News by Subject Biology

A scientific team has shown that the release of neurotransmitters in the brain is impaired in patients with schizophrenia who have a rare, single-gene mutation known to predispose people to a range of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Crenarchaeol is a large, closed-loop lipid that is present in the membranes of ammonium-oxidizing archaea. In comparison to other archaeal membrane lipids, crenarchaeol is very complex and, so far, attempts to confirm its structure by synthesizing the entire molecule have been unsuccessful. Organic chemists from the University of Groningen have taken up this challenge and discovered that the proposed structure for the molecule was largely, but not entirely, correct.

In addition to chemical factors, mechanical influences play an important role in the natural growth of human organs such as kidneys, lungs and mammary glands - but also in the development of tumors. Now a research team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has investigated the process in detail using organoids, three-dimensional model systems of such organs which are produced in the laboratory.

Researchers from Osaka University have found that protein phosphatase 1 binds to RIF1 at double-strand DNA breaks to promote repair by the non-homologous end joining pathway instead of the homologous recombination pathway. Given the key role of double-strand break repair in cancers such as hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, the insight gained from this study could help develop novel therapeutic options in the future.

UC San Diego researchers discovered that immunotoxins targeting the protein mesothelin prevent liver cells from producing collagen, a precursor to fibrosis and cirrhosis, in mouse models of human disease.