Leaving oil behind and moving towards renewable raw materials: the chemical industry hopes to succeed in this with the help of microorganisms and enzymes

15-Sep-2020

The idea is that bacteria shouldn’t only convert waste products into valuable chemicals, but also draw energy from them. After all, they too can be reused for subsequent processes. This vision is what drives Professor Dirk Tischler, who heads the Microbial Biotechnology research group at ...

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Therapy and diagnostics of tumours in only one step is possible with the aid of so-called theranostic agents

04-Sep-2020

The combination of a biomolecule and a metal complex can target, bind, mark and damage cancer cells. A German-Spanish team has manufactured such a theranostic agent that visualises tumour cells by irradiation with visible light, and proved its effectiveness against lung cancer cells. Andres ...

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What is the difference between patients who cope well with sars-cov-2 and those who have to go to intensive care?

03-Sep-2020

Critically ill patients present a similar or even stronger immunity against the virus than convalescent patients. This supports the theory that severe infections might be linked to an exaggerated immune reaction. A weak immune response isn’t the cause of dangerous lung failure in severe Covid-19 ...

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A small but important step towards a successful immune reaction is performed by an impressive nanomachine - Researchers use simulations to understand how it works.

31-Aug-2020

In order to kill diseased cells, our immune system must first identify them. The so-called peptide-loading complex plays a key role in this process. In collaboration with colleagues from Jülich, a research team at Ruhr-Universität Bochum has analysed this nanomachine in atomic detail. Cells that ...

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Biobased process for ammonia production

27-Aug-2020

Bacterial enzymes are often powerful but also very sensitive catalysts. To call up their performance, they therefore need a special environment. Researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) have developed new techniques for efficiently coupling bacterial enzymes to electrodes. Together with a ...

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Even patients with suppressed immune systems can achieve a strong immune response to Sars-Cov-2: A test helps to adapt therapy following an infection

19-Aug-2020

A research team from the University Hospital at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) has developed a test that provides information on the immune response to the novel coronavirus in patients who need to take immunosuppressive drugs. This is necessary, for instance, following an organ transplantation. ...

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The findings should help to develop more efficient miniaturised hydrogenase catalysts in the future

18-Aug-2020

In hydrogenase enzymes, the transports of protons and electrons have been considered to be separate events until now. However, coupling is the key to success here. Hydrogenases can convert hydrogen just as efficiently as expensive platinum catalysts. In order to make them usable for ...

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Results from cell culture experiments show that commercially available preparations have an effect on Sars-Cov-2 viruses

11-Aug-2020

Sars-Cov-2 viruses can be inactivated using certain commercially available mouthwashes. This was demonstrated in cell culture experiments by virologists from Ruhr-Universität Bochum together with colleagues from Jena, Ulm, Duisburg-Essen, Nuremberg and Bremen. High viral loads can be detected in ...

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No elaborate biosafety precautions are necessary

03-Aug-2020

To determine immunity to Sars-Cov-2 and the effectiveness of potential vaccines, the amount of neutralising antibodies in the blood of recovered or vaccinated individuals must be determined. A traditional neutralisation test usually takes two to three days and must be carried out with infectious ...

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An endogenous protein prevents the virus from fusing with host cells: This raises hopes for new therapeutic approaches

30-Jul-2020

A protein produced by the human immune system can strongly inhibit corona viruses, including Sars-Cov-2, the pathogen causing Covid-19. An international team from Germany, Switzerland and the USA successfully showed that the LY6E-Protein prevents coronaviruses from causing an infection. “This ...

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