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Taurine-degrading bacteria influence intestinal microbiome An international team of scientists led by microbiologist Alexander Loy from the University of Vienna has discovered a new intestinal microbe that feeds exclusively on taurine and produces the foul-smelling gas hydrogen sulfide. The researchers have thus provided another building block in the understanding of those microbial processes that have fascinating effects on health.

Autoimmune diseases are complex conditions whose causes are diverse and have not been fully elucidated to date. A research team at MedUni Vienna has now discovered an immunoregulatory protein that could be linked to the development of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. -Rinl- is the name of the identified building block of the immune system, which may provide a new starting point for the development of immunomodulatory therapies.

Disruptions in lipid metabolism might affect platelet production. Scientists unveiled a deeper understanding of megakaryocyte differentiation and blood platelet production, a process crucial for maintaining healthy blood clotting and preventing excessive bleeding. The study featured in "Nature Cardiovascular Research," led by chemist Robert Ahrends from the University of Vienna and cardiologist Oliver Borst from the University of Tübingen, sheds light on the intricate role of lipids - the building blocks of cell membranes - in the formation of these vital blood components.

Innsbruck researchers are making a major contribution to a new international concept for aging research. A new framework for so-called biomarkers makes it easier to define the biological process of aging. In this way, the researchers are also opening up new avenues for the prevention of age-related diseases.

Researchers in Vienna have obtained the world's first gene sequences of the human roundworm from the Bronze Age, as well as the first gene sequences from prehistoric parasites in Austria. The analysis was conducted on human faeces from prehistoric miners in Hallstatt. The findings were published by a team from the Medical University Vienna, the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) and the Natural History Museum Vienna in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

The cell nucleus is surrounded by a spherical double membrane called the nuclear envelope. Scientists have long been intrigued by how this envelope can be elastic enough to accommodate shape changes that cells experience as they move through tissues, but also rigid enough to maintain nuclear integrity.

Researchers at TU Graz have gained new insights into the functioning of a protein found in bacteria, whose enzymatic activity is activated by blue light. Light affects living organisms in many different ways: for example, plants orient their growth direction towards the sun, while circadian rhythms in humans are controlled by daylight.

Gene flow from an extinct gorilla population to eastern gorillas discovered An international research study led by the University of Vienna (Austria) and the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE) in Barcelona (Spain), recently published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution , provides a better insight into the evolutionary history of gorillas.

A study conducted by researchers from the Department of Neurology at MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna has demonstrated for the first time that diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) can be significantly improved by additionally measuring the thickness of retinal layers in the eye. Use of the procedure, which is already available at the Departments of MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna, helps to detect the condition at an earlier stage and predict its progression more accurately.

The research group led by chemist Thomas Magauer has accomplsihed a divergent strategy to synthesize nine complex natural compounds. The developed method requires significantly less time and results in a variety of compounds with different structures and biological properties. Chemical synthesis enables the construction of complex molecules and active drug substances.

When people talk about a stroke, they are usually referring to ischemic stroke, in which an artery in the brain becomes blocked and affected areas of the brain are subsequently no longer supplied with nutrients and oxygen. Cerebral hemorrhage is another form of this medical emergency, in which a blood vessel bursts.

Dogs and humans process body postures similarly in their brains A study by researchers at the University of Vienna and the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna shows that information from body postures plays a similarly important role for dogs as it does for humans. The results offer new insights into how dogs and humans perceive each other and their environment.

PLUS: Pediatric Cancer: Vulnerabilities in the Immune Response against Metastases Discovered Scientists led by Nikolaus Fortelny, Paris Lodron University Salzburg, and Sabine Taschner-Mandl, St. Anna Children's Cancer Research, have gained new insights into the cell architecture and cell-cell communication of neuroblastoma metastases in a groundbreaking study.

In the quest to find the origin of the puzzling symptoms in four children, researchers from St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute, the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), and the Medical University of Vienna have discovered a completely new disease, linking disorders of blood formation, the immune system, and inflammation.

A new international study involving the Kepler University Hospital for Neurology in Linz has provided important insights into the optimal timing for starting blood-thinning therapy after stroke in patients* with atrial fibrillation. The results of this ELAN study (Early versus late initiation of direct oral anticoagulants in post-ischemic stroke patients with atrial fibrillation) were published in the renowned journal "New England Journal of Medicine".

Temporarily lowering the body temperature is considered a way to prevent or limit brain damage after resuscitation in the event of cardiac arrest. Researchers at MedUni Vienna's Department of Emergency Medicine have now analysed the results of several studies in a Cochrane Review and shown to what extent cooling methods can reduce the risk of brain damage and improve neurological outcomes after successful resuscitation.

Primate genomes analyzed by AI for clinical relevance of individual gene variants. New genome data from a large number of different monkey species generated by an international research team are providing new insights into the genetic causes of human diseases. With development of a deep-learning-based algorithm, they could serve as a basis for personalized medical treatment concepts in humans in the future.

At the Vienna University of Technology, a breakthrough was achieved in the production of important enzymes: Previously, they were extracted from horseradish roots (horseradish), but now a precise, clean, synthetic production was achieved in the laboratory . It is one of the most important enzymes in medical diagnostics: The so-called - Horseradish Peroxidase- (Horseradish Peroxidase) is used for many medical devices - often it is used when a color change of a test strip is to detect the presence of antibodies or other proteins.

The course of the chronic inflammatory nerve disease multiple sclerosis can vary greatly. Individualized therapies for MS sufferers require early and precise prediction of future disease activity. This is made possible by the combination of different biomarkers, as shown in a study by neuroimmunologist Harald Hegen at the University Clinic for Neurology.

Ants- brains are amazingly sophisticated organs that enable them to coordinate complex behaviour patterns such as the organisation of colonies. Now, a group of researchers led by Christian Gruber of MedUni Vienna's Institute of Pharmacology have developed a method that allows them to study ants- brain chemistry and gain insights into the insects- neurobiological processes.