Microbes produce folate from simple basic ingredients. Biotechnology team at University of Tübingen obtains valuable byproduct in protein production – Contribution to feeding a growing world population without livestock farming. Take some carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and oxygen plus electricity from renewable sources – a bacterium and baker’s yeast need little more to produce proteins for human nourishment and the essential vitamin B9 in a conventional laboratory bioreactor system. This was the result achieved by a research team led by Professor…

A game-changing technique, TF-High-Evolutionary (TF-HighEvo), allows large-scale assessment of de-novo mutations in multicellular organisms. Developed in collaboration with researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory of the Max Planck Society and published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, this technique provides fresh insights into the evolutionary dynamics of gene regulatory networks and their role in shaping life’s diversity. Gene regulation plays a critical role in the development and evolution of organisms, with transcription factors (TFs)…

… puts chemicals in right position to make ethers. Taking inspiration from enzymes, chemists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign developed a catalyst to simplify the synthesis of ethers, key functional components of many drugs, foods, personal care items and other consumer goods. The catalyst puts the two chemical ingredients in just the right proximity and position to come together, bypassing the need for the steps and quantities required under standard synthesis protocols. Led by U. of I. chemistry professor M….

… uncovers how surprisingly transcription is regulated in plants. In multicellular organisms, transcriptional regulation allows for specialization, such that cells carrying the same genetic code can carry out different functions and roles. In plants, a new unbiased screen allowed researchers in the group of Magnus Nordborg at the Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology (GMI) to uncover that regulatory sequences act differently depending on their position – contrary to animals, in which transcriptional regulation is position-independent. The results were…

Scientists in Mainz established a novel photocatalyst class that uses precious metals more efficiently. Inspired by nature’s photosynthesis, photocatalysts use light to trigger a chemical reaction that would otherwise only occur at high temperatures or under harsh conditions. For this concept to be widely applicable in an economical fashion, the quantum efficiency of the light-induced transformation has to be high. Tailored photocatalysts with outstanding efficiencies in photocatalytic applications are oftentimes composed of two photoactive units with a covalent bond in-between….

The novel technique could be used to treat damaged tissue in a range of medical applications, including reconstructive and plastic surgeries. A technology most often used for medical imaging is being repurposed as a new tool for restoring blood flow in tissue damaged from disease, injury, and reconstructive surgery. Biomedical engineers at the University of Rochester are leveraging ultrasound waves to organize endothelial cells—the building blocks of blood vessels—into patterns that can promote the growth of new vessel networks within days. “We…

Natural antimicrobials called microcins are produced by bacteria in the gut and show promise in fighting infection. More than a million people each year die from infections by pathogens that are resistant to antimicrobials, and the problem is growing. Meanwhile, the discovery of new antimicrobials that can help stem the tide has not kept pace. Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin see promise in a class of natural antimicrobials called microcins, which are produced by bacteria in the…

The European Union is funding a project to develop a new concept of information transmission for active implanted medical devices as part of its funding program Horizon. For the ERMES project, the European Union is providing more than 3.7 million euros over a funding period of 36 months as part of the highly competitive Horizon program – EIC (European Innovation Council) Pathfinder Open. The aim of the project is to develop a new concept of information transmission for Active Implantable…

Researchers clarify the function of specialized nerve cells in me. Specialized nerve cells in the temporal lobe react highly selectively to images and names of a single person or specific objects. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn have provided direct evidence for the first time that the so-called concept neurons are indeed the building blocks of our memory for experiences. Their results have now been published in the renowned journal “Nature Communications”. Certain nerve…

Scientists collaborate to customise top-of-the-line microscopy method with AI to better understand glioblastoma brain tumours. Imagine building a traffic surveillance camera that could detect trouble-making cells speeding around in your brain before their cellular gang could commit ‘crimes’. Most importantly, this camera could catch some of the biggest interlopers of all – cancer cells. This ‘surveillance camera’ is no longer a figment of the imagination. Along the brain’s biggest superhighway of nerve fibres that connects the brain’s right and left…

Researchers Unveil New Ways to Control Light Absorption with Iron Compounds. A team of researchers from Jena and Ulm has developed an innovative approach to precisely influence the properties of light-absorbing materials, so-called chromophores. They focused on specific iron compounds, demonstrating that small changes in their chemical structure can control how these compounds react to light. The findings have been published in the prestigious Journal of the American Chemical Society. Scientists from the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz IPHT)…

A novel approach to DNA sequencing produces the first chromosome-level genome assembly of the genus Testudo. Like many threatened land turtle species, the spur-thighed tortoise had no complete genome. For the first time, researchers from the Ecology departments at Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) and the University of Alicante (UA) have successfully sequenced the genome of the spur-thighed tortoise, using the genome of another closely related native American tortoise as a reference. The results, published in the scientific journal…

Molybdenum (Mo) carbides, known for their unique electronic and structural properties, are considered promising alternatives to noble metal catalysts in heterogeneous catalysis. However, traditional methods for preparing Mo carbides suffer from complex processes, stringent synthesis conditions, challenging crystal regulation, and high energy consumption. Additionally, Mo carbides are susceptible to oxidation and deactivation, which poses a significant barrier to their widespread application. In a study published in Nature Chemistry, a research group led by Prof. SUN Jian from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy…

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have found a chemical “chameleon” that could improve the process used to purify rare-earth metals used in clean energy, medical and national security applications. The study, performed in collaboration with Vanderbilt University, is the latest of many efforts by ORNL’s Chemical Sciences Division to lower the barriers to accessing metals called lanthanides, which are used widely in diverse products and applications, from biomedical imaging to industrial chemical production to electronics….

Study by the Collaborative Research Centre 1266 ‘Scales of Transformation‘ shows possible infection paths of Yersinia pestis 5000 years ago. Since the catastrophic pandemics of the Middle Ages, one disease has almost proverbially symbolised contagion and death: the plague. It is now known that the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis has been present in Central and Northern Europe for more than 5000 years. However, it is still uncertain whether it also led to pandemics and mass deaths in its early forms….

Dangerous mixtures: pesticides in combination can have unexpected effects on the development of honeybees. This is shown by a new study from the Biocenter of the University of Würzburg, in which the last neonicotinoid still approved in the EU was combined with two fungicides. Honeybees are social insects. Their colony only survives as a community, and healthy new generations are very important. It is therefore not surprising that honeybees invest significant care and resources into their offspring: nurse bees feed…