news 2019

The neurotransmitter brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) acts in the muscle, so that during strength training endurance muscle fiber number is decreased. Researchers at the University of Basel's Biozentrum have more closely investigated this factor, from the group of myokines, and demonstrated that it is produced by the muscle and acts on both muscles and synapses.

In multiple sclerosis (MS), dysregulated immune cells periodically infiltrate the brain of afflicted patients, causing damages to neural transmission and neuronal loss. If not properly monitored and treated, the disease leads to accumulating disabilities that ultimately greatly restrict the daily life of patients.

The Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research is a leader in the field of DNA and RNA research. DNA has become the icon of modern bioscience but few people realize that it was our namegiver, who - almost a century before Watson and Crick - laid the chemical groundwork for the molecular breakthroughs that followed.

Acute myeloid leukemia stem cells elude the body's immune cells by deactivating a danger detector. The underlying mechanisms and the potential new therapeutic approaches that this gives rise to have been detailed by researchers from the University of Basel and University Hospital Basel in collaboration with colleagues in Germany.

EPFL scientists, working in association with colleagues at the University of Twente and the University of Pisa, have studied the link between the number of bristles on dandelion seeds and the ability of those seeds to travel long distances in a stable manner. Humans went to great lengths to design airplanes that can fly stably at cruising speed.

Researchers at UNIGE and at Maastricht University have demonstrated that the brain adapts to a person's listening intentions by focusing either on a speaker's voice or on the speech sounds that are being uttered.

From now on scientists can look at how living cells function and react under various experimental conditions, in parallel and throughout a the cell's lifetime. With the new 3D microscope unveiled today by EPFL spin-off Nanolive, researchers can observe the details of how cells operate - all the way down to their organelles.

The translation of the genetic code into proteins is a vital process in any cell. Researchers from the University of Basel have now uncovered important factors that influence the speed of protein synthesis in the cell. The results, recently published in "PNAS", serve as a basis to better analyze translational control in a wide range of cell types.

How do neurons process information? Neurons are known to break down an incoming electrical signal into sub-units. Now, researchers at Blue Brain have discovered that dendrites, the neuron's tree-like receptors, work together - dynamically and depending on the workload - for learning. The findings further our understanding of how we think and may inspire new algorithms for artificial intelligence.

Similar to insulin in humans, plants also produce peptide hormones that orchestrate internal processes and responses, including growth, development, and immunity. One of them is RALF23, which belongs to the large family of RALF plant peptides. Notably, the study revealed a novel recognition mechanism for the RALF23 peptide signals by plant receptors.

Data from Mental Work project, conducted as an experimental artwork at EPFL's Artlab, indicates that BMI is robust and accessible to the general public, spurring new research collaborations in Switzerland on user experience. Brain-machine interfaces are rarely found outside of medical clinics, where the disabled receive hours or days of training in order to operate wheelchairs with their minds.

Researchers at EPFL have developed a method to stimulate human stem cells to organize themselves into ordered layers of different cell types. Published , the method is based on microfluidics and can help better understand how tissues are formed in the embryo, setting the stage for fabricating functional tissues and organs for drug testing and transplantation.

UNIGE researchers have discovered a potential link between viral infections in the brain in childhood and the risk to develop auto-immune disease in adulthood. Although the exact causes of multiple sclerosis still remain unknown, it is assumed that the disease is triggered by a combination of genetic and environmental risk factors.

An international team of researchers involving members of the University of Basel's Biozentrum challenges the conventional understanding of the cause of Parkinson's disease. The researchers have shown that the inclusions in the brain's neurons, characteristic of Parkinson's disease, are comprised of a membranous medley rather than protein fibrils.

Studying the developing embryo of the 'frilled dragon' lizard, UNIGE researchers reveal that physical forces, rather than a genetic program, generate the characteristic folds of its spectacular collar. The frilled dragon exhibits a distinctive large erectile ruff. This lizard usually keeps the frill folded back against its body but can spread it as a spectacular display to scare off predators.

Following a stroke, antibodies that inhibit the signaling molecule Nogo-A can help repair blood vessels in the affected brain regions. This also promotes the regaining of motor functions, researchers at the University of Zurich have shown in a mouse model. The study opens up new avenues for treatment.

Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI in Villigen, Switzerland, have for the first time elucidated the structure of important enzymes in human cells that alter essential building blocks of the cellular cytoskeleton. This reveals the missing part of a cycle that regulates the build-up or breakdown of supporting elements of the cell.

Strongyloides stercoralis is a soil-transmitted threadworm that is endemic in many tropical and subtropical countries. In a nation-wide study in Cambodia, Swiss TPH scientists and their partners found that nearly a third of the population is infected with S. stercoralis. The results were published today in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

For the first time, Bernese researchers have been able to solve the structure of a transport protein and thus to describe the functional mechanism that plays a significant role in the survival of cancer cells. This is an important step towards developing effective inhibitors and fight tumor growth. Certain cancer cells depend on exporting the metabolite lactate, which accumulates during the generation on energy.

By combining genetic and environmental databases, researchers at EPFL are seeking to help biologists identify more accurately the animal and plant species most exposed to climate change, in order to develop appropriate conservation methods. Northern Morocco is home to a type of sheep that has a specific gene, developed over thousands of years of evolution.