Fruit flies live longer with combination drug treatment

Combination drug treatment may one day be helpful at preventing age-related diseases in people

02-Oct-2019 - A triple drug combination has been used to extend the lifespan of fruit flies by 48% in a new study led by UCL and the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing. The three drugs are all already in use as medical treatments: lithium as a mood stabiliser, trametinib as a cancer treatment and ...

Scientists come up with faster way to discover antibiotics

02-Oct-2019 - Russian biochemists have identified a promising new class of antibiotics. Having studied over 125,000 molecules, they found that 2-pyrazol-1-yl-thiazole derivatives exhibit antibacterial properties. One of the discovered compounds has demonstrated a good activity and low cytotoxicity, and thus ...

Inspired by nature: Scientists have developed a nanopore-microchip

01-Oct-2019 - Medical professionals and environment analysts would like to have microchips that measure substances directly on site. Scientists at TU Darmstadt have developed and patented a system based on nanopores with broad potential. Anyone wishing to use laboratory readings for diagnosing a disorder or ...

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria spread by washing machine

01-Oct-2019 - Antibiotic-resistant pathogens can be spread via washing machines. This has been proven by hygienists at the University of Bonn for a children's hospital in which a Klebsiella oxytoca type was repeatedly transmitted to newborns. Fortunately, no dangerous infection occurred. The source was a ...

Artificial intelligence improves biomedical imaging

01-Oct-2019 - ETH researchers use artificial intelligence to improve quality of images recorded by a relatively new biomedical imaging method. This paves the way towards more accurate diagnosis and cost-effective devices. Scientists at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich have used machine learning methods ...

Evotec and Indivumed achieve milestone in joint strategic drug discovery collaboration

30-Sep-2019 - Evotec SE and Indivumed GmbH announced that the first milestone has been successfully achieved in their joint collaboration to identify new therapeutic targets for the treatment of colorectal cancer. Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, Evotec received full access to the colorectal ...

The best of both worlds: a designer molecule to combat type 2 diabetes

30-Sep-2019 - A team of scientists from Kiel and Melbourne have developed a new protein from two naturally occurring proteins, which has proven very effective against type 2 diabetes in laboratory experiments. Scientists led by Professor Stefan Rose-John, a biochemist at Kiel University (CAU) and member of the ...

The secret of motivation

How neural circuits drive hungry individuals to peak performance

30-Sep-2019 - Success is no accident: To reach your goal you need perseverance. But where does the motivation come from? An international team of researchers led by scientists from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now identified the neural circuit in the brain of fruit flies which makes them ...

Spider silk: A malleable protein provides reinforcement

30-Sep-2019 - Scientists from the University of Würzburg have discovered that spider silk contains an exceptional protein. It generates high bonding strength by making use of an amino acid scientists have hitherto paid little attention to. The finding could have important implications in many areas. Why are ...

Cellular aging is linked to structural changes in the brain

Telomeres on human chromosomes change together with brain structure

27-Sep-2019 - Telomeres are the protective caps of our chromosomes and play a central role in the ageing process. Shorter telomeres are associated with chronic diseases and high stress levels can contribute to their shortening. A new study now shows that if telomeres change in their length, that change is also ...