By identifying one of the mechanisms regulating the virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a UNIGE team is proposing a new strategy to combat this bacterium, which is resistant to many common antibiotics. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogenic bacterium present in many ecological niches, such as plant roots, stagnant water or even the pipes of our homes. Naturally very versatile, it can cause acute and chronic infections that are potentially fatal for people with weakened immune systems. The presence of P….

Transport system of essential materials in brain cells disrupted in certain genetic developmental disorders. University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers identified a new gene that may be linked to certain neurodevelopmental disorders and intellectual disabilities. The researchers believe that finding genes involved in certain types of developmental disorders, provide an important first step in determining the cause of these disorders and ultimately in developing potential therapies for treating them. The paper was recently published in the American Journal…

In the visual thalamus, neurons are in contact with both eyes but respond to only one. The visual thalamus is classically known to relay visual stimuli coming from the retina to the cerebral cortex. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology now show that although neurons in the mouse visual thalamus connect to both eyes, they establish strong functional connections only with one retina. These results settle partly contradictory results of earlier studies and demonstrate how important it can…

Using real-time deformability cytometry, researchers at the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin in Erlangen were able to show for the first time: Covid-19 significantly changes the size and stiffness of red and white blood cells – sometimes over months. These results may help to explain why some affected people continue to complain of symptoms long after an infection (long covid). Shortness of breath, fatigue and headaches: some patients still struggle with the long-term effects of a severe infection by the…

Complications can always occur during operations, sometimes resulting in death. A new project called KIPeriOP aims to minimize the risk of such complications. The project is based on digitized decision guidelines and self-learning algorithms intended to provide reliable risk assessment based on individual patient data. What is the probability that certain complications will occur, and how might they be avoided? The project is coordinated by Prof. Dr. Anja Hennemuth from the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Medicine MEVIS and Prof. Dr….

In the Magdeburg University Clinic for Radiology, the first patient in Europe has been treated with a new type of liver tumor therapy as a part of a clinical study. Histotripsy is the name of the innovative new procedure from the US, which has now been tested on a patient at the University Hospital for Radiology and Nuclear Medicine Magdeburg as part of the so-called #HOPE4LIVER study. This makes Magdeburg University Hospital the first site in all of Europe to…

The brain presents different states depending on the communication between billions of neurons, and this network is the basis of all our perceptions, memories, and behaviours. It is often considered a “black box”, with difficult access for clinicians and researchers, as few limited tools are available to perform accurate and spaciotemporal studies on brain neuronal behaviour. Now, researchers from the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) in collaboration with August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS) and have added…

Understanding cellular metabolism – how a cell uses energy- could be key to treating a wide array of diseases, including vascular diseases and cancer. While many techniques can measure these processes among tens of thousands of cells, researchers have been unable to measure them at the single-cell level. Researchers at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and Biological Sciences Division have developed a combined imaging and machine learning technique that can, for the first time, measure a…

Max Planck researchers reveal how immune cells coordinate their swarming behavior to eliminate pathogens effectively together. The body is well protected against invading pathogens by barriers such as the skin. But if you injure yourself and break your skin, pathogens can easily enter your body through the wound and cause severe infections. If this occurs, the innate immune system takes over the first rapid defense with an effective arsenal of cellular weapons infiltrating the wounded tissue in large numbers. As…

Pheromones mediate asymmetric mating behavior in isogamous yeast. Researchers from the Max-Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology have discovered a surprising asymmetry in the mating behavior of unicellular yeast that emerges solely from molecular differences in pheromone signaling. Their results, published in the current issue of “Science Advances“, might shed new light on the evolutionary origins of sexual dimorphism in higher eukaryotes. Resemblant of higher organisms, yeast gametes communicate during the mating process by secreting and sensing sexual pheromones. However, in…

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine have developed a computational technique that greatly increases the resolution of atomic force microscopy, a specialized type of microscope that “feels” the atoms at a surface. The method reveals atomic-level details on proteins and other biological structures under normal physiological conditions, opening a new window on cell biology, virology and other microscopic processes. In a study, published June 16 in Nature, the investigators describe the new technique, which is based on a strategy used to…

Researchers show a graphene-based sensor can detect SARS-CoV-2. Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have successfully used graphene — one of the strongest, thinnest known materials — to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus in laboratory experiments. The researchers say the discovery could be a breakthrough in coronavirus detection, with potential applications in the fight against COVID-19 and its variants. In experiments, researchers combined sheets of graphene, which are more than 1,000 times thinner than a postage stamp, with an antibody…

NIH study breaks down pigment epithelium-derived factor to understand how it protects and stimulates retinal neurons. Researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI) have determined how certain short protein fragments, called peptides, can protect neuronal cells found in the light-sensing retina layer at the back of the eye. The peptides might someday be used to treat degenerative retinal diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The study published today in the Journal of Neurochemistry. NEI is part of the National…

Inactivation of the X chromosome is dynamic and complex. Female mammals switch off one of their two X chromosomes during early stages of embryonic development. But how the cells decide which chromosome to turn off is still a mystery. The sequencing and analysis of thousands of single cultured cells now revealed more about the initial phase of this process. Apparently, in some cases both chromosomes will start the inactivation process before only one is activated again and emerges as the…

Human microRNA-506-Quaking axis as a master switch. A team of scientists of the Fraunhofer ITEM, the Hannover Medical School and FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg has discovered a novel molecular regulatory axis that plays a decisive role in the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The focus is on the RNA-binding protein Quaking and its functional interplay with microRNAs. In-silico as well as in-vitro experiments in human lung fibroblasts revealed a novel regulatory microRNA-506-Quaking axis that contributes to IPF pathogenesis. The study has…

MHH neuroradiologist develops international guidelines for MRI imaging. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system in younger adults. According to the German Multiple Sclerosis Society, about 250,00 people in Germany suffer from MS, with more than 10,000 new cases every year. MS can be treated well, but there is no cure. Even a diagnosis can be difficult because most of the initial symptoms also correspond to those of other diseases. Magnetic resonance…