Gene mutations in the RAS-MAPK signaling pathway disrupt lung development in the womb. Most rare diseases are congenital – including CPAM (congenital pulmonary airway malformations). These are airway malformations of the lungs that can lead to severe breathing problems in some affected newborns and can be associated with an increased risk of lung cancer. Researchers at Hannover Medical School (MHH) and Magdeburg University Hospital (UMMD) have now succeeded in identifying the genetic causes of the disease in a study. Cysts…

When babies learn to talk or birds learn to sing, the same principle applies: listen and then imitate. This is how the first babble becomes the first word or vocalization. Male zebra finch chicks initially memorize the song of an adult bird. Later, they refine their own vocalization until they resemble the learned song. Researchers at the MPI for Biological Intelligence have now shown that the first vocalizations of zebra finches play a role even before they practice to sing…

Researchers turn metal waste into catalyst for hydrogen. Scientists have found a way to transform metal waste into a highly efficient catalyst to make hydrogen from water, a discovery that could make hydrogen production more sustainable. A team of researchers from the University of Nottingham’s School of Chemistry and Faculty of Engineering have found that the surface of swarf, a byproduct of the metal machining industry, is textured with tiny steps and grooves on a nanoscale level. These textures can…

In their natural environment, wild bees are exposed to various pesticides that can have a potentially toxic effect. A study by the University of Würzburg has now shown that bumblebees are relatively resistant to these products. Bumblebees appear to be quite resistant to common pesticides. This is shown by a new study, the results of which have now been published by scientists from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) in the journal Environment International. The team from the University’s Biocenter divided a bumblebee…

Research team at the University of Freiburg discovers previously unknown gene that indirectly promotes photosynthesis. Cyanobacteria – also called blue-green algae – are known as the “plants of the ocean” because they carry out photosynthesis on a gigantic scale, produce oxygen and extract the greenhouse gas CO2 from the environment. However, to do this they need additional nutrients such as nitrogen. A team headed by biologist Prof. Dr Wolfgang R. Hess, Professor of Genetics at the University of Freiburg, has…

Researchers from Osaka University discover that opening a channel into cancer cells helps antisense oligonucleotide drugs reach their targets. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) are next-generation drugs that can treat disease by blocking the transfer of harmful messages from our genes. In people with cancer, ASOs have the potential to block messages that encourage the growth and spread of the tumor. However, ASOs aren’t used for treating cancer yet. They must first get delivered inside cancer cells, but the cancer cells won’t…

Genetic mechanisms uncovered… Boron deficiency has a devastating effect on oilseed rape and related plants. However, little is known about the underlying genetic mechanisms. A study shows that the response to persistent or short-term acute boron deficiency is similar to that to pests and infections. The results lay the foundation for breeding plants that can better cope with boron deficiency and for avoiding related yield losses. Oilseed rape reacts to boron deficiency during flowering in a similar way as to…

Ferdi Schüth and his team at the Max Planck Institut für Kohlenforschung in Mülheim/Germany have been studying the phenomena of mechanochemistry for several years. But what actually happens at the molecular level when two balls collide in a mill? The Mülheim scientists are now receiving around 2.5 million euros in funding from the European Union for their research. The chemical industry is facing major challenges that require new solutions. For example: How can chemicals be produced more cheaply, simply and…

The rise of RNA viruses like SARS-CoV-2 highlights the need for new ways to fight them. RNA-targeting tools like CRISPR/Cas13 are powerful but inefficient in the cytoplasm of cells, where many RNA viruses replicate. Scientists from Helmholtz Munich and the Technical University Munich (TUM) have devised a solution: Cas13d-NCS. This new molecular tool allows CRISPR RNA molecules that are located within the nucleus of a cell to move to the cytoplasm, making it highly effective at neutralizing RNA viruses. This…

Thousands of people around the world die every day from overdoses involving opioids such as fentanyl. Drugs that target opioid receptors sometimes have severe side effects. An international team of researchers has taken a closer look at the molecular mechanisms of these active substances. The research, carried out by Dr Matthias Elgeti, a biophysicist at Leipzig University, in collaboration with research groups from the US and China, has now been published in the journal Nature. Opioid receptors are of great…

What was it we were going to tell you about? Oh!! About the research into the complexity of electrical brain signals in patients with multiple sclerosis, a disease mainly associated with the slowing-down of information processing and a lack of motor coordination. These signals are beginning to show traces of multifractality, according to a scientific project carried out with the participation of the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Cracow. Multiple sclerosis is an incurable…

The meeting point of the stomach and esophagus, the so-called gastro-esophageal junction, is a region of the human body that is not well-suited to the modern lifestyle. Stress, alcohol, nicotine and severe obesity are often triggers for pathological changes to the mucosal membrane in this area, often resulting in esophageal cancer. An international research team has now gained new insights into the development of the cells, their communication with each other, and their regulation at the junction of the esophagus…

Modern biology textbooks assert that only bacteria can take nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert it into a form that is usable for life. Plants that fix nitrogen, such as legumes, do so by harboring symbiotic bacteria in root nodules. But a recent discovery upends that rule. In two recent papers, an international team of scientists describe the first known nitrogen-fixing organelle within a eukaryotic cell. The organelle is the fourth example in history of primary endosymbiosis — the process…

Chemists in Dortmund have identified the first inhibitors of the cancer-related RNA-modifier METTL16 and have thus taken a first step towards new therapeutic options. Only recently, a new era in medicine began with the first RNA vaccines. These active substances are modified RNAs that trigger immune responses of the human immune system. Another approach in RNA medicine targets the body’s own RNA and its protein modulators by specifically tailored active substances. Scientists around Peng Wu, research group leader at the…

Many kidney diseases are manifested by protein in the urine. However, until now it was not possible to determine whether the protein excretion is caused by only a few, but severely damaged, or by many moderately damaged of the millions of small kidney filters, known as glomeruli. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn, in cooperation with mathematicians from the University of Bonn, have developed a new computer method to clarify this question experimentally. The results of their work have now…

New study confirms that even the simplest marine organisms tend to be individualistic. Sport junkie or couch potato? Always on time or often late? The animal kingdom, too, is home to a range of personalities, each with its own lifestyle. In a study just released in the journal PLOS Biology, a team led by Sören Häfker and Kristin Tessmar-Raible from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) and the University of Vienna report on a…