Model is small, durable and contains all functions in one capsule. When the heart beats too slowly, the use of a pacemaker may be necessary. The device works like a pacemaker, restoring the heartbeat to a normal rhythm. The Department of Cardiology and Angiology at Hannover Medical School (MHH) is one of the first hospitals in Germany to offer implantation of the new innovative AVEIR VR pacemaker. The model is associated with many advantages: It has no electrodes, it can…

Researchers in Sweden have developed a microscale device for implantation in the eye, which presents new opportunities for cell-based treatment of diabetes and other diseases. Aiming towards encapsulating insulin-producing pancreatic cells and electronic sensors, the 3D-printed device was developed by a team from KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Karolinska Institutet. The researchers reported the results of the work in the journal Advanced Materials. The collaboration between KTH and Karolinska Institutet enables micro-organs—namely pancreatic islets or islets of Langerhans—to be positioned…

In an extensive investigation, EMBL researchers have tested over 10,000 drug combinations against some of the leading pathogenic bacteria carrying antimicrobial resistance and causing mortality. Antimicrobial resistance – occurring when pathogens can survive antibiotic treatment – is one of the most rapidly emerging global public health threats today. According to a 2022 study, nearly five million deaths were associated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria in 2019, with over a million deaths per year directly attributable to antimicrobial resistance. In a new study, researchers…

… helps mice recover after stroke. New research offers a tantalizing avenue for treating stroke by reprogramming microglia, the main immune cells in the brain, to replace damaged neurons. Researchers at Kyushu University have discovered that turning brain immune cells into neurons successfully restores brain function after stroke-like injury in mice. These findings, published on October 10 in PNAS, suggest that replenishing neurons from immune cells could be a promising avenue for treating stroke in humans. Stroke, and other cerebrovascular…

Robotic prosthetic ankles that are controlled by nerve impulses allow amputees to move more “naturally,” improving their stability, according to a new study from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “This work focused on ‘postural control,’ which is surprisingly complicated,” says Helen Huang, corresponding author of the study and the Jackson Family Distinguished Professor in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at NC State and UNC. “Basically, when we are standing still, our…

Scientists Find an Unusual Weapon Against Virus. Infections with cytomegalovirus (CMV) often pose no major threat to the vast majority of people. They can however be deadly for people whose immune system is weakened. Current treatments against CMV infections are very limited and can have severe side effects. Researchers led by Prof. Michael Sieweke at the Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD) at TUD Dresden University of Technology and the Center of Immunology of Marseille Luminy (CIML) propose a new…

Why infections with Acinetobacter baumannii can flare up again and again. A research team led by Beate Averhoff and Volker Müller of Goethe University Frankfurt has discovered a fundamental mechanism that helps the dreaded hospital pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii to survive. This mechanism explains why the pathogen is difficult to eradicate in hospitals and why infections flare up again and again in patients: When living conditions become too unfavorable for the bacteria, they fall into a kind of slumber. In this…

Previous limitation to 256 colors far exceeded. The DNA double helix is composed of two DNA molecules whose sequences are complementary to each other. The stability of the duplex can be fine-tuned in the lab by controlling the amount and location of imperfect complementary sequences. Fluorescent markers bound to one of the matching DNA strands make the duplex visible, and fluorescence intensity increases with increasing duplex stability. Now, researchers at the University of Vienna succeeded in creating fluorescent duplexes that…

Ultrasound is used to diagnose many diseases in the abdominal cavity. A new study conducted at the University of Leipzig Medical Center and supported by the Helmholtz Institute for Metabolism, Obesity and Vascular Research (HI-MAG) shows that obesity affects the quality of ultrasound scans of the liver and kidneys. It also shows that the use of high-performance ultrasound probes can improve the anatomical depiction in these patients. The findings have been published in the journal “Scientific Reports”. Ultrasound of the…

One double-helix strand of DNA could extend six feet, but it is so tightly coiled that it packs an entire sequence of nucleotides into the tiny nucleus of a cell. If that same DNA was instead split into two strands and divided into many, many short pieces, it would become trillions of uniquely folded 3D molecular structures, capable of bonding to and possibly manipulating specifically shaped molecules — if they’re the perfect fit. These short, single-stranded segments of DNA or…

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, are now presenting a new and efficient way to recycle metals from spent electric car batteries. The method allows recovery of 100 per cent of the aluminium and 98 per cent of the lithium in electric car batteries. At the same time, the loss of valuable raw materials such as nickel, cobalt and manganese is minimised. No expensive or harmful chemicals are required in the process because the researchers use oxalic acid –…

Researchers discover a new family of Gram-negative bacterial enzymes related to infection capability. Gram-negative bacteria cause a variety of infectious diseases in plants and animals alike. Outbreaks of Salmonella and E. coli infections often make headlines due to their severity, and people have to resort to allopathic as well as natural remedies, increasing the burden on the healthcare system. While antibiotics offer an effective solution against bacterial infections, the increasing incidence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria have prompted researchers to identify other…

Central learning and memory hubs change in response to sex hormones. A new study in Nature Mental Health by Rachel Zsido and Julia Sacher of MPI CBS and the University of Leipzig Medical Center links rhythmic oscillations in ovarian hormone levels in women during the menstrual cycle to changes in brain structure. Ovarian hormones have significant effects on the brain, and early menopause may be associated with an increased risk of accelerated brain aging and dementia later in life. However,…

Researchers led by Prof. GAO Xiang from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Prof. LU Lu from the Harbin Institute of Technology have proposed a novel method to transform wastewater contaminants into valuable chemicals using sunlight, thus paving the way for sustainable and eco-friendly chemical manufacturing. The study was published in Nature Sustainability on Oct. 16. Conventional chemical manufacturing relies on energy-intensive processes. Semiconductor biohybrids, integrating efficient light-harvesting materials with superior living cells,…

Bats have acquired remarkable traits throughout their evolution. They’re the only mammals that can fly, and they live much longer than other animals their size. But perhaps most impressive is their robust immune system. It protects bats from viruses that wreak havoc in humans, like COVID-19 or Ebola. It also keeps bats relatively cancer-free. How? According to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) scientists, it’s all in the genes. Using samples collected in Belize with Nancy Simmons from the American Museum of…

Thymus, a small and relatively unknown organ, may play a bigger role in the immune system of adults than was previously believed. With age, the glandular tissue in the thymus is replaced by fat, but, according to a new study from Linköping University (LiU) in Sweden, the rate at which this happens is linked to sex, age and lifestyle factors. These findings also indicate that the appearance of the thymus reflects the ageing of the immune system. “We doctors can…