ISTA scientists take a deep look into memory processing inside the hippocampus. Resembling a seahorse, as its name implies from the Greek words “hippos” (horse) and “kampus” (sea monster), the hippocampus is a brain region crucial for memory formation. But until recently, scientists have not been able to link memory formation to distinct molecular signals. Now, a team of scientists from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences likely opened this…

Scientists at the Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN) in Dummerstorf have decoded the genome of the African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) in collaboration with international partners. The study (Nguinkal JA et al., Sci Data 11, 2024), which was recently published in the journal Scientific Data, represents a milestone for genetic research on the animal and aquaculture husbandry. The genome of the African catfish decoded The African catfish is one of the most important species in global fish production. It…

New research from the Kind Group at the Hubrecht Institute sheds light on how cells repair damaged DNA. For the first time, the team has mapped the activity of repair proteins in individual human cells. The study demonstrates how these proteins collaborate in so-called “hubs” to repair DNA damage. This knowledge offers opportunities to improve cancer therapies and other treatments where DNA repair is essential. The researchers published their findings in Nature Communications on November 21. DNA is the molecule…

The world’s thinnest spaghetti, about 200 times thinner than a human hair, has been created by a UCL-led research team. The spaghetti is not intended to be a new food but was created because of the wide-ranging uses that extremely thin strands of material, called nanofibers, have in medicine and industry. Nanofibers made of starch – produced by most green plants to store excess glucose – are especially promising and could be used in bandages to aid wound healing (as…

… for continuous blood pressure monitoring. A team of researchers at the University of California San Diego has developed a new and improved wearable ultrasound patch for continuous and noninvasive blood pressure monitoring. Their work marks a major milestone, as the device is the first wearable ultrasound blood pressure sensor to undergo rigorous and comprehensive clinical validation on over 100 patients. The technology, published on Nov. 20 in Nature Biomedical Engineering, has the potential to improve the quality of cardiovascular…

The occurrence of multiple stressors undermines the acclimatisation strategies of juvenile herring: If larvae are exposed to several stress factors at the same time, their ability to respond to these changes at the molecular level is reduced. Experiments by a team from the northern German cities of Oldenburg and Kiel show that a combination of two factors is sufficient to prevent a reaction. When herring larvae are exposed to multiple stressors simultaneously, their ability to react to these changes at…

The yeast Candida parapsilosis is emerging as a growing threat for hospitalized patients in a new study. A team led by Dr Amelia Barber from the Cluster of Excellence “Balance of the Microverse” at Friedrich Schiller University Jena and Dr Grit Walther from the National Reference Centre for Invasive Fungal Infections (NRZMyk) investigated an outbreak of multi-drug resistant hospital-acquired strain of this fungus. The researchers developed a new molecular detection method that can quickly and cost-effectively differentiate strains of C….

Assumptions that may seem self-evident are not always accurate when it comes to the evolution of vertebrate brains. Researchers at the University of Bayreuth have now demonstrated this by examining the largest neuron in the brains of blind Mexican cavefish. Their findings have been published in the prestigious journal PNAS. What for? In the course of evolution, vertebrate brains can change in response to adaptation to a new habitat or altered living conditions. Until now, our understanding of brain evolution…

Salk scientists identify brain circuit used to consciously slow breathing and confirm this reduces anxiety and negative emotions. Deep breath in, slow breath out… Isn’t it odd that we can self-soothe by slowing down our breathing? Humans have long used slow breathing to regulate their emotions, and practices like yoga and mindfulness have even popularized formal techniques like box breathing. Still, there has been little scientific understanding of how the brain consciously controls our breathing and whether this actually has…

Researchers delved deep into the regulation of cobalt active sites to enhance the selectivity of propylene to improve scalability and affordability of the production of this important chemical. Chemical reactions are not always naturally optimized to yield the products in the quantities needed, especially on the scale needed for the amount of industry in the world today. Researchers from East China University of Science and Technology explored the options available to develop a more cost-effective, scalable and straightforward method to…

The return of cells to a stem cell-like state as the key to regeneration. Many living organisms are able to regenerate damaged or lost tissue, but why some are particularly good at this and others are not is not fully understood. Molecular biologists Alexander Stockinger, Leonie Adelmann and Florian Raible from the Max Perutz Labs at the University of Vienna have now made an important contribution to clarifying this question in a new study. In it, they explain the molecular…

… demonstrates efficacy and safety in preclinical models of HER2-positive solid tumors. The p95HER2 protein is found expressed in one third of HER2+ tumors, which represent 4% of all tumors. Led by VHIO investigators, CAR T cells targeting p95HER2 have been engineered to secrete the TECH2Me bispecific antibody. Both therapies specifically and independently recognize tumor cells. In addition, the TECH2Me bispecific antibody activates immune cells within the tumor microenvironment. This dual mechanism of action has demonstrated safety and achieved complete…

MHH researchers are developing an innovative drug to prevent the rejection of donor skin grafts. When people suffer severe burns, there is not only a risk of infection in the wound. The high loss of fluid can also result in life-threatening circulatory shock. Therefore, the destroyed skin must be replaced as quickly as possible. Ideally, the wounds are treated with the patient’s own skin from healthy parts of the body, so-called split-thickness skin grafts. However, the tissue is often insufficient…

Hepatitis E is a common disease worldwide, but it often remains undetected. “There’s no precise data on how often the infection affects the neurological system,” says Michelle Jagst. What is known is that up to 11 percent of patients with certain neurological conditions such as Guillain-Barré syndrome and neuralgic amyotrophy either have HEV antibodies or are infected with the virus. Cells are infected directly In order to find out more, the research group is using a cell model that was…

Impact of Carbon and Nitrogen Signalling on Floral Repressors in Arabidopsis. An international research team, including Dr Justyna Olas who is co-first author on this study, has uncovered fundamental mechanisms regulating flowering time in Arabidopsis thaliana, as detailed in a recent publication in the journal Plant Physiology. The study investigates the interplay between carbon and nitrogen signalling pathways and their influence on the expression of the floral repressor FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC). Dr Olas, now a junior research group leader…

A study led by the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) has revealed how mesenchymal stem cells respond to the viscosity of their environment, a key aspect in their differentiation process. Research led by Manuel Salmeron, ICREA Research Professor at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Glasgow, has improved our understanding of how mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) sense the viscosity of their environment, a key factor in their differentiation into…