News • Nosocomial infections
Forcing a 'cease-fire' on resistant germs
To counteract the spread of resistant germs, researchers have developed new drug candidates that are able to render one of the most important hospital germs harmless.
News • Cardiology
Coronary artery disease: Machine learning predicts risk of death
A novel artificial intelligence score provides a more accurate forecast of the likelihood of patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease dying within 10 years than established scores used by health professionals worldwide. The research was presented at EuroEcho 2021, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
News • Phoenix 99 Bionic Eye
Bionic eyes gives hope to the blind
A bionic eye being developed by a team of biomedical researchers has shown to be safe and stable for long-term implantation in a three-month study, paving the way towards human trials.
News • COVID-19
Chewing gum could reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission
In experiments using saliva samples from COVID-19 patients, the gum, which contains the ACE2 protein, neutralized the virus.
News • COVID surveillance
Mobile robot detects social distancing breaches
A new strategy to reduce the spread of COVID-19 employs a mobile robot that detects people in crowds who are not observing social-distancing rules, navigates to them, and encourages them to move apart.
News • Kinematic self-replication
Xenobots: first living robots that can reproduce
AI-designed Xenobots reveal an entirely new form of biological self-replication—promising for regenerative medicine.
News • Microbiology
Using 3D printing technique to create biofilms
Researchers at the University of Rochester, and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands recently developed a 3D printing technique to engineer and study biofilms—three-dimensional communities of microorganisms, such as bacteria, that adhere to surfaces. The research provides important information for creating synthetic materials and in developing drugs to fight the negative effects of…
News • Chemotherapy approach
New receptor insights might leave cancer bitter
Bitter taste receptors do not only support humans in tasting. They are also found on cancer cells. A team led by Veronika Somoza from the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Vienna and the German Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich has investigated the role they play there. For this purpose, the scientists compiled and evaluated extensive…
News • Hazardous materials
Microplastic pollution aids antibiotic resistance
According to scientists at Rice University’s George R. Brown School of Engineering, discarded polystyrene broken down into microplastics provides a cozy home not only for microbes and chemical contaminants but also for the free-floating genetic materials that deliver to bacteria the gift of resistance.
News • Synthetic nucleic acid
New approach could help weak hearts
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction was previously considered largely untreatable. A research team at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC) led by Professor Michael Gotthardt has now succeeded for the first time in improving cardiac function with the help of a synthetic nucleic acid, as the researchers report in the journal Science…
News • Diagnostic advance
New AI assisted device could soon replace traditional stethoscope
A stethoscope is one of a doctor's most important instruments, but there haven't been any fundamental improvements in the device itself since the 1960s. Now, researchers at Aalto University have developed a device that analyses a broad range of bodily functions and offers the doctor a probable diagnosis, as well as suggestions for appropriate further examinations. The researchers believe that the…
News • Relapse research
Multiple myeloma: Tracking down resistant cancer cells
In multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, relapse almost always occurs after treatment. Initially, most patients respond well to therapy. However, as the disease progresses, resistant cancer cells spread in the bone marrow, with fatal consequences for the patients. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) and the National Center for…
News • New AI reveals
What is in our cells?
Artificial intelligence-based technique reveals previously unknown cell components that may provide new clues to human development and disease.
News • Drug delivery research
Nanoparticles to help cross the blood-brain barrier
Treating diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s is a challenge because drugs have to be able to cross the blood–brain barrier. As a result, the doses administered must be high and only a small fraction reaches the brain, which can lead to significant systemic side effects.
News • Gender equality in clinical trials
Women in Covid-19 research: a good start, but...
There has been a "positive shift" in inclusive gender practices in Covid-19 vaccine research, but there is still room for improvement, experts say. Women have been equally recruited and represented in randomised control trial research about Covid-19 vaccine safety, efficacy and effectiveness, according to a new study by The George Institute for Global Health and The Australian National…
News • Metastasis research
Study reveals risk of breast cancer spreading to other parts of the body
The risk of early breast cancer spreading to another part of the body ranges from 6% to 22%, according to the first results of a large and detailed global study of metastatic breast cancer presented at the Advanced Breast Cancer Sixth International Consensus Conference (ABC 6). The study also shows that certain women face a higher risk than others, including women diagnosed with breast cancer at…
News • Neurodegeneration
Scientists identify the cause of Alzheimer’s progression in the brain
For the first time, researchers have used human data to quantify the speed of different processes that lead to Alzheimer’s disease and found that it develops in a very different way than previously thought. Their results could have important implications for the development of potential treatments.
News • Team sports research
Coronavirus and soccer: study investigates transmission risk
A study by the Universities of Basel and Saarland shows that there is almost no risk of transmission of the Covid-19 virus on the field. They suggest that blanket quarantine measures for opposing teams are not justified if no close contact has taken place off the playing field. Governments have introduced various measures over the past 18 months in an effort to curb transmission of the Covid-19…
News • Sharper than ever
High-res image of bacterial bumps gives clues to antibiotic resistance
The sharpest images ever of living bacteria have been recorded by researchers at University College London, revealing the complex architecture of the protective layer that surrounds many bacteria and makes them harder to be killed by antibiotics.
News • Blindness prevention
Blue is the clue for diabetic retinopathy risk
Researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) demonstrate a thorough and non-invasive imaging technique to identify areas of the eye affected by diabetic retinopathy (DR), a progressive eye disease associated with diabetes and a leading cause of blindness. The researchers have found that blue light can be used to probe the depths of the eye and uncover areas affected by DR.
Video • Prevention of triple-negative BRCA
Breast cancer vaccine: clinical trial started
Researchers from Cleveland Clinic have opened a novel study for a vaccine aimed at eventually preventing triple-negative breast cancer, the most aggressive and lethal form of the disease. This phase I trial is designed to determine the maximum tolerated dose of the vaccine in patients with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer and to characterize and optimize the body’s immune response. The…
News • Irradiation
Adult stem cells transform faster with two lasers
Researchers from the University of Johannesburg find that shining a near-infrared laser on adult stem cells derived from human body fat, makes the stem cells replicate 54% faster.
News • Neurology
The 'thermostat' that prevents our brain from overheating
The mechanisms by which the body measures temperature and regulates its own body heat are vital, but still poorly understood. The discovery of the first heat sensor on nerve cells in the skin, for which the U.S. molecular biologist David Julius received this year's Nobel Prize for Medicine, was therefore pioneering. However, a very similar heat sensor, the protein TRPM2, is active not only in the…
News • Resistance mechanism discovered
How staphylococci protect themselves against antibiotics
The skin bacterium Staphylococcus aureus often develops antibiotic resistance. It can then cause infections that are difficult to treat. Researchers at the University of Bonn have uncovered an ingenious way in which a certain strain of Staphylococcus aureus protects itself against the important antibiotic vancomycin. The results have now been published in the journal Microbiology Spectrum.
News • Coronary microcirculation
New measurements improve diagnosis of ‘woman’s heart’
Researchers at the Catharina Heart and Vascular Center, together with Eindhoven University of Technology, have developed a new measurement method to analyze the smallest capillaries of the heart by measuring blood flow and resistance. The new method to assess coronary microcirculation allows cardiologists to make a clearer diagnosis. Until recently, the tests used for this purpose were not…
