news 2020

Researchers at the University of Basel have developed a precisely controllable system for mimicking biochemical reaction cascades in cells. Using microfluidic technology, they produce miniature polymeric reaction containers equipped with the desired properties. This "cell on a chip" is useful not only for studying processes in cells, but also for the development of new synthetic pathways for chemical applications or for biological active substances in medicine.

Until today neurorehabilitation is the only approach that promotes recovery after stroke. Researchers at the Neurology Department of the University of Bern and Inselspital have provided first evidence that sleep could be targeted to improve post-stroke recovery. espite spending nearly one-third of our life asleep, many of the biological mechanisms and functions of sleep remain a mystery to modern neuroscience.

Building the driving machinery of bacteria, the flagella, requires numerous proteins to be assembled. Adding sugar and the presence of a control point are two key steps identified by UNIGE scientists. To build the machinery that enables bacteria to swim, over 50 proteins have to be assembled according to a logic and well-defined order to form the flagellum, the cellular equivalent of an offshore engine of a boat.

The rodent Hippocampal formation is one of the most exhaustively studied regions in the mammalian brain but until now, there has not been a comprehensive knowledge base of its synaptic physiology. In a front cover paper published in the journal Hippocampus , researchers at EPFL's Blue Brain Project present a data-driven approach to integrate the current knowledge on the hippocampal CA1 region using an open-access, comprehensive resource.

About half of the people with multiple sclerosis have the HLA-DR15 gene variant. A study led by the University of Zurich has now shown how this genetic predisposition contributes to the development of the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis in combination with environmental factors. The decisive factor is the shaping of a repertoire of immune cells which - although they are effective in fighting off pathogens such as Epstein-Barr virus - also attack brain tissue.

Researchers at the University of Basel have discovered a new mechanism by which bacteria ensure that their outer cell membrane remains intact and functional even under hostile conditions. This mechanism is important for the pathogen's survival in the host. The study provides new insights underlying pathogenic virulence.

Humans are not the only beings that can identify rules in complex language-like constructions - monkeys and great apes can do so, too, a study at the University of Zurich has shown. Researchers at the Department of Comparative Language Science of UZH used a series of experiments based on an -artificial grammar- to conclude that this ability can be traced back to our ancient primate ancestors.

Bad attitudes lead to moral judgments rooted in our basic survival mechanisms. And scientists from the University of Geneva have demonstrated that they are linked to foul smells. Unhealthy behaviours trigger moral judgments that are similar to the basic emotions that contribute to our ability to survive.

A study by the Brain Research Institute at UZH reveals that early trauma leads to changes in blood metabolites - similarly in mice and humans. Experiments with mice have show that these potentially harmful effects on health are also passed to the next generation. The researchers have identified a biological mechanism by which traumatic experiences become embedded in germ cells.

Many cells in the body must pass through tissue, which sometimes requires them to get out of tight corners. An international research team co-led by ETH Zurich has now examined how cells recognise and escape from such bottlenecks. Among the results of the team's work are new pointers for how to improve immunotherapy.

A new study by EPFL researchers shows how RNA species called TERRA muster at the tip of chromosomes, where they help to prevent telomere shortening and premature cell aging. Molecules that accumulate at the tip of chromosomes are known to play a key role in preventing damage to our DNA. Now, researchers at EPFL have unraveled how these molecules home in on specific sections of chromosomes-a finding that could help to better understand the processes that regulate cell survival in aging and cancer.

Studying bacterial biofilms, EPFL scientists have discovered that mechanical forces within them are sufficient to deform the soft material they grow on, e.g. biological tissues, suggesting a -mechanical- mode of bacterial infection. The vast majority of bacteria in the world live on surfaces by forming structures called -biofilms-.

Whether a lake was once polluted with excess nutrients is reflected even decades later in the community of bacteria living on these nutrients in the sediment. However, there is still surprisingly little research into how microbes in the sediment cooperate. From a global perspective, lake sediments are important carbon sinks.

In a study, researchers from Basel unraveled mechanisms orchestrating organoid formation and intestinal regeneration. Using a unique image-based screening approach, the researchers identified a compound that improves intestinal regeneration in mice. The last decade has seen a boom in the field of organoids, miniature organs grown from stem cells in vitro.

Intestinal organoids recapitulate not only the structure of intestinal epithelium but also its ability to regenerate following damage. Using this research tool, the group of Prisca Liberali unraveled mechanisms orchestrating organoid formation and intestinal regeneration with a unique image-based screening approach.

Focused ultrasound waves help ETH researchers to deliver drugs to the brain with pinpoint accuracy, in other words only to where their effect is desired. This method is set to enable treatment of psychiatric and neurological disorders and tumours with fewer side effects in the future. Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a method for concentrating and releasing drugs in the brain with pinpoint accuracy.

How do animals produce and perceive biological information in sounds? To what extent does the acoustic structure and its associated meaning change during evolution? An international team led by the University of Zurich and the University of Saint-Etienne reconstructed the evolutionary history of an animal communication system, focusing on drumming signals of woodpeckers.

Scientists have measured the molecular footprint that aging leaves on various mouse and human tissues. Using the data, they have identified likely regulators of this central process. Time may be our worst enemy, and aging its most powerful weapon. Our hair turns grey, our strength wanes, and a slew of age-related diseases represent what is happening at the cellular and molecular levels.

Scientists have observed - for the first time in living cells - the way mitochondria distribute their transcriptome throughout the cell, and it involves RNA granules that turn out to be highly fluid. Mitochondria are present in all eukaryotic cells: in our cells, in mammalian cells, in the cells of plants and even of fungi.

Researchers have developed a new generation of microelectrode-array chips for measuring nerve impulses, enabling studies of how thousands of nerve cells interact with each other. For over 15 years, ETH Professor Andreas Hierlemann and his group have been developing microelectrode-array chips that can be used to precisely excite nerve cells in cell cultures and to measure electrical cell activity.