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Life Sciences - Health - 25.03.2020

A new mechanism triggering cell death and inflammation: a left turn that kills
Z-form nucleic acids are double-stranded DNA and RNA molecules with an unusual left-handed double helix structure, as opposed to the classical right-handed Watson-Crick double helix. Z-nucleic acids were discovered more than 40 years ago, but their biological function has remained poorly understood.

Health - Life Sciences - 17.03.2020

Blocking sugar structures on viruses and tumor cells
Coronavirus: University operations limited +++ make use of online services +++ many staff working from home +++ www.tum.de/corona Artificial sugar-binding protein may inhibit cell growth During a viral infection, viruses enter the body and multiply in its cells. Viruses often specifically attach themselves to the sugar structures of the host cells, or present characteristic sugar structures on their surface themselves.

Life Sciences - Health - 13.03.2020

Analysis of whole brain vasculature
Coronavirus: University operations limited +++ make use of online services +++ many staff working from home Biochemical methods and AI show even the finest capillaries Diseases of the brain are often associated with typical vascular changes. Now, scientists at LMU University Hospital Munich, Helmholtz Zentrum München and at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have come up with a technique for visualising the structures of all the brain's blood vessels - right down to the finest capillaries - including any pathological changes.

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 12.03.2020

A molecular map for the plant sciences
First comprehensive map of the proteome of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana Plants are essential for life on earth. They provide food for essentially all organisms, oxygen for breathing, and they regulate the climate of the planet. Proteins play a key role in controlling all aspects of life including plants.

Life Sciences - 06.03.2020

Why Individuals Are Not Alike
Neurobiologists studied how brain development influences behavioral differences No 051/2020 from Mar 06, 2020 Neurobiologists at Freie Universität Berlin led by Bassem Hassan, Einstein BIH Visiting Fellow, in collaboration with the group led by Robin Hiesinger at the Department of Biology, Chemistry, and Pharmacy at Freie Universität Berlin, described in a study published in Science why fruit flies display individual behavioral differences despite having the same genotype and being reared in identical environmental conditions.

Environment - Life Sciences - 25.02.2020

Eat or be eaten
Biodiversity increases the efficiency of energy use in grasslands Plants obtain their energy from the sun. Other beings rely on eating to survive. Yet how does the energy flow inside ecosystems function and are there differences between ecosystems with many species in comparison to those with few species' Researchers have now examined these questions using a holistic approach by evaluating data gathered through a large-scale biodiversity experiment.

Computer Science / Telecom - Life Sciences - 19.02.2020

"A rethinking in the minds of researchers is necessary": Guest comments
The reproducibility of research results is one of the fundamental quality criteria in science. The demand for transparency of the scientific knowledge process aims to ensure the repeatability of scientific studies or experiments. The project "Opening Reproducible Research" (o2r) of the Institute for Geoinformatics of the University of Münster and the University and State Library of Münster deals with this topic.

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 13.02.2020

Body Temperature Controls Enzyme Activity
A new study at Freie Universität Berlin shows how body temperature regulates certain enzymes and biological processes No 033/2020 from Feb 13, 2020 Researchers from Freie Universität Berlin's Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry have shown that the activity of a class of enzymes is directly controlled by subtle changes in body temperature.

Life Sciences - 12.02.2020

Lane change in the cytoskeleton
Transport proteins can switch between microtubule network and actin network Many amphibians and fish are able to change their color in order to better adapt to their environment. Munich-based scientists have now investigated the molecular mechanisms in the cytoskeleton necessary for this and revealed potential evolutionary paths.

Life Sciences - Health - 05.02.2020

The invisibility cloak of a fungus
While viruses and bacteria regularly manage to infect the human organism, fungi only very rarely succeed. The reason for this is that the human immune system can recognize them very easily because their cells are surrounded by a solid cell wall of chitin and other complex sugars. Chitin is, so to speak, the alarm signal for our immune system, to which it reacts with a whole arsenal of defensive weapons.

Life Sciences - Agronomy / Food Science - 05.02.2020

Bumble bees prefer a low-fat diet
A bumble bee's diet affects survival and reproductive capabilities Are bees dying of malnourishment? Professor Sara Diana Leonhardt examines the interactions between plants and insects with her work group at the TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan. Using behavioral experiments, her team analyzes how bumble bees evaluate the quality of food sources and how foods of various qualities affect their well-being.

Environment - Life Sciences - 30.01.2020

Biological diversity as a factor of production
Relationship between the economic value of our ecosystems and biodiversity Can the biodiversity of ecosystems be considered a factor of production? A group of researchers under the direction of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are studying the economic benefits that farmers and foresters can obtain by focusing on several species instead of just one.

Life Sciences - Physics - 29.01.2020

Guardian angel of the eye
Protective protein in the eye lens affects protein oxidation The lens of the human eye comprises a highly concentrated protein solution, which lends the lens its great refractive power. Protective proteins prevent these proteins from clumping together throughout a lifetime. A team of scientists from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now uncovered the precise structure of the 'A-crystallin protein and, in the process, discovered an important additional function.

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 29.01.2020

Tree-like Detergent Molecules for Membrane Proteins
Scientists at Freie Universität Berlin and University of Oxford Develop Novel Technique for the Analysis of Membrane Proteins No 017/2020 from Jan 29, 2020 Researchers at Freie Universität Berlin and the University of Oxford developed a method, which enables the gentle release of proteins from membranes.

Health - Life Sciences - 27.01.2020

Gene scissors against incurable muscular disease
New gene correction therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy Duchenne type muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common hereditary muscular disease among children, leaving them wheelchair-bound before the age of twelve and reducing life expectancy. Researchers at Technical University of Munich (TUM), Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) and the German Research Center for Environmental Health (Helmholtz Zentrum München) have developed a gene therapy that may provide permanent relief for those suffering from DMD.

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 24.01.2020

Deciphering the sugar code
Like animals and humans, plants possess a kind of immune system. It can e.g. recognize pathogenic fungi by the chitin in their cell walls, triggering disease resistance. Some fungi hide from the immune system by modifying some of the chitin building blocks, converting chitin into chitosan.

Life Sciences - Health - 23.01.2020

Researchers reconstruct 500 million years of insect evolution
Arthropods, a group of animals including next to insects also spiders or crustaceans, make up the most species-rich and diverse group of animals on Earth, with numerous adaptations that have allowed them to exploit all major ecosystems. However, what genetic mechanisms are responsible for their great evolutionary success' A team of international researchers studied now these species and tracked the evolutionary origin of key adaptations.

Life Sciences - Agronomy / Food Science - 09.01.2020

Emergence of calorie burning fat cells
A new approach to treating overweight and obesity 1.9 billion people in the world are overweight. Of these, 650 million people are obese, which increases the risk of secondary diseases such as high blood pressure or cancer. Professor Martin Klingenspor and his team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) examine how our fat metabolism affects our body weight and overall health.

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 27.12.2019

New insights into the earliest events of seed germination
Plant seeds may strike the casual observer as unspectacular - but they have properties that are nothing short of superpowers. In a dry state they can store their energy for years and then suddenly release it for germination when environmental conditions are favourable. One striking example is the “super bloom” in the Death Valley National Park, when seeds that have endured the dry and hot desert for decades suddenly germinate at rainfall followed by a rare and spectacular desert bloom several months later.

Life Sciences - Environment - 10.12.2019

A love of parasites
Broomrape, rattle, dodder. It's not only the wonderful-sounding names that these plants have in common - it's also the way they live, because they do so at the expense of other plants, robbing them of water and nutrients in order to secure their own existence. And, in doing so, they have exerted a fascination on Dr. Susann Wicke, an associate professor at the University of Münster.