A bitter taste is traditionally considered a warning sign of potentially toxic substances. But not all bitter substances are harmful. For example, some peptides and free amino acids taste bitter, even though they are non-toxic, nutritious and sometimes even vital for humans. A new study by the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich now offers the first explanation for this seemingly paradoxical phenomenon. In general, our sense of taste helps us to make food…

Large multicenter study identifies 34 new genetic diseases. The majority of rare diseases have a genetic cause. The underlying genetic alteration can be found more and more easily, for example by means of exome sequencing (ES), leading to a molecular genetic diagnosis. ES is an examination of all sections of our genetic material (DNA) that code for proteins. As part of a Germany-wide multicenter study, ES data was collected from 1,577 patients and systematically evaluated. This made it possible to…

Researchers at the University of Bayreuth have developed a new method for controlling the growth of physical micro-runners. The research results have now been published in the renowned journal “Nature Communications”. What for? The Bayreuth researchers used an external magnetic field to assemble paramagnetic colloidal spheres – i.e. only magnetic due to external influences – into rods of a certain length. Colloidal particles are tiny particles in the micro- or nanometer range that can be used in medicine as carriers…

An international team of researchers has embedded gold nanorods in hydrogels that can be processed through 3D printing to create structures that contract when exposed to light – and expand again when the light is removed. Because this expansion and contraction can be performed repeatedly, the 3D-printed structures can serve as remotely controlled actuators. “We knew that you could 3D print hydrogels that would contract when heated,” says Joe Tracy, co-corresponding author of a paper on the work and a…

Successful surgery for a rare congenital heart disease “scimitar syndrome”. Scimitar syndrome, a rare congenital heart disease, involves an anomalous pulmonary venous return where the right pulmonary veins return to the inferior vena cava instead of the left atrium. It is mainly diagnosed in infants, with an estimated prevalence of 1–3 per 100,000 births. Delayed treatment can lead to pulmonary hypertension, right heart failure, respiratory failure, heart arrhythmia, and growth disorders. This syndrome is characterized by anomalous pulmonary venous drainage…

Globally, around 2.6 million children and adolescents are currently living with HIV, the majority of them in Africa. These young people are much more likely to experience treatment failure than adults. Experts long assumed that testing for viral drug resistance could improve treatment in cases where treatment has failed. However, a research team led by the University of Basel now shows that it is much more important to support the patients in taking their medication regularly. The fight against HIV…

OHSU-led research uses innovative vaccine platform to target interior of virus; scientists validate theory using 1918 flu virus. New research led by Oregon Health & Science University reveals a promising approach to developing a universal influenza vaccine — a so-called “one and done” vaccine that confers lifetime immunity against an evolving virus. The study, published today in the journal Nature Communications, tested an OHSU-developed vaccine platform against the virus considered most likely to trigger the next pandemic. Researchers reported the…

New insights into protein factories in human mitochondria. The “power plants” of living cells, the mitochondria, probably evolved through endosymbiosis: A bacterium migrated into a primordial cell and eventually developed into an organelle that provides the cell with energy, among other things. Mitochondria produce some of the proteins they need themselves – with the help of special protein factories called mitoribosomes, which consist of RNA and proteins. Researchers in Göttingen have now provided a roadmap for how cells assemble human…

A distinct signaling pathway called TNF-α drives the transformation of epithelial cells into aggressive tumor cells. During cancer progression, cells activate their own TNF-α program and become invasive. This finding could help to improve early detection and treatment of patients with cancers in skin, esophagus, bladder or colon, as UZH researchers state. How does a normal cell in the body develop into an aggressive cancer cell? According to the central tumor model, cancer develops in an evolutionary process. When randomly…

Cheap, available drug could help reduce impact of snakebites worldwide. Scientists at the University of Sydney and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine have made a remarkable discovery: a commonly used blood thinner, heparin, can be repurposed as an inexpensive antidote for cobra venom. Cobras kill thousands of people a year worldwide and perhaps a hundred thousand more are seriously maimed by necrosis – the death of body tissue and cells – caused by the venom, which can lead to amputation….

Researchers have developed soft, stretchable ‘jelly batteries’ that could be used for wearable devices or soft robotics, or even implanted in the brain to deliver drugs or treat conditions such as epilepsy. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, took their inspiration from electric eels, which stun their prey with modified muscle cells called electrocytes. Like electrocytes, the jelly-like materials developed by the Cambridge researchers have a layered structure, like sticky Lego, that makes them capable of delivering an electric…

Gastroenterology puts new X-ray system into operation. Great joy at the Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Infectiology and Endocrinology: a new X-ray system has now been put into operation. The state-of-the-art device called Artis zee is characterised by many technical innovations that benefit both patients and staff. “The system offers us even better options for diagnosing and treating diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, thereby strengthening patient care at the highest level,” says Clinic Director Professor Dr Heiner Wedemeyer. The new device…

Freiburg-Prague research collaboration achieves scientific breakthrough in understanding cell division. An international research collaboration, led by Prof. Dr. Robert Grosse (Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies and Institute of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Freiburg), Dr. Libor Macurek (Institute of Molecular Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague) and Dr. Zdenek Lansky (Institute of Biotechnology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague) has uncovered a new mechanism of the crosstalk between microtubules and actin cytoskeleton during cell division and revealed…

Vincent Zoete is developing computer tools to fight cancer. The chemist, who heads two groups at the University of Lausanne and the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, predicts the effects of new drugs. In front of his first computer at age 12, Vincent discovered the joys of coding. The boy soon realised that he had more fun programming the machine himself rather than simply playing games developed by others. He did take a few computer courses during his time at engineering…

Have you ever had the solution for a tough problem suddenly hit you when you’re thinking about something entirely different? Creative thought is a hallmark of humanity, but it’s an ephemeral, almost paradoxical ability, striking unexpectedly when it’s not sought out. And the neurological source of creativity—what’s going on in our brains when we think outside the box—is similarly elusive. But now, a research team led by a University of Utah Health researcher and based in Baylor College of Medicine…

There’s a frustrating fact about today’s immunotherapies for cancer. While sometimes they work beautifully — completely eliminating or greatly reducing cancer in particular patients — other times they don’t work at all. It’s a mystery. Scientists have posed several hypotheses to explain the disparity. Perhaps it’s the number of mutations present in a tumor, with more mutations leading to better responses. Or maybe it’s the tissue environment surrounding the tumor, with some environments supporting and others suppressing effective immune responses. But so far,…