HZI researchers have identified two mechanisms through which Klebsiella bacteria combat the spread of salmonella in the gut. The microbiome, the microorganisms that populate our intestines and aid in digestion, weighs around one and a half kilograms. It primarily consists of bacteria and provides protective effects against pathogens entering our digestive system through food, for example. An international team led by Dr Lisa Osbelt-Block and Prof. Till Strowig, both from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, investigated…

Nightmare material or truly man’s best friend? A team of researchers equipped a dog-like quadruped robot with a mechanized arm that takes air samples from potentially treacherous situations, such as an abandoned building or fire. The robot dog walks samples to a person who screens them for potentially hazardous compounds, says the team that published its study in ACS’ Analytical Chemistry. While the system needs further refinement, demonstrations show its potential value in dangerous conditions. Testing the air for dangerous…

New technology: MHH clinic uses special surgical robot for microsurgical procedures. Microsurgery is precision work in which, for example, the finest nerves and vessels are sutured under a microscope that magnifies many times over. This surgical method, which has been established for decades, is now being revolutionised by new technology. The ‘Symani Surgical System’ surgical robot, specially designed for microsurgery, makes it possible to perform previously impossible procedures on the smallest tissue structures. The Clinic for Plastic, Aesthetic, Hand and…

New approach could enable patients to live pain-free without complications of diabetes. Northwestern University researchers have developed a new antioxidant biomaterial that someday could provide much-needed relief to people living with chronic pancreatitis. The study will be published on June 7 in the journal Science Advances. Before surgeons remove the pancreas from patients with severe, painful chronic pancreatitis, they first harvest insulin-producing tissue clusters, called islets, and transplant them into the vasculature of the liver. The goal of the transplant…

Impact of pollution on embryonic development. Human life begins with a single egg cell that grows into a human being with trillions of cells. To ensure that the highly complex development of tissues and organs is as protected as possible, the placental barrier keeps pathogens and foreign substances out. Tina Bürki and her team from Empa’s Particles-Biology Interactions laboratory in St. Gallen are investigating how this protective mechanism copes with nanoparticles. If nanoparticles enter the placenta during pregnancy, the formation…

The protein Orco is essential for smell neuron function and development in ants, fostering the insects’ social behavior. While smell plays a considerable role in the social interactions of humans—for instance, signaling fear or generating closeness—for ants, it is vitally important. Researchers from New York University and the University of Florida found that a key protein named Orco, essential for the function of olfactory cells, is also critical for the cells’ survival in ants. Their study showed that mutating the…

The RACOON-RESCUE project, led by the MHH, aims to automatically analyse image data from CT and MRI and find new image-based features in order to be able to more reliably assess the stage of disease in children and adolescents with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL) are malignant diseases of the lymphatic tissue and are the fourth most common form of cancer in children and adolescents. More than 30 subgroups are known. The long-term survival rate is between 70 and 90…

Study launched at the University Medical Center Göttingen. Researchers at the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), Germany, have developed a brain stimulation treatment for home use for cancer patients with chronic pain as part of the international cooperation project “PAINLESS”. The aim of the research project is to improve palliative care for cancer patients in their familiar home environment. The study to test this new therapy started at the UMG in March 2024. The project has been funded by the…

MHH research team develops new molecular tool to investigate the influence of telomerase on the development of heart muscle cells. As we age, our appearance changes, our hair turns grey and wrinkles appear. And we become more susceptible to disease. One reason for this is that our telomeres shorten. These are protective caps at the ends of the chromosomes, the carriers of our genetic material. Each time a cell divides, the telomeres become shorter until they reach a critical length…

Team of researchers at UC San Diego identifies cause of cellular miscommunication implicated in the origin of many human diseases. A group of researchers at University of California San Diego has identified the cause of a “short-circuit” in cellular pathways, a discovery that sheds new light on the genesis of a number of human diseases. The recent study, published in the journal Science Signaling, explores the biochemical mechanism that can interrupt the cellular communication chain — a disruptive interaction that…

… exhibit surprisingly heterogeneous wiring. Analysis of the connectome of Drosophila melanogaster provides new insights into how its visual system is organized / Research contribution by the FlyWire Consortium. An isolated Tm9 cell (left) and with all its presynaptic neurons, reconstructed with aid of FlyWire.ai (right). (photo/©: Marion Silies) The brain is a particularly complex organ, not only in humans. Even the brain of a fly contains more than 100,000 neurons connected by millions of synapses. For the first time,…

Brain tumors are fatal when there is a double gene mutation. Result of an international cohort study by MHH researchers. Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare hereditary cancer predisposition disease characterized by bone marrow failure as well as endocrine and physical abnormalities. A key clinical feature in those affected is a high risk of cancer. The reason for this is that certain genes involved in the repair of DNA damage do not function properly in the disease. This includes the…

New mathematical framework sheds light on how cells communicate to form an embryo. Biological processes depend on puzzle pieces coming together and interacting. Under specific conditions, these interactions can create something new without external input. This is called self-organization, as seen in a school of fish or a flock of birds. Interestingly, the mammalian embryo develops similarly. In PNAS, David Brückner and Gašper Tkačik from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) introduce a mathematical framework that analyzes self-organization…

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, the University of Tübingen, and the University Hospital Tübingen have developed a web-based toolkit to accelerate and simplify protein design without needing powerful computers or extensive protein design expertise on the user’s end. The toolkit benefits its users with multiple design tools, fast analyses, easy interpretation, and downloadable results. Their framework for the Damietta Server, published in Nucleic Acids Research, offers a comprehensive resource for biological research community. Designing proteins with…

The viruses probably regulate the growth of snow algae on the ice by infecting them. Knowing how to control these viruses could help us reduce some of the ice from melting. Every spring when the sun rises in the Arctic after months of darkness, life returns. The polar bears pop up from their winter lairs, the arctic tern soar back from their long journey south and the musk oxen wade north. But the animals are not the only life being…

… to treat neurological diseases and conditions. Fraunhofer researchers have developed a technology that uses ultrasound signals for targeted stimulation of certain areas of the brain. A special ultra-sound system with 256 individually controllable transducers makes it possible to target and stimulate individual points deep inside the brain with sound signals. In the future, the innovative 3D sound technology from the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT could be used to treat diseases and conditions such as epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease,…