Antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose a major challenge to healthcare systems worldwide. Due to numerous resistance mechanisms, infections with the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa are particularly feared. Researchers at the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), the University Hospital Cologne, the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig and the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf have now discovered antibodies that could lead to a highly potent treatment option of acute and chronic infections with P. aeruginosa. The study was published in the prestigious scientific…

In the immune system’s fight against cancer and infections, the T cells often lose their power. The team of Würzburg immunologist Martin Vaeth has found a possible explanation for this phenomenon. In the immune system, chronic infections and the defence against tumors often lead to the phenomenon of T cell exhaustion: In this process, the T lymphocytes gradually lose their function, which impairs their responses against cancer and infections. The molecular mechanisms that control this loss of function have not…

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s Melanized Microbes for Multiple Uses in Space Project, or MELSP, will use the International Space Station (ISS) to search for production of melanin variants and other useful biomaterials that can have applications both on Earth and in space. The mission is scheduled to launch in early November 2023. Melanin is described as a group of biopolymers responsible for various biological functions, including pigmentation of skin, hair, and iris of the eyes, which helps protect body…

What potential do 6G and AI unfold? We are already experiencing the shortage of physicians and its consequences for patient care. Can mobile surgical robots provide a solution? Combining approaches from robotics with AI methods using the future mobile communications standard 6G, researchers at RPTU and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) are investigating this question. Their objective: An analysis that shows potentials of remote-controlled robotics for surgical operations and defines requirements for AI and communication networks. The…

Smartbax nominated for Falling Walls award. It all began with basic research: While conducting laboratory experiments, a team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) came across an active agent against multidrug-resistant bacteria with a fundamental difference to antibiotics developed to date. The researchers have since established a start-up to develop a new drug based on this agent. The entrepreneurs have now been nominated for Science Breakthrough of the Year in the Science Start-Up category at the international Falling Walls…

New insights through expression of foreign proteins. A German-French research team led by Bayreuth microbiologist Dirk Schüler presents ground-breaking new findings on the functionality of proteins in magnetic bacteria in the journal “mBio”. The research is based on previous results published recently in the same journal. In this study, the Bayreuth scientists used bacteria of the species Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense to decipher the function of genes that are presumably involved in the biosynthesis of magnetosomes in other magnetic bacteria that are…

In a new study, a group of researchers, led by Dr. Joshua Goldberg from the Hebrew University, describe a new kind of neurochemical wave in the brain. Their research, published in Nature Communications, unveils the existence of traveling waves of the neurochemical acetylcholine in the striatum, a region of the brain responsible for motivating actions and habitual behaviors. The motivation to execute an action is widely thought to depend on the release of the another neurochemical, dopamine, in the striatum….

Researchers led by Nikolaus Rajewsky have found a way to regulate the gene expression of organoids, as they now report in Nature Methods. They look like storm clouds that could fit on the head of a pin: Organoids are three-dimensional cell cultures that play a key role in medical and clinical research. This is thanks to their ability to replicate tissue structures and organ functions in the petri dish. Scientists can use organoids to understand how diseases occur, how organs…

How a key protein regulates neuronal health. OIST biologists find new insights on how a molecular transport system ships RNA inside neurons. The Molecular Neuroscience Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) has made an important breakthrough by connecting sensory neurons’ survival and pathology with the way messenger RNAs (mRNAs) are transported inside these cells. This team of neurobiologists, comprised of Ph.D. student Sara Emad El-Agamy, Dr. Laurent Guillaud, and Prof. Marco Terenzio, has collaborated with Prof. Keiko Kono…

A new compact, lightweight, gel-free and waterproof electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor offers more comfort and less skin irritation, compared to similar heart monitoring devices on the market. ECGs help manage cardiovascular disease – which affects around 4 million Australians and kills more than 100 people every day – by alerting users to seek medical care. The team led by RMIT University in Australia has made the wearable ECG device that could be used to prevent heart attacks for people with cardiovascular…

A new study from researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Academia Sinica of Taiwan points to an improved method for regenerating heart muscle following a heart attack. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Academia Sinica of Taiwan have harnessed a combination of lab-grown cells to regenerate damaged heart muscle. The study, published in Circulation — which addresses major challenges of using heart muscle cells, called cardiomyocytes, grown from stem cells — takes a crucial step toward future clinical applications. Previous…

An enzyme that may help some breast cancers spread can be stopped with an antibody created in the lab of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor Nicholas Tonks. With further development, the antibody might offer an effective drug treatment for those same breast cancers. The new antibody targets an enzyme called PTPRD that is overabundant in some breast cancers. PTPRD belongs to a family of molecules known as protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs), which help regulate many cellular processes. They do this by working in…

The immune system is fast when it comes to fighting viruses, bacteria and other pathogens. But it also has to know when not to attack – for example, harmless substances such as pollen or house dust, which otherwise trigger allergic reactions. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the lymph nodes play a key role here, suppressing excessive or misdirected immune responses there. Researchers at the University of Würzburg (JMU) and the University Hospital RWTH Aachen have now observed a previously unknown…

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed modular nanoparticles that can be easily customized to target different biological entities such as tumors, viruses or toxins. The surface of the nanoparticles is engineered to host any biological molecules of choice, making it possible to tailor the nanoparticles for a wide array of applications, ranging from targeted drug delivery to neutralizing biological agents. The beauty of this technology lies in its simplicity and efficiency. Instead of crafting entirely new…

The effect of the phenotypic plasticity of cancer cells and how to exploit it. Cancer cells are notorious for rapidly changing their phenotype, driving within-host spread and evading treatment. Scientists in Plön used a mathematical model to understand the role of a signal used by cancer cells to control their phenotype. By manipulating these signals, cancer cells can be tricked into a less harmful phenotype that is more responsive to treatments. Mathematical oncology is a growing interdisciplinary field of research…

UTA bioengineer developing high-resolution imaging system to quantify cell tracking. The ability to dynamically track the movement of cells is essential for modeling cellular interactions as they form organs such as the heart. But current microscope technology isn’t up to the task of capturing those movements. Juhyun Lee, associate professor in the Bioengineering Department at The University of Texas at Arlington, recently received a five-year, $1.94 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a 4D high-resolution imaging…