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Life Sciences - Physics - 30.11.2022
The junction is the key
The junction is the key
Researchers decrypt transport dynamics of porous media What laws govern how chemicals pass through filters? How do droplets of oil move through layers of stone? How do blood cells travel through a living organism? A team of researchers led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS) has discovered how pore space geometry impacts transport of substances through fluids.

Health - Life Sciences - 29.11.2022
Why do overweight people get diseases more often?
Why do overweight people get diseases more often?
Size of fat cells can cause metabolic diseases If you gain weight, the fat cells grow with you. In cases of severe obesity, the cells are usually greatly enlarged. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now been able to show how enlarged fat cells can cause metabolic diseases. In addition, they have developed examination methods to determine the fat cell size of humans non-invasively.

Environment - Life Sciences - 25.11.2022
Animals are key to restoring the world's forests
Animals are key to restoring the world’s forests
By dispersing seeds, animals can rapidly reestablish plant diversity in degraded forests As UN climate talks close in Egypt and biodiversity talks begin in Montreal, attention is on forest restoration as a solution to the twin evils roiling our planet. Forests soak up atmospheric carbon dioxide and simultaneously create habitat for organisms.

Life Sciences - Health - 25.11.2022
New function of the CRISPR gene scissors discovered
New function of the CRISPR gene scissors discovered
Protein scissors activate defense function, a study shows For several years now, the CRISPR/Cas9 gene scissors have been causing a sensation in science and medicine. This new tool of molecular biology has its origins in an ancient bacterial immune system. It protects bacteria from attack by so-called phages, i. e.

Health - Life Sciences - 24.11.2022
SARS-CoV-2 detection in 30 minutes using gene scissors
SARS-CoV-2 detection in 30 minutes using gene scissors
Researchers of the University of Freiburg introduce biosensor for the nucleic acid amplification-free detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA CRISPR-Cas is versatile: Besides the controversial genetically modified organisms (GMOs), created through gene editing, various new scientific studies use different orthologues of the effector protein 'Cas' to detect nucleic acids such as DNA or RNA.

Life Sciences - 24.11.2022
Vegetation-free patches encourage ground-nesting wild bees
Vegetation-free patches encourage ground-nesting wild bees
Göttingen researchers investigate ways to improve conservation management of wild bees on calcareous grasslands Relatively little is known about the nesting requirements of ground-nesting wild bees, although nesting sites are of central importance for most wild bee species. There are almost 600 wild bee species in Germany and 75 per cent nest in the soil.

Life Sciences - Health - 23.11.2022
Protein Spheres Protect the Genome of Cancer Cells
Protein Spheres Protect the Genome of Cancer Cells
Hollow spheres made of MYC proteins open new doors in cancer research. Würzburg scientists have discovered them and report about this breakthrough in the journal "Nature". MYC genes and their proteins play a central role in the emergence and development of almost all cancers. They drive the uncontrolled growth and altered metabolism of tumour cells.

Health - Life Sciences - 22.11.2022
Unexpected cognitive deteriorations in epilepsy
Unexpected cognitive deteriorations in epilepsy
Study by the University of Bonn: Surgical tissue indicates rare secondary disease In severe epilepsies, surgical intervention is often the only remedy - usually with great success. While neuropsychological performance can recover in the long term after successful surgery, on rare occasions, unexpected declines in cognitive performance occur.

Life Sciences - Health - 22.11.2022
Zombie viruses on a hijacking trip
Zombie viruses on a hijacking trip
Ancient dormant sequences in the genome impact embryonic development in unexpected ways The mammalian genome contains retroviral sequences that are in an undead but mostly "harmless" state. An international research team recently discovered how some of these retroviral gene fragments affect embryonic cells if they are unleashed.

Health - Life Sciences - 21.11.2022
Poor diet harms blood vessels
Poor diet harms blood vessels
Over the last few decades, the number of obesity sufferers has continued to increase and is now one of the leading causes of death worldwide - 650 million adults are classified as obese. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines obesity as the accumulation of excess fat in the body, which poses risks to healthy living.

Life Sciences - Linguistics / Literature - 21.11.2022
Genes and tongues are not always tied together
Genes and tongues are not always tied together
A global database helps explore the complex history of our genes and languages Does the history of our languages match the history of our genes? Charles Darwin thought yes, others said no. An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, the University of Zurich and Harvard University has put together GeLaTo, a global database linking linguistic and genetic data.

Life Sciences - History / Archeology - 21.11.2022
Hominins were cooking fish already in the early Paleolithic period about 780,000 years ago
Hominins were cooking fish already in the early Paleolithic period about 780,000 years ago
Ancient fish teeth discovered at the archaeological site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov in Israel provide earliest evidence of our prehistoric ancestors deliberately cooking foodstuff Nutrition and the ability to prepare foodstuffs helped facilitate the evolution of the human species. Considered particularly relevant to the development of the genus Homo in this context are the processes of cooking.

Health - Life Sciences - 17.11.2022
New target for Alzheimer's therapies found
New target for Alzheimer’s therapies found
The protein medin is deposited in the blood vessels of the brains of Alzheimer's patients along with the protein amyloid-β. DZNE Re-searchers have discovered this so-called co-aggregation. They have now published their observation in the renowned journal Na-ture. "Medin has been known for over 20 years, but its influence on diseases was previously underestimated.

Health - Life Sciences - 15.11.2022
Tumors: forecasting the risks of brain surgery
Tumors: forecasting the risks of brain surgery
Accurately predicting possible post-surgical effects on speech Can surgeons quantify the risk of aphasia when removing a brain tumor? To find out, researchers at Klinikum rechts der Isar of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are analyzing the brain as a network. In a current study with 60 patients, they already achieved an accuracy rate with three quarters of their predictions.

Life Sciences - Health - 15.11.2022
Gene plays important role in embryonic development
Gene plays important role in embryonic development
Study at the University of Bonn identifies gene that can cause malformations if altered An international study led by the medical Faculty of the University of Bonn has identified a gene that plays an important role in the development of the human embryo. If it is altered, malformations of various organ systems can result.

Life Sciences - Health - 14.11.2022
Molecular monitoring of RNA regulation
Molecular monitoring of RNA regulation
New biological tool for tracking cellular processes The better we understand cellular processes such as RNA regulation, the better molecular therapies can be developed. Until now, it has been especially difficult to track the regulation of non-coding RNA, which is RNA that is not further converted into proteins.

Health - Life Sciences - 09.11.2022
Synthetic peptides may suppress formation of harmful deposits
Synthetic peptides may suppress formation of harmful deposits
Alzheimer's disease and type 2 diabetes In Alzheimer's disease, the degeneration of brain cells is linked to formation of toxic protein aggregates and deposits known as amyloid plaques. Similar processes play an important role also in type 2 diabetes. A research team under the lead of the Technical University of Munich has now developed "mini-proteins", so-called peptides, which are able to bind the proteins that form amyloids and prevent their aggregation into cytotoxic amyloids.

Life Sciences - Agronomy / Food Science - 02.11.2022
Ambrosia beetles breed and maintain their own food fungi
Ambrosia beetles breed and maintain their own food fungi
Experiment at the University of Freiburg provides first evidence of a bark beetle species' agricultural capability Freiburg, Nov 02, 2022 Ambrosia beetles practice active agriculture: A bark beetle species breeds and cultivates food fungi in its nests and ensures that so-called weed fungi spread less.

Life Sciences - 02.11.2022
How Cells Find the Right Partners
Researchers at the University of Freiburg discover that the affinity between cells can control complex developmental processes Freiburg, Nov 02, 2022 During the growth and development of living organisms, different types of cells must come into contact with each other in order to form tissues and organs together.

Health - Life Sciences - 31.10.2022
Control hub for skin inflammation discovered
Control hub for skin inflammation discovered
Study by the University of Bonn identifies new signaling pathway to combat UV damage and infections Inflammatory reactions in the skin can reduce damage from UV radiation or infections, but can also result in painful symptoms such as sunburn. A recent study at the University of Bonn and the University Hospital Bonn has now identified a molecular control which integrates these stress signals.