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Life Sciences
Results 21 - 40 of 395.
Life Sciences - Health - 21.11.2024
Controlled modification of genetic information
In a study recently published in "Nature Communications", researchers from MedUni Vienna and the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Paris show how dimerization of the RNA editing enzyme ADAR selectively alters its specificity at certain sequences. The knowledge gained opens up new possibilities to modulate the functions of ADAR1 via its dimerization for therapeutic purposes in autoimmune diseases or cancer.
Life Sciences - 18.11.2024

The return of cells to a stem cell-like state as the key to regeneration Many living organisms are able to regenerate damaged or lost tissue, but why some are particularly good at this and others are not is not fully understood. Molecular biologists Alexander Stockinger, Leonie Adelmann and Florian Raible from the Max Perutz Labs at the University of Vienna have now made an important contribution to clarifying this question in a new study.
Life Sciences - Health - 15.11.2024
New analytical method reveals structural peculiarities of tissues in mammals
Glycans are complex carbohydrates that coat all cells. They are crucial for cell communication and the coordination of vital organ processes. However, their diversity and differences between organs have so far been little researched. A research team from BOKU, MedUni Vienna and IMBA has now presented a scalable method that provides new insights into glycobiology.
Health - Life Sciences - 14.11.2024

Electrical stimulation of the spinal cord using adhesive electrodes on the skin is becoming increasingly important in the neurorehabilitation of people with spinal cord injury. The method can be used both to increase the mobility and to treat spasticity, which affects around 80 per cent of patients.
Health - Life Sciences - 14.11.2024

An artificial intelligence (AI)-based system called "FastGlioma" makes it possible to analyze the tissue removed from a brain tumor during a difficult operation. The US-Austrian team presents its latest development in the journal "Nature". In just a few seconds, it allows precise estimates to be made as to whether the tissue that has just been removed is tumor cells from a glioma or already healthy tissue.
Health - Life Sciences - 08.11.2024
SARS-CoV-2 ’steals’ our proteins to protect itself from the immune system
Researchers at the Medical University of Vienna and the Medical University of Innsbruck discovered that SARS-CoV-2 hijacks three important host proteins that dampen the activity of the complement system, a key component of early antiviral immunity. This significantly impairs viral clearance which may affect the course of both acute COVID-19 infections and post-COVID-19 sequelae.
Health - Life Sciences - 08.11.2024
New option for treating prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide. Despite medical advances in recent years, this type of tumour is still responsible for one in eight male cancer deaths in Austria alone. An international research team led by MedUni Vienna has now investigated a new strategy for the development of treatment options that not only slow tumour growth, but also stimulate the immune system to combat tumour cells.
Life Sciences - 29.10.2024

An international study led by MedUni Vienna has identified the transcription factor ONECUT3 as a regulator of the development of neurons in the hypothalamus. Transcription factors such as ONECUT3 are proteins that control the activity of genes. The hypothalamus is a region of the brain that acts as an interface between the brain and body through hormone production, to control metabolism, growth, parenting and others.
Life Sciences - Physics - 25.10.2024

Nonlinguistic Sounds Activate Language-Related Networks in the Brain A team of researchers, including psycholinguist Jutta Mueller from the University of Vienna, has discovered that newborns are capable of learning complex sound sequences that follow language-like rules. This groundbreaking study provides long-sought evidence that the ability to perceive dependencies between non-adjacent acoustic signals is innate.
Life Sciences - Health - 24.10.2024
Understanding Impacts of Mutations
The human genetic code is fully mapped out, providing scientists with a blueprint of the DNA to identify genomic regions and their variations responsible for diseases. Traditional statistical tools effectively pinpoint these genetic "needles in the haystack," yet they face challenges in understanding how many genes contribute to diseases, as seen in diabetes or schizophrenia.
Health - Life Sciences - 23.10.2024
Lyme borreliosis: New approach for developing targeted therapy
Lyme borreliosis is the most common tick-borne infectious disease in Europe. Up to 70,000 new cases are estimated each year in Austria alone. The bacterial infection can cause lasting health problems for patients. A MedUni Vienna research team has made significant progress in understanding the mechanism of infection and identified a potential way forward for the development of targeted therapies that do not rely on antibiotics.
Life Sciences - Health - 17.10.2024

Predatory marine bacterium could be used in medicine Researchers at ETH Zurich, in collaboration with microbiologists from the University of Vienna, have studied the unusual arsenal of weapons of a predatory marine bacterium called Aureispira down to the smallest detail. Among other things, it is a kind of "molecular grappling hook" that catches prey.
Agronomy / Food Science - Life Sciences - 16.10.2024

Study shows: Chickpeas are a drought-resistant legume plant with a high protein content Climate change has a negative impact on food security. An international research team led by Wolfram Weckwerth from the University of Vienna has now conducted a study to investigate the natural variation of different chickpea genotypes and their resistance to drought stress.
Health - Life Sciences - 11.10.2024
Identification of specific immune cells using fluorescence and digital histology in brain tumour operations
An international team of researchers with significant involvement from the Department of Neurosurgery at Vienna General Hospital and MedUni Vienna has made significant progress in the visualisation of difficult-to-detect brain tumours during surgery. The recently published study is the first to investigate the combined use of 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) and digital stimulated Raman histology (SRH), a new type of microscopic fluorescence analysis tool.
Life Sciences - Environment - 11.10.2024

ISTA scientists predict-and witness-evolution in a 30-year marine snail experiment Snails on a tiny rocky islet evolved before scientists' eyes. The marine snails were reintroduced after a toxic algal bloom wiped them out from the skerry. While the researchers intentionally brought in a distinct population of the same snail species, these evolved to strikingly resemble the population lost over 30 years prior.
Life Sciences - Health - 10.10.2024

How a bunch of seemingly disorganized cells go on to form a robust embryo Embryo development starts when a single egg cell is fertilized and starts dividing continuously. Initially a chaotic cluster, it gradually evolves into a highly organized structure. An international team of researchers including scientists from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) has provided new insights into the process, emphasizing the critical role of both chaos and order.
Life Sciences - Health - 07.10.2024

Despite the same pelvis-to-head ratio, Japanese macaques do not suffer the same birth complications as humans An international research team led by the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna has used long-term demographic data from Japanese macaques - a monkey species within the family of Old World monkeys - to show that, unlike humans, there is no maternal mortality in these primates linked to childbirth.
Health - Life Sciences - 25.09.2024
A Viral Close-Up
Almost everyone knows about HIV. Fewer people know about its relative, HTLV-1. However, HTLV-1 can cause serious illnesses, including cancer. To develop ways to combat this virus, understanding its structure is essential. Martin Obr and Florian Schur from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and US colleagues now show the virus in close-up in a new paper, published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology .
Environment - Life Sciences - 25.09.2024

Palaeontologists trace the influence of humans using predatory snail boreholes Predatory snails drill holes in the shells of their prey. Using these boreholes, a research team led by palaeontologist Martin Zuschin from the University of Vienna was able to create a time series of predator-prey relationships in the northern Adriatic over the past millennia.
Life Sciences - Environment - 17.09.2024

Mammals with distant evolutionary ties but similar ecological roles evolved comparable inner ear shapes A new study reveals the surprisingly convergent evolution in the inner ear of mammals. An international research team led by Nicole Grunstra from the University of Vienna and Anne Le Maître from the Konrad Lorenz Institute (KLI) for Evolution and Cognition Research (Klosterneuburg) showed that a group of highly divergent mammals known as Afrotheria and distantly related, but ecologically very similar mammals independently evolved similar inner ear shapes.