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. The study was recently published in the „International Journal of Molecular Sciences“.

The scientific team led by Margarida Ruivo and Michiel Wijnveld from MedUni Vienna's Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology focused on the restriction-modification system (RMS) of Borrelia bacteria as part of the study. RMS refers to the protective mechanism of the Borrelia bacteria, which plays a decisive role in the defence against foreign genetic material (DNA) and can be described as a primitive immune system of these pathogens. "Our aim was to characterize the RMS of Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii, the main pathogens of Lyme borreliosis in Europe, and to understand its importance for the survival of these bacteria during infection of the host," says study leader Michiel Wijnveld, explaining the background to the research work.

Ampia, anche quest’anno, la partecipazione del Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche alla manifestazione genovese, in programma dal 24 ottobre al 3 novembre. Due le mostre: “Agorà. Scienza e matematica dal Mediterraneo antico” e “Ice Memory. Una missione davvero glaciale”, cui si aggiungono decine di appuntamenti tra laboratori, conferenze ed eventi speciali. L’Ente, inoltre, è presente al RAISE Village, il villaggio della tecnologia che mostra le più promettenti applicazioni di robotica e AI.

Prende il via giovedì 24 ottobre a Genova l’edizione 2024 del Festival della Scienza, manifestazione di cui il Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche è partner: ampia e variegata, anche quest’anno, la partecipazione della comunità scientifica dell’Ente, con eventi in programma fino a domenica 3 novembre all’insegna della parola chiave “Sfide”.
Due le mostre: l’Unità Comunicazione del Cnr propone “Agorà. Scienza e matematica dal Mediterraneo antico” (Palazzo della Borsa, Sala delle Grida), una mostra di grande impatto visivo che - attraverso 20 postazioni interattive- permette di sperimentare teorie e principi di matematica, studi di astronomia, teoremi di geometria, invenzioni sviluppate dall’antichità. Un vero e proprio viaggio nello spazio-tempo per conoscere alcuni dei più importanti studiosi che hanno contribuito a formare la cultura scientifica occidentale, da Archimede a Ipazia.

Ricerca dell’Università di Padova, in collaborazione con IRCCS “E. Medea” di Conegliano e Università di Cambridge, scopre relazione tra il funzionamento neurale in condizioni di riposo e il funzionamento cognitivo quotidiano in bambini di età prescolare.
L’attività cerebrale dei bambini a riposo cambia in base al sesso biologico e all’età? È possibile prevedere eventuali problemi comportamentali, emotivi o legati alle funzioni esecutive attraverso questa attività?
La risposta arriva dalla ricerca dal titolo Dynamic transient brain states in preschoolers mirror parental report of behavior and emotion regulation, pubblicata sulla rivista «Human Brain Mapping», guidata da Lisa Toffoli e Giovanni Mento del Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale dall’Università di Padova in collaborazione con Gian Marco Duma dell’IRCCS “E. Medea” di Conegliano e Duncan Astle dell’Università di Cambridge.

Researchers from Osaka University have revealed a close link between cells in a “polyploid” state and the accumulation of DNA damage, which may prove critical in developing treatments for certain drug-resistant cancers

Osaka, Japan – Polyploidy is a state where a cell contains more copies of the genetic material than the usual “diploid” cell, which contains two copies. Polyploidy often occurs in human diseases and cancers, and its effect on cell fate was unclear. Now, however, researchers from Japan have shown that polyploidy can be a double-edged sword when it comes to cancer and its treatment.

In a study published this month in Cell Death Discovery, researchers from Osaka University have revealed that polyploidy is closely linked to the accumulation of damage to the genetic material within the cell, while also allowing those cells to tolerate higher levels of this DNA damage.

Pan-Arctic light-emitting human activity map showing unlit areas versus lit areas with significantly increasing or decreasing light-emitting human activity from 1992 to 2013. (Image: Cengiz Akandil, University of Zurich; Natural Earth)

More than 800,000 km2 of the Arctic were affected by human activity in 2013, according to an analysis of satellite-derived data on artificial light at night. On average, 85% of the light-polluted areas are due to industrial activities rather than urban development. According to the international team led by UZH researchers, the results are crucial for sustainable development and nature conservation in this highly vulnerable region.

The Arctic is threatened by strong climate change: the average temperature has risen by about 3°C since 1979 – almost four times faster than the global average. The region around the North Pole is home to some of the world’s most fragile ecosystems, and has experienced low anthropogenic disturbance for decades. Warming has increased the accessibility of land in the Arctic, encouraging industrial and urban development. Understanding where and what kind of human activities take place is key to ensuring sustainable development in the region – for both people and the environment. Until now, a comprehensive assessment of this part of the world has been lacking.

Scientists from the UAB and Iowa State University have generated the genome assemblies of two hidden-neck turtles, unpublished until now. The results, which revealed a new three-dimensional structure of the genome within the phylogenetic group of reptiles, birds and mammals, will contribute to the development of more effective turtle conservation strategies, and to the study of the evolution of the genome and chromosomal organisation of vertebrates.

The study was led by researchers Aurora Ruiz-Herrera (UAB) and Nicole Valenzuela (Iowa State University), with the participation of researchers from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-UPF) and Earlham College. Published in Genome Research, it highlights the important role of chromatin, a three-dimensional structure into which genetic material folds and is packaged within the cell nucleus, in the regulation of gene function and its impact on evolution and speciation.

Un gruppo di ricercatori dell’Università Statale di Milano ha scoperto che fare pause mentre si cammina può aumentare notevolmente il dispendio energetico rispetto a farlo in modo continuo.
L’esperimento, pubblicato sulla rivista Proceedings of the Royal Society, ha dimostrato che camminare o salire le scale in brevi sessioni di 10-30 secondi fa consumare energia dal 20 al 60% in più che percorrere la stessa distanza senza pause. Questo significa anche che alzarsi dalla sedia per fare qualche passo ogni tanto o scegliere di prendere le scale può innalzare notevolmente il nostro consumo energetico giornaliero.

I risultati di uno studio internazionale coordinato dall’Università di Padova aprono nuove prospettive per indurre nelle cellule risposte efficaci, in grado di contrastare le metastasi tumorali.

Il mitocondrio è un organello presente all’interno delle nostre cellule con diverse funzioni, tra cui alcune fondamentali legate al metabolismo e alla produzione di energia. Pressoché tutte le cellule degli organismi eucarioti contengono numerosi mitocondri, che formano una estesa rete filamentosa all’interno di ciascuna cellula. Questa rete va incontro a continue divisioni e fusioni che accorciano e allungano dinamicamente i singoli mitocondri. In un articolo pubblicato sulla prestigiosa rivista Nature Cell Biology, un gruppo internazionale di ricercatori, coordinato dal professor Sirio Dupont, dell’Università di Padova, hanno mostrato l’esistenza di un meccanismo universale, comune a molti diversi tipi di cellule.

Recent research from the University of Helsinki sheds new light on the behaviour of the KRAS gene in two of the deadliest cancers—pancreatic and colorectal cancer. These findings suggest potential pathways for targeted therapies in KRAS-driven cancers.

KRAS, a gene known to be mutated in various cancers, has effects that are more complex than previously understood. While the role of cancer-driving, mutated forms of KRAS is well-known, this new work reveals the importance of the presence or absence of the normal, non-mutated version of KRAS.

Research published in Nature Genetics on Oct.14, by Yale Cancer Center researchers at Yale School of Medicine, found a higher concentration of a specific kind of DNA — extrachromosomal or ecDNA — in more aggressive and advanced cancers that could mark them as targets for future therapies.

Using data available from The Cancer Genome Atlas, the International Cancer Genomics Consortium, the Hartwig Medical Foundation, and the Glioma Longitudinal Analysis Consortium, the researchers considered more than 8,000 tumor samples, divided between newly diagnosed untreated tumors and those that had been through previous treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, and others. They found significantly higher amounts of ecDNA in tumors from previously treated patients, leading to the theory that ecDNA might give a survival advantage to those tumors.

“Our research suggests that ecDNA helps tumors become more aggressive,” said senior author of the paper, Roel Verhaak, the Harvey and Kate Cushing Professor of Neurosurgery at Yale School of Medicine and member of Yale Cancer Center. “EcDNA has a distinct mechanism and plays an important role, not just for breast or lung cancer, but across many cancer types.”