Antibiotics are still the treatment of choice in fighting bacterial infections. However, due to their extensive and sometimes improper use in medicine and livestock farming, resistant pathogens are increasingly emerging,…

The liver is a vital organ with many important functions in the body. It metabolizes nutrients, stores energy, regulates the blood sugar level and plays a crucial role in detoxifying and removing harmful components and…

The ability of pathogens to multiply in the host is crucial for the spread of infections. The speed of bacterial division greatly depends on the environmental conditions. Under unfavorable conditions, such as nutrient…

Be it through mucosa or the intestinal lining, different tissues and surfaces of our body are entry gates for bacterial pathogens. The first few seconds - the moment of touch - are often critical for successful infections.…

The cell envelope is covered with a wide variety of receptor proteins. They are the sensors to the environment, perceive signals such as the availability of nutrients and transmit this information to the inside of the cell.…

Parkinson’s disease is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases worldwide. This disease is typically accompanied by motor defects such as the tremor of arms and legs, slowness of movements and muscle rigidity, which…

Mr. Neher, this is our first interview without masks since the beginning of the pandemic. Will this remain so? Richard Neher: If the number of cases increases, wearing face masks again in some settings makes sense. This not…

Ribosomes produce all the body’s proteins and are therefore also referred to as "protein factories". Their architecture and function have largely remained unchanged over millions of years, highlighting their importance for…

Cilia perform numerous functions for the cell: they help cells swim, move fluid, and send messages to each other. Cilia ensure that we can see, they remove substances from the lungs, move fluid in the brain, and enable us to…

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…