If a cell runs low on sugar, it stores certain messenger RNAs in order to prolong its life. As a research group at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel has now discovered, the protein Puf5p determines whether individual messenger RNAs will be stored or degraded when sugar levels are low.
Callous-unemotional traits are linked to differences in brain structure in boys, but not girls.
Bacteria not only develop resistance to antibiotics, they also can pick it up from their rivals. Researchers from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel have demonstrated that some bacteria inject a toxic cocktail into their competitors causing cell lysis and death. Then, by integrating the released genetic material, which may also carry drug resistance genes, the predator cell can acquire antibiotic resistance.
The Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, together with European and African collaborators, carried out a mass dog vaccination in Chad and determined its effect on human rabies exposure. The study employed a bio-mathematical method for estimating the transmission dynamics of rabies. The researchers conclude that with political will and the necessary funding, elimination of rabies is possible in Africa.
Physicists at the University of Basel have succeeded in cooling a nanoelectronic chip to a temperature lower than 3 millikelvin. The scientists used magnetic cooling to cool the electrical connections as well as the chip itself.
The function of images and their epistemological value are the focus of a new fellowship program at the University of Basel, funded by the NOMIS Foundation. The first fellows began their research projects this fall.
Lipid, also known as fat, is an optimal energy source and an important cell component. Much is required for the rapid and uncontrolled growth of cancer cells. Researchers have now discovered that the protein mTOR stimulates the production of lipids in liver tumors.
Just like an acrobatic duo, some proteins lend each other stability. Researchers at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel have discovered that the protein “Trigger factor” recognizes a partner by instable, flexible domains, to then together form a stable protein duo.
Nine research projects involving Basel-based researchers in the field of personalized health will receive more than CHF 14 million over the next three years.
