A novel peptide developed at the Universities of Bayreuth and Bristol is eminently suited for the targeted transport of molecules, for example of active substances and dyes, into the cells of mammals. The peptide is characterized by a dual function: It can enter the cell from the outside and interact there with a partner peptide. The partner peptide has to be previously placed inside the cell exactly where the transported molecules are to take effect. The transport system presented in the journal Nature Chemical Biology exemplifies the promising potential of a de novo design of peptides and proteins.
Some lung tumours do not respond to radiation therapy. This effect can be reversed by blocking an enzyme in the tumour cells, as Würzburg researchers report.
Anyone walking in the city has to adjust their gait again and again to kerbs or steps. Every person develops control strategies for the changes in muscle activity required for this, which protect them from tripping and falling accidents. Researchers at the University of Bayreuth have now analysed these strategies and their effectiveness for the first time, using computer simulations. They were able to show that a strategy based on visual perception, which prepares the muscles for differences in height at an early stage, protects far better than situational muscle reflexes. Their study is presented in "Scientific Reports".
Mass-spectrometry based proteomics is the big-data science of proteins that allows to monitor the abundances of thousands of proteins in a sample at once. It is therefore a particularly well suited readout to discover which proteins are targeted by any small molecule. An international research team has investigated this using chemical proteomics.
Similar to the vaccines against the coronavirus, RNA-based antibiotics could significantly improve modern medicine. Research teams from Würzburg have investigated the prerequisites that such antibiotics must meet for this strategy to work.
Proteins control and organize almost every aspect of life. The totality of all proteins in a living organism, a tissue or a cell is called the proteome. Using mass spectrometry, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) characterize the proteome, or protein complement of the genome, in important model organisms. In 2014, a team at the Chair of Proteomics and Bioanalytics reported a draft human proteome for the first time, followed by that of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana in 2020, and now that of the most common laboratory mouse.
Living conditions for forests at high elevations have changed significantly in recent decades as a result of climate change. In many mountain regions, they have become more favorable above the tree line than in lower-lying forested areas. Nevertheless, climate change has not yet led to forests adapting directly to this change and shifting to higher regions. This is confirmed by a new biogeographical study of the University of Bayreuth using the example of the Mediterranean island of Crete. The scientists present their research results in the journal "Forest Ecosystems". They warn of the possible consequences.
The nature park "Franconian Switzerland - Franconian Jura" is a biodiversity hotspot in Germany and exceptionally rich in habitats that are part of the EU's Natura 2000 network of protected habitats. The biodiversity is particularly high here in the pine forests that grow on the dolomite bedrock of the Northern Franconian Jura. A new study by the University of Bayreuth shows that the area of the Northern Franconian Jura covered by these forests has declined by more than 75 percent since 1990, and by as much as about 99 percent since 1950. In the journal "Biodiversity and Conservation", the scientists explain this dramatic loss of a valuable biodiversity resource.
Sparse data often make it difficult to track how climate change is affecting populations of insect species. A new study by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) has now evaluated an extensive species mapping database (Artenschutzkartierung, ASK) organized by the Bavarian State Office for the Environment (LfU) and assessed the population trends of butterflies, dragonflies and grasshoppers in Bavaria since 1980. The main finding: heat-loving species have been increasing.
Researchers have uncovered the inner workings of the molecular machinery that shapes chromosomes during cell division.
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