news 2023

New research reveals surprising diversity of gut bacteria responsive to inulin A groundbreaking study led by David Berry and Alessandra Riva from the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CeMESS) at the University of Vienna has significantly advanced our understanding of prebiotics in nutrition and gut health.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease in which the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is thought to play a role that has not yet been fully clarified. In particular, it was previously unclear why almost all people are infected with EBV in the course of their lives, but the virus only triggers MS in a small number of people.

New study explains development of the mammalian superior colliculus The superior colliculus in the mammalian brain takes on many important tasks by making sense of our environment. Any mistakes during the development of this brain region can lead to severe neurological disorders. ISTA scientist Giselle Cheung and colleagues have now, for the first time, delineated the pedigree and origin of nerve cells that make up the superior colliculus.

A US research team with significant involvement from MedUni Vienna has analysed the molecular structures of human T cells, providing an unprecedentedly detailed description of how the immune system works. The results, which have now been published in the top journal "Nature", could help to overcome the limitations of current immunotherapies and find new approaches for the future treatment of a variety of diseases such as autoimmune diseases or cancer.

Angiosperm flowers reached their greatest morphological diversity early in their evolutionary history An international team of researchers around botanists at the University of Vienna, Austria, has now analyzed the morphological diversity of fossilized flowers and compared it with the diversity of living species.

Flavonoids & Co: Microorganisms in the human gut utilise so-called beta-elimination to break down plant natural products and thus make them available to humans. Fruit and vegetables contain a variety of plant natural products such as flavonoids, which give fruits their colour and are said to have health-promoting properties.

Scientists develop new perspectives for leveraging brain sciences to combat global warming Today an international research team, including scientists from the University of Vienna's Environment and Climate Hub, introduces a unique approach in fighting the climate crisis. Kimberly Doell and colleagues provide a framework for using neuroscience as an ally in the fight against climate change.

By Philipp Jarke Using EEG and ECG data, researchers at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria and Graz University of Technology were able to prove that video conferences and online education formats lead to greater fatigue than face-to-face alternatives. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the increase in virtual interactions has created a new challenge: fatigue caused by video calls, also known as Zoom fatigue or videoconference fatigue.

Play songs shape the language skills of young children Parents often sing lullabies or happy play songs to their babies. But how do babies react to these everyday songs - and what role do they play in child development? A research team from the University of Vienna in collaboration with the University of East London investigated these questions in a recent study.

In a meta-study, a research team from the Institute of Environmental Biotechnology at TU Graz has provided evidence that the consumption of fruit and vegetables contributes positively to bacterial diversity in the human gut. Bacterial diversity in the gut plays an important role in human health. The crucial question, however, is where are the sources of this diversity? It is known that an important part of the maternal microbiome is transferred to the baby at birth, and the same happens during the breastfeeding period via breast milk.

Would you rather lay lots of eggs - or grow your own head back? In the evolutionary history of flatworms, some species apparently had to choose one of the two abilities. This is what a team of scientists found out when they investigated the regenerative ability of planarians. Bernhard Egger, who heads the Regeneration Group at the Institute of Zoology at the University of Innsbruck and was involved in the study, reports on the amazing properties of these animals .

Scientific milestone provides deeper insights into the evolution and biology of Octopus vulgaris Octopuses are fascinating animals - and serve as important model organisms in neuroscience, cognition research and developmental biology. To gain a deeper understanding of their biology and evolutionary history, validated data on the composition of their genome is needed, which has been lacking until now.

The DNA double helix is composed of two DNA molecules whose sequences are complementary to each other. The stability of the duplex can be fine-tuned in the lab by controlling the amount and location of imperfect complementary sequences. Fluorescent markers bound to one of the matching DNA strands make the duplex visible, and fluorescence intensity increases with increasing duplex stability.

The Department of Neurosurgery at MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna has recently begun using a new laser-based imaging technique that enables much faster tissue diagnosis during tumor surgery. With "Stimulated Raman Histology", a digital tissue section can be created directly in the operating room, which can be accessed and diagnosed after just a few minutes.

Researchers from the University of Vienna, University of Konstanz, and Albert Einstein College of Medicine uncover a potential environmental trigger for Parkinson's disease. Published in Environment International , a groundbreaking study from the Institute of Biological Chemistry and Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CeMESS) at the University of Vienna, in collaboration with the University of Konstanz and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, reveals a microbial metabolite's role in inducing Parkinson's-like symptoms.

Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease in which immune cells form tissue nodules in various organs, which can drastically impair organ function. Now a MedUni Vienna research team led by Thomas Weichhart from the Center for Pathobiochemistry and Genetics has developed an animal model that replicates the development of the disease in the heart and can contribute to research into sarcoidosis.

The cat larynx can produce purring sounds without cyclical neural input A recent investigation led by voice scientist Christian T. Herbst from the University of Vienna, published in Current Biology, delivers novel insights into how cats produce their purring sounds. A special 'pad' embedded in the vocal folds might explain why the cats can produce these low-frequency sounds.

Real-world climate change experiment reveals surprising soil response Recent research uncovers the resilience of certain soil microorganisms in the face of increasing drought conditions. While many bacteria become inactive during dry spells, specific groups persist and even thrive. This study, conducted by the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CeMESS) at the University of Vienna, offers ground-breaking insights into bacterial activity during drought periods, with implications for agriculture and our understanding of climate change impacts.

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.