Deceiving cancer to facilitate treatment

The effect of the phenotypic plasticity of cancer cells and how to exploit it

30-Oct-2023 - Cancer cells are notorious for rapidly changing their phenotype, driving within-host spread and evading treatment. Scientists in Plön used a mathematical model to understand the role of a signal used by cancer cells to control their phenotype. By manipulating these signals, cancer cells can be ...

Evolving viruses to fight bacterial infections

08-Aug-2023 - Multidrug-resistant bacterial infections are one of the most pressing issues in medicine, a situation that is only expected to worsen in the coming decades. The problem is being addressed not only by developing new antibiotics but also by studying antibiotic alternatives, such as phages. Among ...

New insights into the evolution of the plague pathogen

A research team from Kiel University and MPI-EB identifies genetic factors that were acquired by the pathogen Yersinia pestis during its recent evolution

07-Aug-2023 - The origins of the plague go back to the Neolithic Age, the oldest findings of the causative pathogen Yersinia pestis come from human bones around 5000 years old. In the history of the plague, the late antique Justinianic plague from the sixth century and the so-called Black Death of the late ...

Novel way to identify still unknown pathogens

Evolutionary trade-offs: Balancing genetic disease risks and pathogen protection

02-Feb-2023 - Certain genes can exist in different, functionally divergent variants in the individuals of a species. If they lead to clear differences, for example in a phenotype or susceptibility to disease, this is known in biology as a polymorphism. Typical examples are a number of genes whose variants are ...

Sequential antibiotic therapy in the laboratory and in patients

Rapid switching between different antibiotics could prevent the evolution of resistance and lead to successful treatment of patients

17-Jan-2023 - Recent research results from the Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön (MPI) suggest that rapid switching of antibiotics during the treatment of a patient could successfully counteract the evolution of resistance. However, the optimal speed of switching the drugs depends on ...

Young genes adapt faster than old ones

Findings demonstrate how gene evolution occurs as an “adaptive walk” through time

16-Sep-2022 - A new study from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön and the University of Sussex in the UK shows that the age of a gene determines how fast they adapt. These findings demonstrate how gene evolution occurs as an “adaptive walk” through time. New species arise and evolve ...

Why do we age?

Mathematical modelers are on the trail of the theory behind the evolution of aging

08-Feb-2022 - The evolution of aging is a particularly exciting field in theoretical evolutionary research. Scientists are trying to figure out why and when the phenomenon of aging developed over the course of evolution. Mathematical models can help to develop theories for a better understanding of aging. At ...

Animal vaccines with self-spreading viruses

Vaccines for animals based on viruses that spread on their own are being developed in Europe and the U.S

10-Jan-2022 - Since the first lab-modified virus capable of replication was generated in 1974, an evidence-based consensus has emerged that many changes introduced into viral genomes are likely to prove unstable if released into the environment. On this basis, many virologists would question the release of ...

Genetic diversity facilitates cancer therapy

Cancer patients with more different HLA genes respond better to treatment

11-Nov-2019 - The constant battle against infectious pathogens has had a decisive influence on the human immune system over the course of our evolution. A key role in our adaptation to pathogens is played by HLA molecules. These proteins activate the immune system by presenting it with fragments of pathogens ...

Those who live longer have fewer children

The time between two generations sets the price of fertility

14-Jun-2019 - A long life and lots of children – that was quite a common aspiration until not so long ago. But the world of animals reveals that high fertility and longevity are often mutually exclusive: Particularly animals with shorter lifespans are often very fertile while animals that live longer ...