Sponges promote a high diversity… Deep down in the ocean, valuable raw materials are stored, such as nodules of manganese, iron, cobalt and copper. The resources from these nodules could help meeting our increasing demand for rare metals. However, in addition to the nodules, there is another treasure down there: A complex ecosystem that we still barely know and understand. Researchers from Bremen and the Netherlands have now discovered that sponges, which like to settle on the metallic nodules, also…

LZH works on improved lens refilling. In eye surgery for cataract, the lens refilling method could allow to maintain or restore the lens’s accommodation of the lens, i.e. the ability to adjust its refractive power flexibly. So far, however, this method has not yet been clinically successful. The Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (LZH) is now working within a new research project with ROWIAK GmbH to advance the method further. In lens refilling, the interior of the lens is replaced with…

In a new study, an international team of plant researchers including the Institute of Botany at Technische Universität Dresden has discovered an unusual and previously unknown reproductive strategy in plants: the Greek pipevine species ‘Aristolochia microstoma’ produces a unique mixture of volatiles that resembles the smell of dead and decaying insects to attract the pollinating fly genus ‘Megaselia’ (also known as ‘coffin flies’) to its trap-flowers. The study was recently published in the open-access journal ‘Frontiers’. Plants use numerous mechanisms…

Proliferating cells are in constant need of ribosomes, the molecular machines that help them produce proteins. Tumour cells, for instance, divide quickly and strongly rely on ribosome production to maintain their growth. A team of scientists has visualised a novel mechanism that inhibits the production of ribosomes in yeast. Their results, now published in the journal Nature Communications, could be used to develop novel classes of inhibitors to target cancer cells. Proteins are the essence of life: they give structure…

The “miracle of life” is most obvious at the very beginning: When the fertilized egg cell divides by means of furrows into blastomeres, envelops itself in an amniotic sac, and unfolds to form germ layers. When the blastomeres begin to differentiate into different cells – and when they eventually develop into a complete organism. “We wanted to find out whether the later differences between the various cells are already partly hard-wired into the fertilized egg cell,” says Dr. Jan Philipp…

Variants of viruses, such as that causing COVID-19, can now be quickly studied in the laboratory, even before they emerge in nature and become a major public health challenge. The University of Queensland, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Monash University, and Queensland Health have developed a technology to manipulate viruses synthetically allowing rapid analysis and mapping of new potential virus variants. UQ’s lead researcher Professor Alexander Khromykh said the technology was ideal for…

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing and the Cluster of Excellence for Ageing Research CECAD at the University of Cologne have discovered folate metabolism as a fundamental process for ageing. Its regulation underlies many known ageing signaling pathways and leads to longevity. This could provide a new opportunity to improve human health during ageing on a broad basis. Fundamental signalling pathway is crucial for longevity Several different causes of ageing have been discovered, but the question…

Landshut University of Applied Sciences starts research project with the Munich based AI company deepc to automate the safety standards for the application of artificial intelligence in medical imaging. Artificial intelligence already facilitates the everyday lives of many doctors in medicine. For example, when X-rays or MRI scans are taken, it detects disease patterns, helps with diagnoses and recommends treatments. However, AI-based solutions require thousands of concrete examples to learn and must be verified (validated) at the same time to…

Research team investigates role of connective tissue cells in tumour environment. Every year, more than 220,000 people die of cancer in Germany – and the number is rising. About 90 percent of these deaths are caused by metastases. These are metastases that have formed from cells of the original tumour (primary tumour). A particularly large number of metastases develop and grow in the liver. As the central organ of metabolism, it provides fertile ground for secondary tumours with an abundance…

Research team led by the University of Göttingen develops new strategy for labelling peptides. Biomolecules regulate the biological functions inside every living cell. If scientists can understand the molecular mechanisms of such functions, then it is possible to detect the severe dysfunction which can lead to illness. At a molecular level, this can be achieved with fluorescent markers that are specifically incorporated into the respective biomolecules. In the past, this has been achieved by incorporating a marker in the biomolecule…

The cut and restore protein trick. Proteins are the key players in our cellular processes. Their generation follows principles called transcription and translation. First, DNA copies its genetic information to messenger RNA (mRNA), which then determines the sequence in a chain of amino acids, which finally fold into a protein. The reality, however, is more complex: More than 90 per cent of our genes do not result in only one mRNA and then one protein, but a process called alternative…

In the Kumano Sea, off the southeast coast of Japan, an evolutionary mystery lay in wait. Researchers collected samples from the muddy sea floor, including hermit crabs, mollusks and discarded shells. Here, in and on these shells, they found scale worms living mostly in pairs with a striking difference compared to the almost 900 already known species of scale worms: one was a quarter the size of its mate. The discovery was published on March 29 as the cover of…

Nano-sized particles have been engineered in a new way to improve detection of tumors within the body and in biopsy tissue, a research team in Sweden reports. The advance could enable identifying early stage tumors with lower doses of radiation. In order to enhance visual contrast of living tissues, state-of-the-art imaging relies on agents such as fluorescent dyes and biomolecules. Advances in nanoparticle research have expanded the array of promising contrast agents for more targeted diagnostics, and now a research…

Texas A&M associate professor Akhilesh Gaharwar and graduate student Patrick Lee are developing a new class of hydrogels that can leverage light for drug delivery and regenerative medicine treatments. Hydrogels are commonly used inside the body to help in tissue regeneration and drug delivery. However, once inside, they can be challenging to control for optimal use. A team of researchers in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University is developing a new way to manipulate the gel —…

The spatially resolved determination of which of the two enantiomorphic structural variants – the left-handed or the right-handed – of a chiral phase is present in a polycrystalline material is the focus of our publication in Science Advances. With the EBSD (electron backscatter diffraction) -based technique, this is shown for the first time for the chiral element structure β-Mn for which a determination of the handedness with usual x-ray diffraction methods is not possible so far. Left- or right-handedness is…

How to Retard Time for Cells… Scientists at Leipzig University, in collaboration with colleagues from Germany and England, have succeeded in reversibly slowing down cellular processes. A team of biophysicists led by Professor Josef Alfons Käs and Dr Jörg Schnauß were able to show in experiments that cells can be transferred into slow motion without changing the temperature. From a physical point of view, such possibilities have so far only been available in the context of the theory of relativity….