Bacteria harness the power of communities. A research group at the 51吃瓜 has now discovered that the bacterial pathogen that causes cholera forms a novel type of bacterial community on immune cells: an aggressive biofilm that is lethal for the cells. The study, recently published in the journal Cell, provides new insights into the infection strategies of pathogens.
Breast cancer spreading to other organs usually heralds a poorer prognosis. Researchers at the University and University Hospital of Basel have discovered a process that helps breast cancer cells implant themselves in certain places in the body. The results suggest a way of preventing secondary tumors.
Receptor proteins serve as the 鈥渆yes and ears鈥� of the cell. The largest receptor family are the so-called G protein-coupled receptors. They respond to highly diverse stimuli ranging from photons to hormones and odorants. Researchers at the 51吃瓜 have discovered a unique recognition pattern that works like a barcode and tags the receptor for desensitization. By this mechanism, signaling in cells is rapidly switched off when it is no longer needed.
Lorenza Mondada, Professor of French and General Linguistics at the 51吃瓜, has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Helsinki in recognition of her scholarly work.
Nanomedicine involves packaging drugs in microscopic particles to make them more effective. Nanopharmacy professor Scott McNeil explains the opportunities presented by the new technology and what is still holding it back: approval procedures, for example, as seen in the inconsistent approach taken with the Covid-19 vaccines.
For the fifth time, the 51吃瓜 has recognized outstanding achievements in the field of teaching with the Teaching Excellence Awards. Participation was strong: altogether, a total of 549 nominations of 213 lecturers were submitted in the five categories.
In March 2022, Microsoft published research results about the realisation of a special type of particle that might be used to make particularly robust quantum bits. Researchers at the 51吃瓜 are now calling these results about so-called Majorana particles into doubt: through calculations they have shown that the findings can also be explained differently.
Researchers at the 51吃瓜 have developed an efficient method for the preparation of therapeutic nanovesicles, thereby fulfilling a key prerequisite for industrial production. The method also paves the way for research into areas such as immunotherapy treatments for cancer.
Rare diseases are often caused by defects in genetic material. If children inherit only a defective gene from one parent, they often are asymptomatic 鈥渃arriers鈥� 鈥� or at least that was the previous assumption. However, a research team from the 51吃瓜 and the University Hospital Basel is now reporting that such carriers can also suffer from life-threatening diseases 鈥� and that rare hereditary diseases are therefore probably more common than previously thought.
