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Metabolic disorders play a central role in many common conditions, including Alzheimer's, depression, diabetes and cancer, which call for reliable as well as non-invasive diagnostic procedures. Until now, radioactive substances have been administered as part of the process of mapping glucose metabolism in the brain.

The connections between the structure of the brain and its function are a key focus of neuroscience. A new Medical University of Vienna study involving a team of international partners has been looking at evolution and its relationship with the capabilities of human and animal brain architecture. The findings showed that the shape of the brain has developed in parallel with the organ's function throughout the course of evolution.

By Falko Schoklitsch The new and patented method for the production of the important mRNA vaccine component pseudouridine is more efficient, sustainable and cost-effective than the previously used chemical synthesis. Researchers from the Institute of Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering at TU Graz and the Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (acib) have developed a novel method for the production of central components of mRNA vaccines and applied for a patent.

Previously unknown group of bacteria in the deep sea regulates energy balance A team of international researchers led by Federico Baltar of the University of Vienna and José M González of the University of La Laguna has identified a previously unknown group of bacteria, called UBA868, as key players in the energy cycle of the deep ocean.

Among the biggest environmental problems of our time, microand nanoplastic particles (MNPs) can enter the body in various ways, including through food. And now for the first time, research conducted at MedUni Vienna has shown how these minute particles manage to breach the blood-brain barrier and as a consequence penetrate the brain.

Medicine & Science In recent years, ultrasound brain therapies have gained importance worldwide and are considered a promising form of therapy for various neurological and psychiatric diseases. The Medical University of Vienna, together with the University of Toronto, plays a leading role in the development and research of applications for these new therapies.

Smart heating saves bees from cold death Up to a third of bee colonies worldwide die over the winter, often due to excessively low temperatures. In cooperation with the Swiss École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), the team of the Artificial Life Lab at the University of Graz has developed a high-tech honeycomb that can monitor the animals during the cold season and regulate the heat supply in the hive.

Studies & Further Education Carinthia University of Applied Sciences and the Medical University of Vienna have launched a cooperation project to address the sustainable interlinking of basic university research and applied brain research. Seven doctoral positions will be publicised for this purpose with research starting in the winter semester 2023/24.

Bioacoustic research on voice production reveals similarities between toothed whales and humans Voice production in toothed whales - which also include dolphins - follows a similar physical mechanism as in humans. This is the result of a recent study: Biophysicist and voice researcher Christian Herbst from the Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology at the University of Vienna comments on the results of this work in the renowned journal Science and emphasizes how important combined research approaches are in order to understand the acoustic world around us.

Molecular biology phylogenetic tree provides new insights into cartilaginous fish evolution Cartilaginous fish have changed much more in the course of evolution than previously assumed. Evidence for this thesis was provided by molecular biological data on fossil remains of Protospinax annectans , an already highly evolved shark from the late Jurassic.

When proteins are produced in the pharmaceutical industry, they are often initially misfolded and have to be rearranged. At TU Wien, this is being studied in detail in a new CD laboratory . Certain proteins are among the most important products of the pharmaceutical industry - such as insulin or interferons, which are used to treat diabetes, cancer or viral diseases.

A new genus of fungi and a previously unknown species of fungi have been named by Innsbruck mycologists after their place of discovery, Tyrol. Ursula Peintner and Martin Kirchmair from the Institute of Microbiology at the University of Innsbruck have named their new discoveries "Tyroliella" and "Penicillium tirolense".

Medicine & Science In stem cell transplants, which are used for the treatment of leukaemia, the patient's haematopoietic system is eliminated and replaced by haematopoietic cells from donors. Even though the amount of complications occurring in this process is steadily decreasing due to medical progress, the exact mechanisms for the restoration of the immune system in these patients have not yet been conclusively clarified.

A brain's own GPS helps us navigate by detecting the movements of fellow humans around us . Grid cells not only help us navigate our own paths in a complex environment, but also help us analyze the movements of other people, as scientists from the University of Vienna have now shown for the first time.

Medicine & Science Christoph Bock's team at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine at the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Artificial Intelligence of MedUni Vienna established a catalog of DNA methylation across 580 animal species. These data ena-bled a detailed dissection of the evolution of epigenetic regulation and the epigenome.

Researchers at the University of Vienna and ETH Zurich cultivate "missing link" microorganism How did the complex living things on earth come into being? This is one of the great unanswered questions in biology. A collaboration between the research groups of Christa Schleper at the University of Vienna and Martin Pilhofer at ETH Zurich has brought the answer one step closer.

A long-necked dinosaur from northern Germany was a so-called nest fledger Europasaurus was a long-necked, herbivorous dinosaur on four legs. The dinosaur lived in the late Jurassic period about 154 million years ago on a small island in what is now northern Germany. Researchers from the Universities of Vienna and Greifswald have now examined fossil skull remains of Europasaurus using computer tomography.

Leukemic cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (L-CTCL) is a rare type of skin cancer that presents varied clinical features and symptoms. In a recently published study by the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna and the Medical Universities of Vienna and Graz, the researchers managed to integrate the genomic data from affected patients with pharmacologic studies.

Scientists have discovered for the first time a bacterium in Lake Gossenköllesee in Tyrol that uses two different mechanisms to obtain energy from light. This could be an adaptation to the very pronounced change of seasons in the Alps. The change of seasons is clearly noticeable in the Alps. Moderate temperatures with a high exposure to light in summer give way to months with great cold and only little sunlight in winter.

New study shows how babies order visual perceptual impressions While adults sort visual impressions at lightning speed, babies have to learn this first. This ability is important for finding their way in everyday life. Until now, it was unclear whether visual perception in the brains of babies is fundamentally different from that of adults before language acquisition.