MHH in charge of new hepatitis guideline Viral and non-viral liver diseases are often detected late or not at all. As the symptoms are mostly unspecific, the disease progresses in secret and is only diagnosed when the stage of liver cirrhosis or liver cell cancer is reached. In order to detect and treat infections with hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses as early as possible, the Federal Joint Committee (Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss, G-BA) has included screening for both viruses as a…

A new type of targeting chaperon protein HSP70 inhibitor QL47 was recently discovered by a team led by Prof. LIU Qingsong from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to treat FLT3-ITD-positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Their findings have been published on Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy. “What we are seeking is a new therapeutic strategy which imperative for FLT3-ITD-positive AML,” said HU Chen, lead author of the study. Approximately, 25% of AMLs carry FLT3-ITD (internal…

This technology will give researchers insight into how the nervous system works and the chance to develop new ways of treating neurological disorders. Grégoire Courtine doesn’t hesitate to use the word “revolutionary” when describing the emerging field of optogenetics – a technology that uses pulses of light to control individual neural activity – and what it could mean for neuroscience. Courtine, director of the NeuroRestore research center (with neurosurgeon Jocelyne Bloch), is currently developing an optogenetic implant together with Stéphanie…

Insight into the molecular structure of an appetite-regulating cell receptor A protein – measuring just a few nanometers in size – acts as a molecular switch with a crucial role in determining whether we feel hungry or full. By determining of the protein’s 3D structure, researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin were able to visualize the molecular structures of the hormones with which this protein – melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) – interacts. Writing in Cell Research*, the researchers report that…

Stanford University and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill develop microneedle vaccine patch that outperforms needle jab to boost immunity. Scientists at Stanford University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have created a 3D-printed vaccine patch that provides greater protection than a typical vaccine shot. The trick is applying the vaccine patch directly to the skin, which is full of immune cells that vaccines target. The resulting immune response from the vaccine patch was 10 times…

The direction of movement of a microbe directly depends on the curvature of its environment – this is the key finding of a recent publication in the journal PNAS with participation of the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS) in Göttingen. The researchers investigated the navigation of a model microbe, a small self-propelling microalga, in confined compartments with different shapes. They also developed theoretical models to predict the probability flux of that microswimmer which was confirmed by experiments….

Empa researcher Peter Nirmalraj wants to image proteins with unprecedented precision – and thus gain insights into the molecular pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s. This should pave the way for an earlier diagnosis of the dementia disorder via a simple blood test. Together with neurologists from the Kantonsspital St.Gallen, a successful pilot study has now been completed. If the suspicion of Alzheimer’s disease creeps up, those affected must prepare themselves for lengthy and complex procedures until the case is clear. A team…

Machine learning algorithms are shedding light on neoantigen T cell-receptor pairs. Researchers and data scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center and MD Anderson Cancer Center have developed an artificial intelligence technique that can identify which cell surface peptides produced by cancer cells called neoantigens are recognized by the immune system. The pMTnet technique, detailed online in Nature Machine Intelligence, could lead to new ways to predict cancer prognosis and potential responsiveness to immunotherapies. “Determining which neoantigens bind to T cell receptors and which…

Poxviruses have found a unique way of translating their genes into proteins in the infected organism. For the first time, scientists of the University of Würzburg’s Biocenter have been able to gain atomic-level insights into the functioning of the molecular machinery involved in the process. The pictures taken enable them to represent the early phase of transcription in a movie-like manner. The last case of smallpox worldwide occurred in Somalia in October 1977. In 1980, the World Health Organization (WHO)…

Fertilisation is one of the most fundamental biological processes, yet its underlying molecular mechanisms are unresolved. An international team of scientists at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) and at Osaka University unveiled the role of the protein SPACA4, which allows mammalian sperm to traverse the protective layers of the egg to reach its membrane. Their results are now published in PNAS. In most animals and plants, the life cycle of an individual begins with fertilisation, when egg and…

Researchers at the Beckman Institute Biophotonics Imaging Laboratory applied deep learning to polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography to better detect cancer. Yi “Edwin” Sun, a Ph.D. candidate in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and member of the Beckman Institute’s Biophotonics Imaging Laboratory headed by Stephen Boppart, explored how deep learning methods can make polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography, or PS-OCT, more cost-effective and better equipped to diagnose cancer in biological tissues. The paper, titled “Synthetic polarization-sensitive optical…

Scientists at Cornell University have created cell-size robots that can be powered and steered by ultrasound waves. Despite their tiny size, these micro-robotic swimmers –  whose movements were inspired by bacteria and sperm – could one day be a formidable new tool for targeted drug delivery. For more than a decade, Mingming Wu’s lab has been investigating the ways microorganisms, from bacteria to cancer cells, migrate and communicate with their environment. The goal was to create a remotely controlled micro-robot that…

The heady math that describes how bubbles form in a glass of Champagne has inspired a framework for engineering living cells. A study published Sep. 22 in Nature details how an established physics theory governing bubble and droplet formation led to a new understanding of the principles organizing the contents of living cells. The work marks a seismic shift in researchers’ ability both to understand and control the complex soft materials within our cells. “This approach is common in materials…

This cooperation is impaired in mutations that can cause Parkinson’s disease. To break down toxic proteins more quickly, immune cells in the brain can join together to form networks when needed. This is shown by a joint study of the University of Bonn, the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the Institut François Jacob in France. However, in certain mutations that can cause Parkinson’s disease, this cooperation is impaired. The findings are published in the renowned journal Cell. The…

The technique is an alternative to using donated embryos resulting from IVF. Research on human embryos is vital to understanding the earliest stages of human development. Currently, this research is conducted on surplus embryos willingly donated by individuals who have undergone in vitro fertilization. Nevertheless, this research is limited by the availability of embryos and strict international ethical time limits on how long an embryo is allowed to develop in the laboratory (14 days maximum). Now, Caltech researchers have created…

Cancer-fighting T cells from patients whose cancers responded to immunotherapy and from those whose tumors did not respond showed marked differences in gene activity that could eventually serve as targets to boost effectiveness. Cancer-fighting immune cells in patients with lung cancer whose tumors do not respond to immunotherapies appear to be running on a different “program” that makes them less effective than immune cells in patients whose cancers respond to these immune treatments, suggests a new study led by researchers…