New study reveals how human astroviruses bind to humans cells and paves the way for new therapies and vaccines Human astroviruses are a leading viral cause of the stomach bug—think vomiting, diarrhea, and fever. It often impacts young children and older adults, leading to vicious cycles of sickness and malnutrition, particularly for those in low and middle income countries. It’s very commonly found in wastewater studies, meaning it’s frequently circulating in communities. As of now, there are no vaccines for…
Increasing the level of a certain DNA-modified enzyme in the brain significantly improves cognitive ability. The discovery was made by the research team led by…
The “slime mold” Physarum polycephalum is an amazing creature. As a giant single cell it is visible with the naked eye. The yellow, slimy mass of protoplasm,…
Two characteristic features of malignant tumours are that they form massive blood vessels and bypass the immune system. A new cell culture technique allows the…
Genetically identical cells do not always behave the same way. According to the accepted theory, the reason are random molecular processes – known as random…
About 25 years ago, Prof. Michael Hall discovered the protein “Target of Rapamycin” (TOR) at the Biozentrum. It is one of the most studied proteins of the…
Animals that live in groups face a variety of challenging social situations. The competition for food and mating partners as well as the establishment of the…
Certain wasp species behave similar to cuckoos: They intrude into other nests, destroy the offspring, deposit their own eggs and leave their larvae to feed on…
A human is a human: we are all 99.9% genetically identical. However, the remaining 0.1% accounts for the unique characteristics of each individual, whether he…
The growing market for wearable devices requires a high number of small, light-weight and high capacity sensors for different applications in sport, medicine…
Females of the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster show an especially strong response to the odor of their most dangerous enemies, parasitic wasps of the genus…
To understand how an organism’s nervous system functions, a circuit map of all its neuronal connections, known as the connectome, can be generated. A…
Researchers have found that fish oil transforms fat-storage cells into fat-burning cells, which may reduce weight gain in middle age.
The brain still harbours many unknowns. Basically, it is assumed that it stores experiences by altering the connections between brain cells.
How the brain functions is still a black box: scientists aren't even sure how many kinds of nerve cells exist in the brain. To know how the brain works, they…
The study is one of the first to show that species interactions, meaning the way species interact with each other in an ecosystem, like in a predator-prey…
A method of fabricating polymer membranes with nanometer-scale holes that overcomes some practical challenges has been demonstrated by researchers at King…
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