In Switzerland, about 650 new cases of liver cancer are diagnosed every year. The incidence of the malignant and aggressive liver cell carcinoma has doubled in the last 20 years, especially in developed countries. One…

Like human beings, every cell in our body tries to ward off death as long as it can. This is particular true for a specific type of immune cells, called T-lymphocytes, or T cells for short. These cells keep viruses,…

The coronavirus pandemic and the development of the novel vaccines has brought mRNA into the public eye. mRNAs are transcripts of DNA. They serve as a template for protein production and are degraded after a certain time.…

The G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) perform very diverse tasks in our body. They enable us to see, taste food, feel cold or warm, or respond to stress. Located on the cell surface, GPCRs sense a large variety of signals…

The WHO calls the creeping and rapidly growing number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria a “silent pandemic”. The crisis is aggravated by the fact that hardly any new drugs have come onto the market in recent decades. Even…

The causes of liver cancer are manifold. In addition to metabolic disorders such as those associated with obesity, the main causes in the western world are infections with hepatitis C virus and high alcohol consumption.…

Earlier this year, the WHO published a list of twelve of the world’s most dangerous bacterial pathogens that are resistant to multiple antibiotics and pose a grave threat to human health. This list includes Pseudomonas…

Even the mundane act of walking requires complex movements such as postural changes and the coordination of all four limbs. Scientists have known that the mesencephalic locomotor region, which is part of the midbrain, is…

T lymphocyte immune cells protect our body against pathogens. Chemokine signaling molecules direct these T cells to the site of infection where they help to eliminate the invading pathogens. This process is mediated by…

It is hardly bigger than a matchbox and yet there is a laboratory en miniature on this chip. Single bacterial cells grow in about 2000 channels of a thousandth of a millimeter in diameter and can be individually studied in…