Category Biology/Biotechnology

© Photo Fraunhofer IGB Various raw materials as building blocks for plastics.

A process for manufacturing high-quality plastics from terpenes, a waste stream of the cellulose production has been developed by Fraunhofer researchers. Even if fossil resources got much cheaper in the last years there are big efforts to replace standard plastics by substances made from renewable resources. A reduced consumption of fossil resources is especially important because of the climate change caused by the release of CO2. Apart from the production of biodegradable polymers, for example for packaging applications, there is a big interest in high performance materials made from renewable resources.

The synthesis of polyamides from terpenes was developed at BioCat – Bio, Electro and Chemocataysis, the Str...

Map of protein signaling pathways that went off course in DCM hearts. Credit: Uros Kuzmanov

An enlarged heart is a hallmark of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and, despite being the most common inherited disease of the heart muscle, doctors don’t really know why it occurs. But that could now change as a new University of Toronto study begins to shine light on the molecular causes behind DCM. The study reveals widespread differences in protein biochemistry between healthy and diseased hearts. This expands our understanding of heart physiology and opens the door for future research that could improve detection and treatment of DCM.

Affecting all ages, the disease begins usually in adolescence and strikes 1 in 5 Canadians, with huge healthcare, economic and social costs...

Brain cells from a mouse cortex that didn’t receive the gene therapy. The amyloid plaques are shown in green, and the glial cells, which surround the plaques, are shown in red (microglia) and magenta (astrocytes). Image 2 shows a mouse cortex that received the gene therapy, and so had fewer amyloid plaques. Credit: Imperial College London

Researchers have prevented development of Alzheimer’s disease in mice by using a modified virus to deliver a specific gene into the brain. The early-stage findings, by scientists from Imperial College London, open avenues for potential new treatments for the disease. Previous studies by the same team suggest this gene, called PGC1 – alpha, may prevent the formation of a protein called amyloid-beta peptide in cells in the lab...

Prior AIEC colonization leads to heightened cellular and proinflammatory cytokine responses.

People who retain a particular bacterium in their gut after a bout of food poisoning may be at an increased risk of developing Crohn’s disease later in life, according to a new study led by researchers at McMaster University. Using a mouse model of Crohn’s disease, the researchers discovered that acute infectious gastroenteritis caused by common food-poisoning bacteria accelerates the growth of adherent-invasive E. coli (AIEC) – a bacterium that has been linked to the development of Crohn’s.

Even after the mice had eliminated the food-poisoning bacteria, researchers still observed increased levels of AIEC in the gut, which led to worsened symptoms over a long period of time...