Research team from Kiel University investigates how the application of antibiotics affects the mechanisms of plasmid-mediated inheritance of resistance genes The genetic information of many microorganisms, especially bacteria, is partly available in so-called plasmids. These are genetic elements that consist of only a single DNA ring, are not present on the chromosomes and can multiply independently. Thanks to such plasmids, bacteria are able to transfer genetic information very quickly among themselves and also across the borders of different bacterial species….

Almost all life on Earth, in particular our food and our health, depend on metabolism in plants. In order to understand how these metabolic processes function, researchers at the Institute of the Biology and Biotechnology of Plants at the University of Münster with the participation of the University of Bonn are studying key mechanisms in the regulation of energy metabolism. Now, for the first time, a new method of in vivo biosensor technology has enabled them to monitor in real…

Super-resolution MINFLUX nanoscopy, developed by Nobel laureate Stefan Hell and his team, is able to discern fluorescent molecules that are only a few nanometers apart. In an initial application of this technique to cell biology, researchers led by Stefan Hell and Stefan Jakobs have now optically dissected the distribution of individual proteins in an about 20-nanometer-sized protein cluster within a cellular organelle in 3D using multiple colors. MINFLUX nanoscopy thus proves to be an extremely powerful tool to find out…

“The fitness of bacteria is more complex than expected,” explains Ulrich Gerland, professor for the theory of complex biosystems at the Technical University of…

Calcium is an important signaling molecule in virtually all cells. Platelets are activated by calcium and subsequently contribute to hemostasis and wound…

In everyday life, we are constantly exposed to substances that are harmful: natural and artificial chemicals through food, medicine or even just the…

Bacteria are always with us: These tiny organisms are found within and on our body as is the case with all animals and plants. As part of a healthy microbiome…

What started off as basic research 25 years ago has now lead to a successfully approved drug: The entry blocker bulevirtide (brand name Hepcludex, formerly…

The periodic system contains 118 chemical elements. However, only a few of them, such as hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and silicon, are of major…

A research team, led by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory in collaboration with Northern Illinois University, has discovered a…

When large forces, for example in bridge construction, act on a heavy beam, the beam will be slightly deformed. Calculating the relationship between forces,…

Osteoporosis is the most common age-related bone disease which affects hundreds of millions of individuals worldwide. It is estimated that one in three women…

Cancer cells differ from healthy body cells – in their appearance, their behavior and the genes that are active in them. Often this does not go unnoticed:

Unfortunately, side effects of active substances are often part of everyday life in pharmaceutical studies. As a result, serious complications can arise in…

Evolution is a process of gradual change. As a rule, organisms therefore differ from each other more markedly the longer it has been since their developmental…

To increase their endurance, competitive athletes often train under oxygen-deficient conditions. This is traditionally conducted in select mountain regions,…