanofibers to trap brain cancer cells as a therapeutic strategy. Our body heals its injuries by essentially replacing damaged cells with new cells. The new cells often migrate to the site of injury, a process known as “cell migration.” However, abnormal cell migration can also facilitate the transport and spread of cancer cells within the body. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one such example of a highly invasive brain tumor that spreads via…

The skin bacterium Staphylococcus aureus often develops antibiotic resistance. It can then cause infections that are difficult to treat. Researchers at the University of Bonn have uncovered an ingenious way in which a certain strain of Staphylococcus aureus protects itself against the important antibiotic vancomycin. The results have now been published in the journal Microbiology Spectrum. In the study, the researchers investigated the development of resistance in a Staphylococcus aureus strain that is innocuous to humans. For this purpose, they…

Neurons use local protein synthesis as dominant source of protein production To form and modify synaptic connections and store information, such as memories, neurons continuously remodel their essential cellular resources, the proteins. The complexity of a neuron’s dendrites and axons (the information-receiving and -sending parts of the neuron), though, poses unique challenges for protein supply at remote locations. To fulfill the local demand for new protein, neurons localize messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and ribosomes near synapses to produce proteins directly where…

MHH research team finds biomarker for treatment success with donor lymphocyte infusion. When chemotherapy does not help a leukemia patient, stem cell transplantation is the last resort. In this case, the diseased bone marrow is usually replaced by healthy cells from a suitable donor with the help of a transfusion. After the transfusion, the donated stem cells migrate into the bone marrow and begin to form new, healthy blood cells there after some time. However, this is not always successful….

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can act as signal carriers during the evolution of malignant tumors. At the appropriate concentration, ROS mediate signal transduction and cell growth. However, ROS are a double-edged sword, as excessive ROS can oxidize proteins, damage the DNA structure, and induce cell apoptosis. Moreover, ROS can induce inflammation at the tumor site, which further improves tumor immunogenicity. Therefore, increasing the content of ROS in tumor sites has become an effective method for cancer therapy. At present, the…