When we train the reaching for and grasping of objects, we also train our brain. In other words, this action brings about changes in the connections of a certain neuronal population in the red nucleus, a region of the midbrain. Researchers at the University of Basel’s Biozentrum have discovered this group of nerve cells in the red nucleus. They have also shown how fine motor tasks promote plastic reorganization of this brain region.
Natural products, or their close derivatives, make some of our most potent medicines, among which macrocycles are one class. The size and complexity of macrocycles has made it difficult to emulate and build on Nature’s success in the laboratory. By completing a complex molecular synthesis of these compounds attached to a unique identifying DNA strand, the Chemists of the University of Basel have built a rich collection of natural product-like macrocycles that can be mined for new medicines.
T3 Pharmaceuticals AG wins the W.A. de Vigier Foundation’s highest endowed award for startup companies in Switzerland of 100,000 Swiss Francs. The spin-off from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel works in the field of immuno-oncology and convinced the jury with their innovative therapeutic approach to fighting cancer with live bacteria.
Physicists at the University of Basel are able to show for the first time how a single electron looks in an artificial atom. A newly developed method enables them to show the probability of an electron being present in a space. This allows improved control of electron spins, which could serve as the smallest information unit in a future quantum computer.
Santhera Pharmaceuticals and the University of Basel’s Biozentrum announce their collaboration to advance gene therapy research for the treatment of congenital muscular dystrophy. Innosuisse – the Swiss Innovation Promotion Agency – and Santhera will jointly invest 1.2 million Swiss Francs into this research program.
The relay station of the brain, the substantia nigra consists of different types of nerve cells and is responsible for controlling the execution of diverse movements. Researchers at the University of Basel’s Biozentrum have now characterized two of these cell populations more precisely and has been able to assign an exact function to each of them.
The deep sea is home to fish species that can detect various wavelengths of light in near-total darkness. Unlike other vertebrates, they have several genes for the light-sensitive photopigment rhodopsin. The findings were published in the journal Science by evolutionary biologists from the University of Basel.
The use of potassium bromide in the production of graphene on a copper surface can lead to better results. When potassium bromide molecules arrange themselves between graphene and copper, it results in electronic decoupling, as reported by physicists from the universities of Basel, Modena and Munich in the journal ACS Nano.
Individualized nutrition not only causes hospital patients to consume more protein and calories but also improves clinical treatment outcomes.