Philip Tovote from the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) and Maria Soledad Esposito from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel and from FMI were awarded the Pfizer Research Prize 2017. The two scientists reported in the journal Nature on how neuronal circuits are involved in the behavioral response to fear.
The 2017 Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine is awarded to Silvia Arber, Professor of Neurobiology at the Biozentrum, University of Basel, and senior group leader at the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Basel, and to the immunologist Caetano Reis e Sousa, senior group leader at the Francis Crick Institute in London.
Researchers from the University of Basel in Switzerland have clarified the role of the enzyme MPO. In fighting infections, this enzyme, which gives pus its greenish color, produces a highly aggressive acid that can kill pathogens without damaging the surrounding tissue. The findings, published in the current issue of Nature Microbiology, may provide new approaches for immunity strengthening therapies.
When we eat, we consume a significant quantity of bacteria. This triggers an inflammatory response that activates the immune systems of healthy individuals and has a protective effect, as doctors from the University of Basel and the University Hospital Basel have proven for the first time. In overweight individuals this inflammatory response can lead to diabetes.
Professor Daniel Loss from the University of Basel’s Department of Physics and the Swiss Nanoscience Institute has been awarded the King Faisal International Prize for Science 2017. The King Faisal Foundation awarded Loss the renowned science prize for his discovery of a concept for development of a quantum computer based on the intrinsic angular momentum of electrons.
Why does breast cancer develop and how come certain patients are resistant to established therapies? Researchers from the University of Basel have gained new insights into the molecular processes in breast tissue.
Researchers from the Department of Biomedicine at the University of Basel and University Hospital Basel are on the trail of a possible connection between autoimmune diseases and infections: errors can occur when immune cells absorb certain proteins from pathogen cells.
Replacing a hydrogen atom by an iodine atom in insulin, the hormone retains its efficacy but is available more rapidly to the organism. Researchers at the University of Basel were able to predict this effect based on computer simulations and then confirm it with experiments.
A combination of a diabetes medication and an antihypertensive drug can effectively combat cancer cells. The team of researchers at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel has also reported that specific cancer cells respond to this combination of drugs.
