Press monitoring
Human language gene makes mice smarter
16.9.2014 | Press monitoring
It was named the language gene before we really understood what it did. Now mice given the human version of the FOXP2 gene are shedding light on how speech evolved in early humans. Mice with the gene seem to be better at learning to do a task automatically or unconsciously – something we do when we learn a new route to work, for example. The...
Scientists revert human stem cells to pristine state
15.9.2014 | Press monitoring
Researchers at EMBL-EBI have resolved a long-standing challenge in stem cell biology by successfully 'resetting' human pluripotent stem cells to a fully pristine state, at point of their greatest developmental potential. Embryonic stem (ES) cells, which originate in early development, are capable of differentiating into any type of cell. Until...
Bacteria harbor secret weapons against antibiotics
12.9.2014 | Press monitoring
The ability of pathogenic bacteria to evolve resistance to antibiotic drugs poses a growing threat to human health worldwide. And scientists have now discovered that some of our microscopic enemies may be even craftier than we suspected, using hidden genetic changes to promote rapid evolution under stress and developing antibiotic resistance in...
Nano-forests to reveal secrets of cells
11.9.2014 | Press monitoring
Vertical nanowires could be used for detailed studies of what happens on the surface of cells. The findings are important for pharmaceuticals research, among other applications. A group of researchers from Lund University in Sweden have managed to make artificial cell membranes form across a large number of vertical nanowires, known as a...
Nuclear waste eaters: Scientists discover hazardous waste-eating bakteria
10.9.2014 | Press monitoring
Tiny single-cell organisms discovered living underground could help with the problem of nuclear waste disposal, say researchers involved in a study at The University of Manchester. Although bacteria with waste-eating properties have been discovered in relatively pristine soils before, this is the first time that microbes that can survive in the...
Biologists delay the aging process by remote control
9.9.2014 | Press monitoring
UCLA biologists have identified a gene that can slow the aging process throughout the entire body when activated remotely in key organ systems. Working with fruit flies, the life scientists activated a gene called AMPK that is a key energy sensor in cells; it gets activated when cellular energy levels are low. Increasing the amount of AMPK in...
Scientists create renewable fossil fuel alternative using bakteria
8.9.2014 | Press monitoring
The development is a step towards commercial production of a source of fuel that could one day provide an alternative to fossil fuels. Propane is an appealing source of cleaner fuel because it has an existing global market. It is already produced as a by-product during natural gas processing and petroleum refining, but both are finite resources....
Movable cytoskeleton membrane fabricated for first time
5.9.2014 | Press monitoring
Cells are complex objects with a sophisticated metabolic system. Their evolutionary ancestors, the primordial cells, were merely composed of a membrane and a few molecules. These were minimalistic yet perfectly functioning systems. Thus, "back to the origins of the cell" became the motto of the group of TUM-Prof. Andreas Bausch, who is member...
Tiny buckybombs could make bacteria explode
4.9.2014 | Press monitoring
Trying to fight off a virus army? Nanoscale explosives made from spherical carbon molecules could be the answer. Buckyballs, made from 60 carbon atoms arranged like a football, are usually stable. But Vitaly Chaban of the University of Southern Denmark in Odense and his colleagues suspected that adding common explosive ingredients like nitrates...
Nanoscale assembly line: Nanoscale production line for assembly of biological molecules
3.9.2014 | Press monitoring
Cars, planes and many electronic products are now built with the help of sophisticated assembly lines. Mobile assembly carriers, on to which the objects are fixed, are an important part of these assembly lines. In the case of a car body, the assembly components are attached in various work stages arranged in a precise spatial and chronological...
