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Life Sciences
Results 41 - 60 of 1565.
Life Sciences - Environment - 07.10.2024
Reducing Herbivore Damage Using Biodiversity
Pesticides aren't always necessary: researchers at the University of Zurich have conducted a comprehensive field study showing that damage from herbivores can be reduced by using biodiversity within a plant species. Different plant genotypes can cooperate to help fend off herbivorous insects. Just like humans, plants interact with the individuals around them.
Life Sciences - 02.10.2024
How a bacterium becomes a permanent resident in a fungus
An organism as a tenant in another - in biology, this often works quite well. researchers have now shed light on how such a partnership of a cell in a cell can establish. Endosymbiosis is a fascinating biological phenomenon in which an organism lives inside another. Such an unusual relationship is often beneficial for both parties.
Life Sciences - Computer Science - 02.10.2024
Modeling the minutia of motor manipulation with AI
An AI research collaboration led by EPFL professor Alexander Mathis creates a model which provides deep insights into hand movement, which is an essential step for the development of neuroprosthetics and rehabilitation technologies.
Health - Life Sciences - 02.10.2024
Promising Genotyping Technique for Assessing Antimalarial Drug Efficacy
To estimate the efficacy of antimalarial drugs, distinguishing recurring from new infections is crucial. Researchers from Swiss TPH have now compared five genotyping methods to make this distinction and assessed their impact on drug efficacy. The results, published yesterday in the peer-reviewed journal The Lancet Microbe, could help confirm antimalarial resistance and inform WHO guidelines.
Health - Life Sciences - 30.09.2024
New target to treat severe autoimmune disease
Researchers at the University of Basel have made significant progress in understanding a rare but serious immune disease. The team has uncovered critical mechanisms involved in the cellular recycling process, thus providing novel therapeutic approaches. LRBA deficiency is a rare and severe autoimmune disorder that was first described in 2012.
Life Sciences - Health - 27.09.2024
How a protein keeps gene clusters quiet in the cell nucleolus
In a discovery that sheds light on the complex mechanisms of gene regulation, scientists at EPFL have uncovered a critical role for the protein ZNF274 in keeping certain gene clusters turned off by anchoring them to the cell nucleolus. Our DNA is not just a string of genes; it's a complex and dynamic structure where the spatial organization within the nucleus plays a crucial role in regulating which genes are turned on or off.
Health - Life Sciences - 26.09.2024
Programming cells to target brain tumours
Scientists from the University of Geneva and HUG have developed CAR-T cells capable of targeting malignant gliomas while preserving healthy tissue. Glioblastoma is the most common and most aggressive primary brain tumour, with an average survival after diagnosis of less than two years, and against which current treatments remain ineffective.
Life Sciences - 25.09.2024
How a butterfly invasion minimizes genetic diversity
Until a few years ago, the butterfly known as the southern small white could barely be found north of the Alps. That was before a Europe-wide invasion that brought a huge increase in the insect's distribution - at the same time as a rapid decrease in genetic diversity within the species. It took a while for zoologist Daniel Berner to notice that a butterfly species that wasn't local to his area had become established in his garden.
Life Sciences - 24.09.2024
Yeast chit-chat: How microorganisms talk food shortages
To grow and survive, tiny organisms such as yeast must sometimes adapt their nutrient sources in response to changes in the environment. FMI researchers have now found that yeast cells communicate with each other to use less favorable nutrients if they foresee a shortage of their favorite food. This communication is facilitated by secreted molecules that interact with a protein in mitochondria, the cells' energy factories.
Life Sciences - Health - 23.09.2024
Compact ’Gene Scissor’ Enables Effective Genome Editing
CRISPR-Cas is used broadly in research and medicine to edit, insert, delete or regulate genes in organisms. TnpB is an ancestor of this well-known "gene scissor" but is much smaller and thus easier to transport into cells. Using protein engineering and AI algorithms, researchers have now enhanced TnpB capabilities to make DNA editing more efficient and versatile, paving the way for treating a genetic defect for high cholesterol in the future.
Life Sciences - Campus - 23.09.2024
Complex genetic programmes at the root of our movements
A team from the University of Geneva has discovered the genetic programmes that allow motor neurons to retract from the spinal cord. This discovery opens up prospects for combating neurodegeneration. The motor cortex is made up of neurons responsible for muscle contraction. These neurons have cellular extensions called axons, which project from the cortex into the spinal cord.
Life Sciences - Health - 20.09.2024
Breathing and heartbeat influence perception
Study reveals new links between body and brain. The findings, conducted at the University of Fribourg, show how our body cycles modify our visual perception. Taking a deep breath to see more clearly may be more concrete than we thought. Breathing has a physiological impact on the perception of visual stimuli.
Life Sciences - Campus - 17.09.2024
Why some organs age faster than others
Scientists at the University of Geneva, Bern Inselpital and UNIBE have discovered that hidden mutations in non-coding DNA are responsible for the ageing of certain tissues, such as those in the liver. The accumulation of mutations in DNA is often mentioned as an explanation for the ageing process, but it remains just one hypothesis among many.
Life Sciences - Campus - 16.09.2024
Our state of attention is shaped by a handful of neurons
A team from the University of Geneva and ETH Zurich has shown how the locus coeruleus, a small region of the brain, manages the transition from intense focus to heightened global awareness. What enables our brain to go from intense concentration to a heightened state of alertness? A study carried out by neuroscientists at the University of Geneva , in collaboration with ETH Zurich, shows that a brain region called locus coeruleus (LC) and the neurotransmitter noradrenaline act as conductors, reorganising brain functions according to the mental demands of the moment.
Health - Life Sciences - 12.09.2024
Researchers from IRB discovered the function of the BRCA1 anti-cancer protein
Mutations in the BRCA1 gene increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer in females and prostate cancer in males. Despite more than 15,000 papers studying BRCA1 mutations and numerous clinical reports, the exact role of the BRCA1 protein has been poorly understood. A recent paper, published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature, provides novel insights into the BRCA1 function during the repair of broken DNA.
Life Sciences - Environment - 12.09.2024
How to select bacteria for environmental pollution control
A study by the University of Lausanne presents a new sorting method designed to optimize bacterial communities for efficient degradation of pollutants in the environment. The ability of microbes to metabolize a wide variety of compounds, including industrial pollutants of human origin, offers considerable potential for solving environmental problems.
Life Sciences - Health - 06.09.2024
An Unparalleled Map of the Brain-Spinal Cord Connection
Researchers at EPFL unlock a detailed understanding of brain and spinal cord interactions. The tool that paves the way for future research breakthroughs and innovative therapeutic approaches. The brain and spinal cord are the central pillars of the human central nervous system (CNS), orchestrating everything from movement to sensation.
Life Sciences - Health - 04.09.2024
Flexible tentacle electrodes precisely record brain activity
Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed ultra-flexible brain probes that accurately record brain activity without causing tissue damage. This opens up new avenues for the treatment of a range of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. Neurostimulators, also known as brain pacemakers, send electrical impulses to specific areas of the brain via special electrodes.
Health - Life Sciences - 03.09.2024
Insulin cells don’t need to team up
Our glycaemic balance is based on the ability of the pancreatic beta cells to detect glucose and secrete insulin to maintain our blood sugar levels. If these cells malfunction, the balance is broken, and diabetes develops. Until now, the scientific community agreed that beta cells needed the other hormone-producing cells of the pancreas to function properly.
Life Sciences - Chemistry - 02.09.2024
AI tool maps out cell metabolism with precision
Scientists at EPFL have developed an AI tool that creates detailed models of cellular metabolism, making it easier to understand how cells function. Understanding how cells process nutrients and produce energy - collectively known as metabolism - is essential in biology. However, analyzing the vast amounts of data on cellular processes to determine metabolic states is a complex task.