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Life Sciences - Health - 17.09.2021

B cells of the immune system discovered in the meninges
A comprehensive analysis of white blood cells in the tissue surrounding the brain / Study published in the journal "Nature Neuroscience" The brain holds numerous unsolved medical mysteries. Only a few years ago it was discovered that the outer layer of the meninges is interlaced with lymphatic vessels.

Health - Life Sciences - 14.09.2021

Molecular Achilles heel of cancer cells discovered
Changes in fat metabolism of colorectal cancer cells demonstrated for the first time Where does a malignant tumor obtain the energy to keep growing? That is a key question in cancer research. If the energy source were known, the tumor could be "starved". Researchers have now laid the foundation for this approach: For the first time, they have demonstrated a fundamental difference in the fat metabolism of healthy cells in the inner lining of the intestinal tract and colorectal cancer cells.

Health - Pharmacology - 13.09.2021

Insights into the cellular and molecular changes in male infertility
"You can't see the wood for the trees" is a phrase which we certainly don't associate immediately with the medical examination and analysis of testicles. But in a certain way it applies here, too: testicles consist of many different types of cells, and up to now this complex quality prevented these types from being isolated and then analysed.

Life Sciences - Health - 06.09.2021

Messengers from gut to brain
Seen for the first time: T cells traveling from the gut and skin to the central nervous system Scientists have long been aware of a link between the gut microbiome and the central nervous system (CNS). Until now, however, the immune cells that move from the gut into the CNS and thus the brain had not been identified.

Pharmacology - Health - 02.09.2021

Bypassing side effects: Nanocontainers transport active ingredients directly to their target
Using nanoparticles, a Jena research team implemented the targeted transport of an active ingredient into liver tissue. Using nanoparticles, a Jena research team implemented the targeted transport of an active ingredient into liver tissue. The particles were functionalized with a dye that is specifically absorbed by liver cells, and they carried an inhibitor of the signal protein PI3Kinase ? , which contributes to the development of liver failure in sepsis.

Health - 30.08.2021

Hobit Turns Immune Cells Into Killers
08/30/2021 Against infections, tumours and inflammations, immune cells are locally positioned as rapid reaction forces in the organs of the body. On site, they specialise and take on various tasks. When pathogens invade the human body, a rapid response is required. At the forefront of the immune response are special immune cells.

Health - Pharmacology - 18.08.2021

New approach identifies T cells in Covid-19 patients
Immune cell profile reveals appearance, number and activity level against SARS-CoV-2 T cells play a decisive role in fighting the coronavirus and preventing infected individuals from becoming seriously ill. They identify and fight the virus directly within the infected cells. A team of researchers working in Munich have produced a precise profile of the T cells that respond to SARS-CoV-2 and described them at various stages of the illness.

Health - Life Sciences - 12.08.2021

Understanding Lung Damage in Patients with Covid-19
Model to serve as basis for new therapeutic strategies / Joint press release by Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the MDC, and Freie Universität Berlin Covid-19 disease severity is determined by the individual patient's immune response. The precise mechanisms taking place inside the lungs and blood during the early phase of the disease, however, remain unclear.

Life Sciences - Health - 10.08.2021

Taking aim at skin bacteria
Enzyme treatment of skin samples improves microbiome analysis Healthy skin has a bacterial shield to protect against germs: the microbiome. This complex assembly of microorganisms was previously believed to be difficult to decipher. A team of researchers has now succeeded in using the enzyme benzonase to identify the living bacteria in skin swabs through sequencing.

Health - Life Sciences - 10.08.2021

Intranasal Droplets and Sprays Could Help Tackle SARS-CoV-2
Researchers from Freie Universität Berlin and the University of Bern have published the results of a groundbreaking study No 155/2021 from Aug 10, 2021 Scientists at Freie Universität Berlin and the University of Bern (Switzerland) have developed highly effective SARS-CoV-2 preclinical vaccine candidates that can be administered in the form of nasal drops or sprays.

Health - 03.08.2021

Study tracks global death toll of COVID-19 pandemic
Comparing the impact of COVID-19 between countries or during a given period of time is challenging because reported numbers of cases and deaths can be affected by testing capacity and reporting policy. The current study provides a more accurate picture of the effects of COVID-19 than using these numbers, and may improve our understanding of this and future pandemics.

Health - Pharmacology - 30.07.2021

Combination vaccines against Covid-19 tested
Immune response stronger than after two doses of AstraZeneca vaccine People under the age of 60 who initially received a vaccine from AstraZeneca should be given an mRNA vaccine at their second appointment. This is recommended by the German Standing Committee on Vaccination. However, up until now, there were no data available to indicate to what extent the human organism would react to such a combined vaccination and start to form antibodies.

Health - Pharmacology - 30.07.2021

Mix-and-match vaccines against Covid-19 tested
Immune response stronger than after two doses of AstraZeneca vaccine People under the age of 60 who initially received a vaccine from AstraZeneca should be given an mRNA vaccine at their second appointment. This is recommended by the German Standing Committee on Vaccination. However, up until now, there were no data available to indicate to what extent the human organism would react to such a mix-and-match vaccination and start to form antibodies.

Health - Life Sciences - 30.07.2021

New strategy against sepsis
Some cases of bloodstream infections are mild, but many have a fatal outcome - the reasons for these differences have remained in the dark despite decades of research. Researchers from the Cluster of Excellence "Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections" (CMFI), the Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine Tübingen (IMIT) at the University of Tübingen and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) have now discovered a possible cause and on this basis developed a new experimental strategy to combat bacterial sepsis.

Life Sciences - Health - 29.07.2021

Energy for undisturbed rest
07/29/2021 In the fruit fly Drosophila, a hormone helps to balance rest and activity. This is shown by a new study of a research team led by the University of Würzburg. Might humans have a hormone with comparable function? Searching for food, eating, resting: in rough terms, this is the rhythm of life that many animals follow.

Life Sciences - Health - 28.07.2021

New regulators of the aging process
The attachment of the small protein ubiquitin to other proteins (ubiquitination) regulates numerous biological processes, including signal transduction and metabolism / Scientists at the University of Cologne discover the link to aging and longevity / Publication in 'Nature'. Scientists have discovered that the protein ubiquitin plays an important role in the regulation of the aging process.

Materials Science - Health - 27.07.2021

First synthetic tissue model developed in which blood vessels can grow
Researchers investigate which material properties support vessel formation / Study published in the journal "Nature Communications" Using lab-created tissue to heal or replace damaged organs is one of the great visions for the future of medicine. Synthetic materials could be suitable as scaffolding for tissue because, unlike natural tissues, they remain stable in the organism long enough for the body to form new natural structures.

Health - Life Sciences - 27.07.2021

Model developed to predict the effect of antibody treatment in HIV infection
The dosage of broadly neutralizing antibodies determines the ability for virus replication / findings can contribute to design HIV therapy that can durably suppress the virus A Cologne-based research collaboration has found a way to predict the effect of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) on the growth rate of HIV-1.

Health - Life Sciences - 19.07.2021

Cancer development is influenced by tissue type
Why identical mutations cause different types of cancer Why do alterations of certain genes cause cancer only in specific organs of the human body? Scientists have now demonstrated that cells originating from different organs are differentially susceptible to activating mutations in cancer drivers: The same mutation in precursor cells of the pancreas or the bile duct leads to fundamental different outcomes.

Life Sciences - Health - 08.07.2021

Stiffness of skin tissue determines the renewal capacity of stem cells
Old and young skin stem cells are both capable of renewing the skin and its hair follicles. A slower renewal turnover of aged skin and its hair follicles may be caused by the decreased elasticity of skin tissues surrounding the stem cells / New insights into the causes of aging published in 'Nature Cell Biology' An international team of researchers from the Universities of Cologne and Helsinki have discovered that the ability of stem cells to proliferate and renew organs is regulated by the stiffness of the surrounding tissue.