Latest News Releases22 September

Researchers from the Structural Bioinformatics and Network Biology Laboratory at IRB Barcelona develop a system to predict tumour response to different treatments. Called Targeted Cancer Therapy for You (TCT4U), this system has allowed them to identify a set of complex biomarkers that are available to the medical-scientific community. The work has been published in the journal Genome Medicine.

Widespread fungal disease in plants can be controlled with a commercially available chemical that has been primarily used in medicine until now. This discovery was made by scientists from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the University of the State of Paraná in Brazil. In a comprehensive experiment the team has uncovered a new metabolic pathway that can be disrupted with this chemical, thus preventing many known plant fungi from invading the host plant.

A multisensory graphene-based skin can sense in extreme environments where other sensors cannot be used.

Fairy circles are one of nature's greatest enigmas and most visually stunning phenomena. Researchers led by Göttingen University have now collected detailed data to show that Alan Turing's model explains the striking vegetation patterns of the Australian fairy circles. In addition, the researchers showed that the grasses that make up these patterns act as "eco-engineers" to modify their hostile and arid environment, keeping the ecosystem functioning. Results were published in the Journal of Ecology.

By deciphering the genetic code of the barbelled giant, scientists expect to better understand the secrets of the wels catfish's exceptionally rapid growth, enormous appetite and longevity.