One step closer to the mysterious circRNAs

29-Jun-2020

Ribonucleic acid, or RNA, is part of our genetic code and present in every cell of our body. The best known form of RNA is a single linear strand, of which the function is well known and characterized. But there is also another type of RNA, so-called “circular RNA”, or circRNA, which forms a ...

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Researchers are studying the Neandertal DNA found in modern humans using stem cells and organoids

22-Jun-2020

Protocols that allow the transformation of human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines into organoids have changed the way scientists can study developmental processes and enable them to decipher the interplay between genes and tissue formation, particularly for organs where primary tissue ...

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Researchers have for the first time uncovered the proteome of 100 organisms from all domains of life

19-Jun-2020

Proteins control life as one of the most important biomolecules - as enzymes, receptors, signal or structural building blocks. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) of Biochemistry have for the first time uncovered the proteomes of 100 different organisms. The selected specimens come from ...

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A connection with depressive moods could not be confirmed

17-Jun-2020

The less animal products someone consumes, the lower his body mass index on average and the less he tends to be extroverted. This is the result of a large-scale study by scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences. A connection with depressive moods as other ...

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High levels of emotionality and conscientiousness are indicators for stockpiling behavior

16-Jun-2020

People who feel more threatened by COVID-19 and rank highly on scales of emotionality and conscientiousness were most likely to stockpile toilet paper in March 2020, according to a new study by Theo Toppe of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. Following the ...

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According to a study, the number of undetected cases of infected persons differs significantly in different countries

11-Jun-2020

The demographic scaling model developed by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock and University of Helsinki makes it possible to estimate the actual number of Covid-19-infections in different countries with just a minimum of data. According to this model, the ...

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Scientists identify mutations in the genome caused by the intestinal bacterium Escherichia coli

08-Jun-2020

Some bacterial pathogens cause damage in the genomes of their infected cells which could lead to the initiation of cancer. While it is difficult to link an infection with an onset of cancer that arises many years later in life, researchers have been looking for definitive proof that such links ...

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Scientists found a method for the "green" production of the important starting material for the chemical industry

29-May-2020

Sometimes potentially useful enzymes are not easy to discover because their biocatalytic capabilities may go beyond their natural and thus known range of action. By recombining a newly discovered enzymatic capability, a research team from the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology led ...

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Neandertal progesterone receptor has a favourable effect on fertility

29-May-2020

One in three women in Europe inherited the receptor for progesterone from Neandertals – a gene variant associated with increased fertility, fewer bleedings during early pregnancy and fewer miscarriages. This is according to a study published by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for ...

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High-speed method for identifying and sorting cells requires no external cell labeling

27-May-2020

In medicine and biology, there is great interest in efficient and inexpensive methods for identifying and separating different cell types, for example for medical diagnostics or for regenerative therapies using stem cells. Up to this point, the method of choice has been the so-called flow ...

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