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Researchers measure heat flow: from active metabolic forces inside cell to flickering cell membrane Entropy is often associated with disorder and chaos, but in biology it is related to energy efficiency and is closely linked to metabolism, the set of chemical reactions that sustain life. This research was led by the Universities of Barcelona and Padua, with the participation of Göttingen University and the Universities Complutense and Francisco de Vitoria in Madrid.

A diet based on resistant starch promotes a favorable composition of the gut microbiome in obese people. This leads to weight reduction and measurable positive health outcomes such as improved insulin sensitivity. These were the findings of an international research team led by Professor Weiping Jia from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Professor Aimin Xu from the University of Hong Kong and Professor Gianni Panagiotou from Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

Bonn researchers find connection between autobiographical memory and aphantasia When people lack visual imagination, this is known as aphantasia. Researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the University of Bonn and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) investigated how the lack of mental imagery affects long-term memory.

Scientific study on river habitats at the TUM Even modern and supposedly gentler hydropower plants cause considerable damage to river ecosystems. This is shown by a study by Prof. Jürgen Geist from the Chair of Aquatic Systems Biology at the TUM School of Life Sciences published in the "Journal of Applied Ecology".

Empathy can be transferred. This means that people can learn or unlearn empathy by observing their environment. This is shown by a new study by Würzburg neuroscientist Grit Hein . With her latest evaluations of empathy skills, Würzburg professor Grit Hein has once again disproved the old adage: "What goes around comes around".

Immune cells must learn not to attack the body itself. A team of researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) has discovered a previously unknown mechanism behind this: other immune cells, the B cells, contribute to the "training" of the T cells in the thymus gland.

Microbiologist Bodo Philipp on the adaptability of micro-organisms and the benefits and risks for humans A team headed by Prof. Bodo Philipp and Dr. Johannes Holert from the Institute of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology has found bacteria in Münster's wastewater which can completely decompose a substance called "TRIS" (tris hydroxymethyl aminomethane), and the researchers were able to throw light on the metabolic pathway.

Researchers at the University Hospitals of Dresden and Bonn of the DFG Transregio 237 and from the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation2 at the University of Bonn have made progress clarifying why patients with myotonic dystrophy 2 have a higher tendency to develop autoimmune diseases. Their goal is to understand the development of the disease, and their research has provided new, potential therapeutic targets.

Klebsiella pneumoniae is one of the most common and most dangerous bacterial pathogens impacting humans, causing infections of the gastrointestinal tract, pneumonia, wound infections and even blood poisoning. With the aim of discovering therapeutically exploitable weaknesses in Klebsiella, a research team from the Balance of the Microverse Cluster of Excellence at the University of Jena has taken a close look at the molecular biology of the bacteria and was able to uncover the importance of a small, non-coding ribonucleic acid (sRNA for short) for the gene regulation of K. pneumoniae.

The conversion of rainforest into plantations erodes and restructures food webs and fundamentally changes the way these ecosystems function, according to a new study published in Nature. The findings provide the first insights into the processing of energy across soil and canopy animal communities in mega-biodiverse tropical ecosystems.

Burials show that children with Down Syndrome and Edwards Syndrome were recognized as members of their communities An international team of researchers has analysed the DNA from a world-wide sample of nearly 10,000 ancient individuals to search for cases of Down Syndrome, an uncommon genetic condition caused by the presence of an additional copy of Chromosome 21.

Research team investigates effects of changing land use on ecosystems in Sumatra . Every day, large areas of rainforest are converted into plantations. Biodiversity and the ecosystem are changing drastically as a result. However, knowledge about the consequences is patchy: previous studies have either focused on the diversity of species or the functioning of the ecosystem.

Hairy bittercress is one of those plants that hurl their seeds in all directions to spread them effectively. A research team has now discovered that to do this, the plant uses a previously unknown mechanism which makes the seed pods contract and snap open, acting almost like a muscle. Dr. Gabriella Mosca at the University of Tübingen's Center for Plant Molecular Biology was one of the lead authors in this study headed by Dr. Angela Hay from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne.

Babies playfully tease others as young as eight months of age. Since language is not required for this behavior, similar kinds of playful teasing might be present in non-human animals. Now cognitive biologists and primatologists from the University of California Los Angeles, the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior , Indiana University, and the University of California San Diego have documented playful teasing in four species of great apes.

The nanosensors can be used to track reactions with invisible light, saving materials and time. The Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems IMS and Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, have developed a process that enables a new form of signal amplification for diagnostic tests. Through the advanced use of luminescent single walled carbon nanotubes in bioanalytics, test procedures can be carried out more sensitively, quickly and cheaply.

Desert ants find their way during an early learning phase with the help of the Earth's magnetic field. The associated learning process leaves clear traces in their nervous system. This is shown in a new study by a Würzburg research team. They are only a few centimeters tall and their brains have a comparatively simple structure with less than one million neurons.

Research carried out by the Technische Universität Ilmenau has shown that rainwater on the scalp can reduce the damage caused by direct lightning strikes to the head. In comparison to dry scalps, wet scalps are less severely struck and the wetness also reduces the electrical current to which the brain is exposed.

Heidelberg neurobiologists successfully test novel drug principle in a mouse model and in brain organoids of ALS patients A new pharmacological inhibitor can intervene in a central cell death mechanism that is responsible for the death of motor neurons and hence important for the progression of the motor neuron disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

The adage "necessity is the mother of invention" is often used to describe the origin from which our cultural development springs. After all, necessity in times of scarcity has forced humans to constantly invent new technologies that have driven the remarkable cumulative culture of our species. But an invention only becomes cultural when it is learned and spread by many people.

Cancer treatment: possible trigger for radiodermatitis identified During radiotherapy, some cancer patients develop radiodermatitis, a severe inflammation of the skin. A recent study suggests that skin bacteria play an essential role in this: Breast cancer patients whose skin microbiome was disturbed prior to treatment also developed radiodermatitis.