news 2019

An international scientific consortium led by the cell biologists Volker Heussler from the University of Bern and Oliver Billker from the Umeå University in Sweden has for the first time systematically investigated the genome of the malaria parasite Plasmodium throughout its life cycle in a large-scale experiment.

An international research consortium with ETH participation demonstrates that marine plankton is more diverse in warm oceans than in polar seas, both in terms of species count and the biological activities of the plankton communities. Climate change could lead to a redistribution of plankton in the world's oceans.

The University of Geneva awards its 3R Prize to research that reduces the number of animals in experimentation through better selection of the compounds to be tested. Minimize the number of anti-infective compounds to be tested in an animal model by first selecting them on infected amoebas to retain only the most effective ones.

"The people who live around the Eqaluit River in the south-west of Greenland do know that there are char living in the river and its lakes", explains the evolutionary and fish biologist Carmela Dönz. "But they prefer to eat sea fish and take very little notice of the fish stocks in fresh water - which is one of the reasons why the fish appear to have little fear of people." Outside the region, the rivers and lakes along the coastline created by the retreating Greenland glaciers after the last ice age remain largely unknown.

Our soils filter drinking water and produces food. Soils only carry out these services, because they harbour thousands fungal and bacteria species which work together like the wheels in a clock mechanism. These are the conclusions reached by a study published in the renowned by researchers from Agroscope and the University of Zurich.

ETH researchers are using synthetic biology to reprogram bacterial viruses - commonly known as bacteriophages - to expand their natural host range. This technology paves the way for the therapeutic use of standardized, synthetic bacteriophages to treat bacterial infections. Bacteriophages ("phages" for short) are viruses that infect bacteria.

Stem cells of the teeth can contribute to the regeneration of non-dental organs, namely mammary glands. According to a new study from researchers at the University of Zurich, dental epithelial stem cells from mice can generate mammary ducts and even milk-producing cells when transplanted into mammary glands.

The microorganisms in our intestines could be linked to certain diseases such as Alzheimer's and diabetes. Researchers from the AD-gut consortium have developed a novel method - combining optical DNA mapping and statistics - for accurately distinguishing and rapidly identifying the various species in the microbiota.

An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the USI Institute of Computational Sciences (ICS), and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB), affiliated to USI, have developed a new Artificial Intelligence method that enables the analysis of complex biomedical data. The results of the research have been published in the renowned scientific journal Science advances .

The microorganisms in our intestines could be linked to certain diseases such as Alzheimer's and diabetes. Researchers from the AD-gut consortium have developed a novel method - combining optical DNA mapping and statistics - for accurately distinguishing and rapidly identifying the various species in the microbiota.

Some bacteria release a toxin that forms pores on other cells. EPFL scientists have studied the pore-forming toxin aerolysin and genetically engineered it to be used as a high-resolution sensor for biological molecules like DNA and proteins. Image: Molecular simulation of an engineered aerolysin pore (light blue color) embedded into a membrane bilayer (cream color) and translocating DNA (red color).

Bacterial cell division is controlled by both enzymatic activity and mechanical forces, which work together to control its timing and location, a new study from EPFL finds. A new study from EPFL scientists has found that bacteria use mechanical forces to divide, along with biological factors. The research, led by the groups of John McKinney and Georg Fantner at EPFL, came after recent studies suggested that bacterial division is not only governed by biology, but also by physics.

Monkeys and other animals communicate through calls that can differ depending on region. The common marmoset is one such animal that communicates using regional dialects. Researchers at the University of Zurich have now found out that they even adapt their dialect when they move to a different area.

Many life-threatening bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to existing antibiotics. Swiss researchers co-headed by the University of Zurich have now discovered a new class of antibiotics with a unique spectrum of activity and mechanism of action - a major step in the fight against antimicrobial resistance.

It is already known that zebrafish can flexibly regenerate their hearts after injury. An international research group led by Prof. Nadia Mercader of the University of Bern now shows that certain heart muscle cells play a central role in this process. The insights gained could be used to initiate a similar repair process in the human heart.

How does the brain control the mechanisms of memory so that it only remembers major events in a constantly changing environment? The group of Andreas Lüthi has now described a fundamental neuronal microcircuit that allows mice to learn about unexpected important events and adapt their behavior accordingly.

Patients who survive a cerebral hemorrhage may suffer delayed severe brain damage caused by free hemoglobin, which comes from red blood cells and damages neurons. Researchers at the University of Zurich and the UniversityHospital Zurich have now discovered a protective protein in the body called haptoglobin, which prevents this effect.

Working with clinicians from Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School, a team of EPFL researchers has developed a conformable electrode implant that will allow people with a dysfunctional inner ear to hear again. This new device could replace existing auditory brainstem implants, which have a number of shortcomings.

Ecosystems provide numerous benefits, supplying food, clean water and other resources. So, it is vital that ecosystem stability is maintained in the face of disturbances such as drought, heatwaves or nutrient inputs. Nutrient inputs can be particularly problematic in aquatic ecosystems if they lead to algal blooms.

Multidrug-resistant bacteria are found in half of all dog foods made from raw meat, researchers from the University of Zurich have found. Feeding pets a diet of raw meat, also known as a "BARF" diet, is a growing trend. The resistant bacteria in the raw food can be transmitted to the pets - and thus also to humans.