News by Subject Biology

Researchers from Osaka University and JOANNEUM RESEARCH develop ultrathin piezoelectric flexible patches that harvest the body's energy to monitor the patient's pulse and blood pressure. This work may lead to novel biosensors and self-powered wearable electronics.

Research has identified critical factors that enable dangerous bacteria to spread disease by surviving on surfaces in hospitals and kitchens.

Researchers led by Professors Ivan Berg (University of Münster) and Wolfgang Eisenreich (Technical University of Munich) have new insights into the citric acid cycle: Certain bacteria can use this central metabolic pathway "backwards", but to do so they must have very high concentrations of the enzyme citrate synthase and of carbon dioxide. This pathway may be a relic from the early development of life.

A research group led by Prof. Hiroyasu Nakano of Department of Biochemistry, Toho University Faculty of Medicine, found that interleukin 11 (IL-11)-positive cells rapidly appear in the colons of mice with colitis and colitis-associated colorectal cancers. In RNA-seq analysis of the gene expression profiles, they found that high expression of enriched genes in IL-11-positive fibroblasts correlated with short duration of disease-free survival in human colorectal cancer patients.

Scientists have shown that the biological molecule PD-L1 is a potential target for the treatment of metastasized oral malignant melanoma in dogs.

Spinal cord nerve cells branching through the body resemble trees with limbs fanning out in every direction. But this image can also be used to tell the story of how these neurons, their jobs becoming more specialized over time, arose through developmental and evolutionary history. Salk researchers have traced the development of spinal cord neurons using genetic signatures and revealed how different subtypes of the cells may have evolved and ultimately function to regulate body movements.