news 2020

An international team of scientists reveals the genetic makeup of the people who lived in the Caribbean between about 400 and 3,100 years ago-at once settling several archaeologic and anthropologic debates, illuminating present-day ancestries and reaching startling conclusions about Indigenous population sizes when Caribbean cultures were devastated by European colonialism beginning in the 1490s.

By Susanne Eigner Researchers from TU Graz and acib succeed in the first enzyme-driven biocatalytic synthesis of nucleic acid building blocks. This facilitates the development of antiviral agents and RNA-based therapeutics. Due to the COVID 19 pandemic and the associated intensive search for therapeutics and vaccines, the chemical substance class of nucleosides is experiencing an enormous increase in interest.

Computational design of novel protein structures is a promising tool to make superior biological materials with tailor-made properties, new pharmaceuticals or complex fine chemicals. Over the last two years research in my group focused on developing methods to design and functionalize de novo proteins.

By Christoph Pelzl The role of the enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase 3 in the blood pressure-regulating renin-angiotensin system was investigated in the inter-university cooperation project BioTechMed-Graz. The results could pave the way for new therapies for cardio-renal diseases. The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) becomes active at low blood pressure and forms angiotensin II, a hormone that causes blood vessels to constrict, causing blood pressure to rise again.

How extremophilic bacteria survive in space for one year Galactic cosmic and solar UV radiation, extreme vacuum, temperature fluctuations: how can microbes exposed to these challenges in space survive? An international team around Space Biochemistry group at the University of Vienna investigated how the space-surviving microbes could physically survive the transfer from one celestial body to another.

In order to analyze tumors, they have to be cut into thin slices. Now, a new technology has been developed that makes pieces of the tumor visible in 3D without cutting them. After cancer surgery, the crucial question is: Are there possibly cancer cells left behind that can continue to grow, or has the entire tumor actually been removed? To find out, the tumor is examined by pathologists.

Taking a look at generosity within the crow family reveals parallels with human evolution. Working together to raise offspring and increased tolerance towards group members contribute to the emergence of generous behavior among ravens, crows, magpies and company - similarly as it did for our human ancestors.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can become more efficient and reliable if it is made to mimic biological models. New approaches in AI research are hugely successful in experiments. Artificial intelligence has arrived in our everyday lives-from search engines to self-driving cars. This has to do with the enormous computing power that has become available in recent years.

By Susanne Eigner Researchers from TU Graz and Ruhr University Bochum show in the journal ACS Catalysis how the catalytic activity of cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, can be significantly increased. This brings biotechnological and thus eco-friendly application a big step closer. Cyanobacteria, despite staining water green through their special pigments, are colloquially known as "blue-green algae", and convert light energy into chemical energy particularly effectively thanks to their highly active photosynthetic cells.

Ein ForscherInnen-Team um Sigurd Lax, Professor für Pathologie an der Johannes Kepler Universität Linz und Vorstand des Instituts für Pathologie des Landeskrankenhauses Graz II hat gemeinsam mit Kollegen der Medizinischen Universität Graz und der Medizinischen Universität Wien eine Studie zur postmortalen Virendynamik von SARS-CoV-2 veröffentlicht.

Scientists reveal key steps in the formation of the recycling cen-ters of the cell Autophagy, from the Greek for 'self-eating', is an essential process that isolates and recycles cellular components under conditions of stress or when resources are limited. Cargoes such as misfolded proteins or damaged organelles are captured in a double membrane-bound com-partment called the autophagosome and targeted for degradation.

Threatened with extinction despite perfect adaptation Angel sharks are sharks, but with their peculiarly flat body they rather resemble rays. An international research team led by Faviel A. López-Romero and Jürgen Kriwet of the Institute of Palaeontology has now investigated the origin of this body shape.

Soils play a major role when it comes to the long-term storage of CO2 and the resulting reduction of this gas in the atmosphere - therefore they can contribute to slowing down climate change. In order to gain a better understanding of these mechanisms, it can be helpful to look at the microscopic level of soil microorganisms.

By Christoph Pelzl The e-prop learning method developed at Graz University of Technology forms the basis for drastically more energy-efficient hardware implementations of Artificial Intelligence. The high energy consumption of artificial neural networks' learning activities is one of the biggest hurdles for the broad use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), especially in mobile applications.

By Christoph Pelzl New findings by researchers led by TU Graz computer scientists Wolfgang Maass and Robert Legenstein on neural information processing in the brain could enable more efficient AI methods. Additional can be found at the end of the message Specifically, the researchers have succeeded in mathematically modelling the emergence and interaction between so-called "assemblies".

Improving our understanding of genome structure and function is central to biology and medicine. My research group uses computational models to study the functional potential of each of the three billion pairs of chemical bases in the human genome. Ultimately, we are paving the way to designing personalized interventions against disease, which technological advancements are finally pushing toward reality.

Postgenomic technologies reveal new mechanism of stress-induced chemoresistance Resistance of cancer cells against therapeutic agents is a major cause of treatment failure, especially in recurrent diseases. An international team around the biochemists Robert Ahrends from the University of Vienna and Jan Medenbach from the University of Regensburg identified a novel mechanism of chemoresistance which has now been published in "Nature Communications".

Advances in neuroscience research and microscopy: Researchers look deep into organs and nervous systems of animals, ranging from squids and worms to fish and salamanders. Analyses of individual cells in the context of whole organs or tissues is becoming increasingly important in biology. A standard approach so far was to cut larger tissues into thin layers, study each of these sections, and then piece the information again together into a 3D model.

How could the tiny, tightly connected parts of the ear adapt independently to the amazingly diverse functional and environmental regimes encountered in mammals? A group of researchers from the University of Vienna and the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research proposed a new explanation for this evolutionary puzzle.

Stimulating the vagus nerve in the ear can help relieving chronic pain. TU Wien and MedUni Vienna have developed novel, sophisticated methods for electric stimulation of the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve plays an important role in our body. It consists of various fibres, some of which connect to the internal organs, but the vagus nerve can also be found in the ear.