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A study group at MedUni Vienna has identified a regulatory loop controlled by leptin, by which this adipocyte-derived hormone regulates hepatic lipid metabolism via the autonomic nervous system. The study provides evidence that this adipose tissue-brain-liver axis, previously identified in animal models, also exists in humans and is opening up new approaches for treating metabolic diseases such as fatty liver disease.

It is now well known that viruses can cause infectious diseases ranging from COVID-19 to AIDS to Ebola. However, medical science also assumes that viruses play a role in about ten percent of cancers. An international research team led by MedUni Vienna and the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology in Vienna has now shown that human papillomavirus 42 (HPV42) drives the development of a particular type of skin cancer.

Early detection of Alzheimer's disease is critical if patients are to receive timely and appropriate care and potential treatments and preventive measures are to be used to the best possible effect. Scientists have so far identified several important risk factors that may trigger or accelerate dementia.

Researchers at MedUni Vienna have discovered that neurons have an emergency back-up system to enable them to remain functional even when their energy supply is disrupted. As in many areas of technology, an emergency back-up serves to compensate for any energy supply failures experienced by neurons. The results of the study have now appeared in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Mammalian sounds in general may be more flexible than previously thought Researchers at the University of Vienna used an acoustic camera that can visualize sound pressure to study the sounds made by Asian elephants. The animals utter their low-frequency sounds mostly from the trunk, or simultaneously from the mouth and trunk, and only rarely from the mouth alone.

Evolution of longitudinal division and multicellularity in oral bacteria. To survive in the oral cavity, bacteria have evolved to divide along their longitudinal axis without separating from each other. This is what a research team led by cell biologist Silvia Bulgheresi of the University of Vienna and microbial geneticist Frédéric Veyrier of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) recently discovered.

Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency is a genetic disorder that often leads to serious damage to the lungs and liver. Although there are already therapeutic measures available for alleviating pulmonary emphysema caused by the missing enzyme, the precise background to the associated liver damage was hitherto unclear and there was no known treatment option.

Scientists of the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) and the University of Vienna believe that natural causes for the mass development of algae are unlikely. Recent investigations substantiate the suspicion that mass development of a toxic brackish water alga has taken place in the Oder River.

It is essential to assess the severity of multiple sclerosis (MS) in order to choose appropriate therapeutic measures, but this cannot be reliably done using existing methods. A MedUni Vienna study now shows for the first time that the retina can be used as a prognostic marker. Analyses revealed that retinal layer thinning as a result of an MS relapse predicts the severity of future relapses and, hence, the likelihood of disability.

An Austrian study led by MedUni Vienna showed that active brain metastases in breast cancer patients are partially or even completely regressed by a novel class of drug. This is a chemical conjugate of an antibody and a chemotherapy drug that, according to current findings, opens up a completely new avenue in oncological research and targeted therapy.

A multidisciplinary study led by Vanja Nagy (LBI-RUD/CeMM/Medical University of Vienna) and Josef Penninger (UBC/IMBA) characterized a novel gene, known as FIBCD1, to be likely causative of a new and rare neurodevelopmental disorder. Using data from two young patients with neurological symptoms, the researchers from both groups found evidence of a novel function for the FIBCD1 gene in the brain, and a potentially pivotal role in diseases such as autism, ADHD, schizophrenia, and neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer-s.

One in two premature babies receives transfusions of red blood cells (RBC) due to anaemia. There are no generally accepted clinical guidelines for the degree of anaemia necessitating blood transfusions. MedUni Vienna researchers have now conducted a critical review of the currently available literature.

Since 2020, Austria has played an internationally pioneering role in monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic by sequencing virus particles from wastewater samples. A recent study by CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the Medical University of Vienna, the University of Innsbruck, and many other collaboration partners now demonstrates unprecedented detail and accuracy when it comes to analyses of how wastewater reflects virus variant dynamics.

A scientific team from MedUni Vienna's Center for Brain Research has now identified specific cells that regulate the transmission of information between brain areas. This discovery forms the basis for the development of new treatment options for neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and autism, which are characterised by impaired coordination of information flow in the brain.

A drug used in the clinical treatment of angina symptoms also has an anti-inflammatory effect and reduces atherosclerotic plaques in blood vessels - thereby reducing the risk of heart attack or stroke. The study, led by MedUni Vienna and including access to data from Harvard Medical School, has now been published in the highly regarded journal "PNAS".

A collaboration between researchers at the Center for Virology of the Medical University of Vienna and the Pasteur Institute in Paris has provided unexpected insights into the atomic interactions of the tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus in infected cells. In particular, the researchers identified a new molecular switch that is used to control the processes of virus assembly, virus maturation and entry into new cells.

Facial reconstruction possible through DNA analyses An international team led by The University of Vienna and the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology in collaboration with the National Museum of Korea has successfully sequenced and studied the whole genome of eight 1.700-year-old individuals dated to the Three Kingdoms period of Korea (approx. BC-668 AD).

Scientists say more environmental pollutants should be considered in species protection Environmental chemical pollution threatens biodiversity. However, the complexity of this pollution remains insufficiently recognised by decision-makers - this is what international researchers led by Gabriel Sigmund from the University of Vienna and Ksenia Groh from the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) argue in the most recent issue of "Science".

Two unrelated worm phyla give clues on how sex chromosomes might have evolved Studying two highly divergent phyla of worms that contain numerous parasites that cause human and livestock diseases, the research group of Qi Zhou from the University of Vienna and Zhejiang University, sheds light on how sexual reproduction and subsequent great diversity of sex chromosomes might have evolved.

Research at the University of Vienna could solve mystery of human evolution Using the latest scientific methods, Tom Higham and Katerina Douka from the University of Vienna want to solve a great mystery of human evolution: Why are we the only humans left? Higham and Douka were the first ones to find a first-generation offspring of two different types of human.