Bacteria are constantly engaged in a struggle for survival, facing threats from immune cells, antibiotics, or phages— viruses that only infect bacteria. Over the course of evolution, bacteria have developed numerous…

A philosophical perspective on science January 2023 “The stereotype of a thinker sitting in a room all alone with their brilliant ideas has never been true.” Biozentrum alumnus Marcel Weber must know. He is Professor of…

The inside of a cell provides as a hiding place for various pathogens. By residing in the cell, the bacteria can evade the immune response and spread within the body. Among these invaders are Burkholderia bacteria, including…

When our innate immune system detects a pathogen it mounts a potent inflammatory response that has the capacity to contain and eliminate the infection, but typically also causes significant damage to the inflamed tissue.…

Breast cancer is by far the most frequent type of cancer affecting women and a leading cause of death, despite advances in its detection and treatment. There are different forms of breast cancer and the causes are just as…

Hearing loss eventually affects almost everyone: Loud noises or simple aging gradually cause the auditory sensory cells and their synapses in the inner ear to degenerate and die off. The only treatment option is a hearing…

For about one hundred years it has been known that nutrient restriction and moderate stress can significantly prolong life. The researchers led by Prof. Mihaela Zavolan and Prof. Anne Spang, both at the Biozentrum of the…

Cells live and survive by taking up proteins, recycling and reusing or degrading them. The proteins are located on the cell surface and are transported from here into the cell’s interior. About 80 percent of these membrane…

Membrane proteins are a basic component of each individual cell of the human body and play a vital role in the cell’s structure, metabolism and transport. They ensure that many substances, such as hormones and other…

In mammals, movement is controlled by circuits spanning throughout the central nervous system from the cortex to the spinal cord. The role of motor cortex in the control of movement is still unclear. In humans, lesions to…