news 2019

Proteins perform vital tasks in the body, such as regulating metabolism and transmitting signals. Researchers from the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) and Heidelberg University have now developed an intelligent neural network that uses algorithms to predict the functions of proteins. The scientists used a trick to observe how the network makes its predictions.

The spread of pathogens like the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is often studied in a test tube, i.e. in two-dimensional cell cultures, even though it hardly reflects the much more complex conditions in the human body. Using innovative cell culture systems, quantitative image analysis, and computer simulations, an interdisciplinary team of scientists from Heidelberg University has now explored how HIV spreads in three-dimensional tissue-like environments.

Atrial fibrillation leads to a persistent irregular - often accelerated - heartbeat. While the condition is not life-threatening, if left untreated it can lead to serious complications such as stroke or heart failure. It is caused by areas of the heart that hinder the normal conduction of electrical impulses so that the atrium no longer contracts rhythmically," explains Rüdiger Lange from the German Heart Center Munich.

07/19/2019 Würzburg Scientists found that megakaryocytes act as "bouncers" and thus modulate bone marrow niche properties and cell migration dynamics. The study was published in the Journal "Haematologica". Hematopoiesis is the process of forming blood cells, which occurs predominantly in the bone marrow.

There are two forms of T cell therapy: either a recipient receives cells from a donor, or the recipient's own T cells are removed, genetically reprogrammed in a laboratory and unleashed against an infection or tumor in the body. While the first method has proven to be successful in clinical models, reprogramming T cells is still beset with problems.

Würzburg Scientists have precisely followed the activity of thousands of genes in individual cells for hours. For the first time, they were able to show why some cells are successfully infected by viruses, whereas others are not. When viruses enter our bodies - such as during an influenza or a gastrointestinal infection - the processes within the infected cells change: In the worst case, the virus takes the helm and reprograms the cell to its advantage.

06/19/2019 When two proteins work together, this worsens the prognosis for lung cancer patients: their chances of survival are particularly poor in this case. In malignant tumours, the cells usually proliferate quickly and uncontrollably. A research team from the Biocenter of Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany, has discovered that two important regulators of cell division can interact in this process.

Normally, the immune system goes into a state of maximum alert following a viral infection. It triggers the activation of a variety of immune cells such as T and B cells. These procreate in large numbers, and aggressively combat the infected cells. However, if the immune system does not manage to defeat the virus, then immune cells appear with highly inhibited functions.

06/14/2019 Researchers have filled two knowledge gaps: The vacuoles of plant cells can be excited and the TPC1 ion channel is involved in this process. The function of this channel, which is also found in humans, has been a mystery so far. Many plant processes are not different from humans: Cells and tissues in grain plants, including maize also communicate through electrical signals.

The negative effects of sugary drinks have prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to call on politicians, business leaders and society as a whole to design and implement effective ways to wean consumers off their predilection for soft drinks and to support healthier beverage choices. But what measures are most likely to reduce soft-drink consumption? In collaboration with the Cochrane Network, researchers based at TUM and LMU set out to answer this question.

International Research Project Studies Social Significance of Health Resorts No 169/2019 from Jun 12, 2019 A team of researchers from the universities of Amsterdam and Lund, Queen Mary University in London, and Freie Universität Berlin is starting a research project on health resorts as a location of transnational encounter and debate.

Infections with HBV are a global health problem. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 260 million people worldwide are chronically infected with the virus. Vaccination prevents new HBV infections, but for people who are chronic carriers of the virus, a cure has not yet been found.

The dark skin pigment melanin protects us from the sun's damaging rays by absorbing light energy and converting it to heat. This could make it a very effective tool in tumor diagnosis and treatment, as demonstrated by a team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Helmholtz Zentrum München.

A new international research group aims to develop new approaches to prevent and treat cytomegalovirus infection. Lars Dölken, a virology expert from Würzburg, is the research unit's spokesman. "Cytomegalovirus, beware of this new research group!" This could be the motto of a new research unit recently approved by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Stephan Ludwig puzzles over a host of questions. There is nothing unusual about that when someone has a passion for science. As a molecular biologist, however, Professor Ludwig is particularly interested in one specific question which is of paramount importance: How do viruses - 'these tiny little mites', as he calls them - succeed in remodelling a somatic cell in such a way that they can reproduce inside it, making the host organism sick or even killing it? "We still know very little about the interaction between the pathogen, the cell, and the host organism.

03/29/2019 Scientists at the University of Würzburg have discovered a new mechanism of gene transcription in tumor cells. Their study identifies novel strategies to develop innovative anti-Cancer drugs. The cells which make up our body vary significantly. A liver cell does not look like a muscle cell and each has a unique function.

Study by Research Team at Freie Universität Led by Biology Professor Stephan Sigrist on Conditions for Improving Memory Formation in Aging Humans No 063/2019 from Mar 21, 2019 Humans are not only capable of forming memories but also recalling these memories years later. However, with advancing age many of us face difficulties with forming new memories, a process usually referred to as age-induced memory impairment.

03/20/2019 Two proteins work hand in hand to ensure that the tumour cells of neuroblastoma can grow at full speed. In "Nature", a Würzburg research team shows how the proteins can do this. Anyone who has ever studied the molecular basis of breast cancer will probably have heard of the abbreviation BRCA1 - this is a protein that protects the cells of breast tissue against cancer.

Pharmacists and international partners present highly sensitive test system for anti-inflammatory drugs Life An international research team led by Friedrich Schiller University in Jena has developed a highly sensitive cell model to study the complex effects - and side effects - of anti-inflammatory drugs, with the ultimate aim of preventing chronic inflammation.

Tumors are very different at cellular and molecular level making them difficult to diagnose and treat. A team from Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Helmholtz Zentrum München has now shown that harmless purple bacteria are capable of visualizing aspects of this heterogeneity in the tumors.