All cancers are the result of cells that have gone haywire, multiplying out of control and expanding beyond their normal constraints. But not all tumors are the same: for reasons that remain poorly understood, some are more likely to become aggressive and metastasize to other parts of the body. New research highlights a long-overlooked aspect of how and why some tumors become more dangerous than others. A team led by Rockefeller’s Elaine Fuchs found that mechanical properties of the tissue…

Scientists from Regensburg and Zurich have found a fascinating way to push an atom with controlled forces so quickly that they can choreograph the motion of a single molecule within less than a trillionth of a second. The extremely sharp needle of their unique ultrafast microscope serves as the technical basis: It carefully scans molecules, similar to a record player. Physicists at the University of Regensburg now showed that shining light pulses onto this needle can transform it into an…

Olfactory neurons can fight and clear influenza B without being killed. Influenza researchers have long focused most of their efforts on the epithelial cells lining the lungs because these are the cells that become infected and killed while producing new copies of the virus. But other cells lining the upper airways are exposed to viruses in the same amounts and somehow aren’t as likely to be killed by infection. Is it because of something the virus does, or something those…

Device could preconcentrate samples from COVID-19 patients in asymptomatic stages of the disease, providing early detection capability. Diagnostic devices that are used at home or in doctors’ offices are often not sensitive enough to detect small amounts of a virus that might be present in samples from asymptomatic patients, which can occur in early stage COVID-19. In Biomicrofluidics, by AIP Publishing, scientists report a membrane-based invention that can concentrate the virus content of a sample of urine or saliva, allowing…

Scientists led by Dr. Elisabeth Fischer-Friedrich, group leader at the Excellence Cluster Physics of Life (PoL) and the Biotechnology Center TU Dresden (BIOTEC) studied how cancer cells are able to divide in a crowded tumor tissue and connected it to the hallmark of cancer progression and metastasis, the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Most animal cells need to become spherical in order to divide. To achieve this round shape, the cells must round up and deform their neighboring cells. In a growing…

Many people use cortisone of a regular basis. It is used for treating rheumatism, asthma, multiple sclerosis, or even COVID-19. Steroidal medication such as cortisone is highly effective but also possesses severe side effects. Henriette Uhlenhaut, professor at Technical University of Munich (TUM), and her team are examining the beneficial effects of cortisone in order to lay the groundwork for the development of similar drugs with fewer side effects. A group of scientists around Henriette Uhlenhaut, Professor for Metabolic Programming…

Researchers at the Smart-Aging Research Center (IDAC) at Tohoku University have developed an innovative training protocol that, utilizing immersive virtual reality (IVR), leads to real physical and cognitive benefits. We all know that physical exercise is crucial for overall well-being and helps postpone aging-related disorders; what is more surprising is that physical exercise can have beneficial effects not only on the body but on cognitive functions too. Unfortunately, physical activities are not always possible for people suffering or recovering from…

Immune cells called ‘natural killer’ (NK) cells could be a powerful weapon for fighting lung cancer, according to Australian researchers. Studying preclinical and patient samples of small cell lung cancer (SCLC), the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute team revealed that NK cells – but not T cells – are essential for slowing the aggressive spread of the cancer. ‘Supercharging’ the NK cells further boosted their cancer-fighting abilities. The discovery offers hope for better treatments for people with SCLC, many of…

Preclinical study in Cell Reports points to possible treatment for epileptic seizures. Scientists studying neuronal energy metabolism found evidence that the loss of an important energy regulator called AMPK in neural stem cells or glial cells called astrocytes causes neuronal death in laboratory rodents. They also discovered that AMPK loss in neural stem cells or neurons causes spontaneous brain seizures in the animals. Publishing their findings in Cell Reports, the multi-institutional research team–led by Cincinnati Children’s cancer biologist Biplab Dasgupta,…

In laboratory studies, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and Johns Hopkins University researchers observed a key step in how cancer cells may spread from a primary tumor to a distant site within the body, a process known as metastasis. Trying to determine how groups of cells migrate to other parts of the body, the scientists used tissue engineering to construct a functional 3D blood vessel and grew breast cancer cells nearby. They observed the cancer cells reaching out to the…

Your genetic code determines that you will grow two arms and two legs. The same fate is true for all mammals. Similarly, the number of fins a fish has and the number of legs and wings an insect has are embedded in their genetic code. Sea anemones, however, defy this rule and have a variable number of tentacle arms. Until now it’s been unclear what regulates the number of tentacles a sea anemone can grow. Scientists from the Ikmi group…

An international team of scientists led by Christopher Bellas from the University of Innsbruck, Austria, studying life on the surface of glaciers in the Arctic and Alps challenge assumptions on virus evolution. Their study, now published in the journal Nature Communications shows that, contrary to expectations, the viruses on glaciers in the Alps, Greenland and Spitsbergen are remarkably stable in the environment. Viruses are often thought of as a human problem, however they are the most abundant biological entities on…

A team led by researchers at the University of California, Davis, has discovered a missing link in the evolution of photosynthesis and carbon fixation. Dating back more than 2.4 billion years, a newly discovered form of the plant enzyme rubisco could give new insight into plant evolution and breeding. Rubisco is the most abundant enzyme on the planet. Present in plants, cyanobacteria (also known as blue-green algae) and other photosynthetic organisms, it’s central to the process of carbon fixation and…

A team of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena has investigated how the parasitic dodder Cuscuta australis controls flower formation. They showed that the rootless and leafless parasite eavesdrops on the flowering signals of its host plants in order to activate its own flowering machinery. By synchronizing flowering with the respective host plant, the parasite makes sure that it can grow on its host long enough to produce the…

Fraunhofer develops with partners new therapeutic approach in battle against infectious diseases Infections pose an increasing risk to hospitalized patients. In collaboration with a number of partners, the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB has developed a new therapeutic approach as part of the InnateFun project. Their strategy is to improve cells’ ability to defend themselves against harmful microorganisms by acting on their immune receptors. The researchers’ work on this therapeutic approach has reached the animal model stage….

When predator and non-predator cues are similar in the same habitat Ecosystems can be incredibly complex, with many interacting species. In many habitats, predators shape they behavior of prey and prey shape the behavior of predators. This paper provides a detailed look at the predator-prey relationship between bats and katydids, a group of insects related to crickets and grasshoppers. Some species of bats hunt katydids by eavesdropping on their mating calls. However, katydids aren’t defenseless. Many species of katydids have…