A research team at the University of Cologne has identified a critical dependency in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) that can be exploited therapeutically / Publication in ‘Molecular Cancer’ Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Cell membranes and the proteins within them control many vital processes and play a key role in health and disease. But studying them in 3D images of cells has so far meant slow, manual work. A team from Helmholtz Munich, the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Biozentrum of the University of Basel has developed MemBrain v2, an AI tool that automates this task – cutting work that once took weeks down to a few hours. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Researchers at Helmholtz Munich and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed Synthetic Transfer Vehicles (STVs), an entirely new class of RNA transporters. To do so, they combined naturally occurring protein building blocks with synthetic protein structures designed using generative AI. Systematic screening identified STV-C8 as the most efficient candidate: In cell culture, it transports RNA far more efficiently than the lipid nanoparticles tested and can be adapted to different RNA cargoes and target cells. In animal models, the team demonstrated that the system also works in a living organism. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Leukemia: Researchers at the Leibniz Institute DSMZ identify the world’s first cell line with the KMT2A::SEPTIN6 fusion gene For the first time, a laboratory model exists for this rare form of leukemia Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

A research team from Tel Aviv University and the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (IPF), led by Ayala Lampel and Carsten Werner, has developed a peptide-glycosaminoglycan hydrogel system that creates a programmable niche for hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). The system mimics key biochemical and mechanical cues of the bone marrow microenvironment, enabling researchers to investigate how these signals influence stem cell behavior. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Scientists in Cologne are developing a method to track damage at the level of individual cells. The study opens up new avenues for research into age-related degenerative diseases / publication in ‘Cell Genomics’ Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Kölner Wissenschaftler*innen entwickeln eine Methode, um Schäden auf der Ebene einzelner Zellen nachzuverfolgen. Die Studie eröffnet neue Wege, um altersbedingte degenerative Erkrankungen zu erforschen / Veröffentlichung in „Cell Genomics“ Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Renowned Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London honors Uwe Wolfrum for his scientific research on Usher syndrome Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Tuebingen, August 14, 2026. The foundation DKMS Stiftung Leben Spenden has opened the new application round for the DKMS John Hansen Research Grant. Up to four outstanding projects by early-career researchers worldwide will be funded, with each receiving up to €240,000 over a three-year period. The focus is on research projects related to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and cell therapy for hematological diseases. Applications for the DKMS John Hansen Research Grant 2027 can be submitted through November 16, 2026. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

An EU-funded research project coordinated by the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) has uncovered how the pancreas develops, adapts, and changes in disease. The study has now been published in Cell Metabolism. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Ein EU-gefördertes Forschungsprojekt unter Koordination des Berlin Institute of Health in der Charité (BIH) entschlüsselt die Entwicklung, Anpassungsfähigkeit und krankheitsbedingte Veränderungen des Pankreas. Die Studienergebnisse sind jetzt in „Cell Metabolism“ erschienen. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Which neurons in the brain control movements, and how? This question was addressed by a team of researchers from the fields of neuroscience and artificial intelligence in a study conducted on an animal model at the interdisciplinary research centre BrainLinks-BrainTools at the University of Freiburg. The findings, now published in the journal Cell Reports, could help to improve the precision of mind-controlled prostheses. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Welche Neuronen im Gehirn steuern wie Bewegungen? Das haben Forschende aus Neurowissenschaften und KI im interdisziplinären Forschungszentrum BrainLinks-BrainTools der Universität Freiburg untersucht. Die Ergebnisse wurden nun in der Fachzeitschrift Cell Reports veröffentlicht. Die Studie kann dazu beitragen, die Präzision von per Gedanken steuerbaren Prothesen zu verbessern. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

The cerebral cortex is densely packed with different nerve cells that enable us to perceive, think and act. Yet how these cell types arise while the brain develops is still not fully understood. Irene Varela-Martínez, a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), traces their origins like a family-tree detective of nerve cells. Her new study, now published in Science Advances, shows that precursor cells of neurons, contrary to previous assumptions, split early into two independent lineages and thereby give rise to types of neurons. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Deep learning approaches have transformed how scientists predict activity and function of DNA sequences in the genome. An new AI tool called Corgi (Context-aware Regulatory Genomics Inference), developed by Martin Vingron’s bioinformatics groupat the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics (Berlin, Germany) allows researchers to predict how the genome behaves across different cell types. The findings could help improve efforts to mimic the activity of cells virtually, with potential applications in basic research and medicine. The study was published in Nature Communications. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

In der Fachzeitschrift „Cell Reports Medicine“ berichten Forschende aus Würzburg über NLRP3 als vielversprechendes Zielmolekül: Dessen Blockade konnte im Experiment das Fortschreiten von Schlaganfällen bereits während des Gefäßverschlusses verlangsamen. Bei Patientinnen und Patienten mit akutem ischämischem Schlaganfall fanden sich korrespondierend in speziellen „pialen“ Blutproben aus dem betroffenen Hirngebiet erhöhte Anzahlen NLRP3-positiver Immunzellen mit prognostischer Bedeutung. Perspektivisch könnte eine frühzeitige Hemmung von NLRP3 wertvolle Zeit bis zur Wiedereröffnung eines verschlossenen Hirngefäßes überbrücken und so das Behandlungsergebnis verbessern. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

With the aid of physical forces – in this case, sound – it is possible to actively steer the formation of engineered tissue. For example, sound waves can be used to create functional vascular networks with blood vessel-like structures in vitro. Scientists at the Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University have demonstrated this through their methodology for acoustic manipulation. The team headed by Junior Professor Dr Daniela Duarte Campos also defines quality requirements for generating complex multi-cell-type vascularized 3D tissue that is, for example, relevant for biomedical studies. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Plants do not wait hours to respond to intense sunlight—they react within minutes. Researchers at Bielefeld University and the Australian National University have discovered a new signaling pathway that enables plants to directly adjust their protein production before genes in the cell nucleus change their activity. The findings open new perspectives for climate-resilient crops. Key facts at a glance: Under high light, plants specifically regulate their protein production within ten minutes. Short sequence elements in the messenger RNA act as molecular switches. The mechanism could help make crops more resilient to climate stress. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Inside the cell nucleus, genes must be turned on and off with precision to regulate biological processes. The first models of gene regulation were developed in the 1960s, yet modern science continues to uncover new layers of control. A new study involving researchers from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), the Institut Pasteur, and Princeton University, published in PNAS, now suggests that genes obey an optimal switching principle—random at any given moment, yet precise on average. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

DZNE researchers have uncovered a mechanism that determines why a neuron usually forms a single, long extension called “axon” – a phenomenon that is fundamental to how our brain functions. Contrary to the common view that external cues drive axon formation, the team of scientists comes to the conclusion that its growth originates primarily inside the cell. Their work, based on cell cultures and published in the journal “Nature” with collaborators from other institutions in Germany, Austria, and Japan, reveals how a neuron’s structure is remodeled to generate the axon. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

TiHo researchers induce cell death in 3D mini-tumors and discover that forcing cancer cells to die can also alert the immune system and enhance anti-tumor attack. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Wie Pflanzen die winzigen Öffnungen, die auf ihren Blättern für Gasaustausch und Wasserregulation zuständig sind, entwickeln und damit ihren Wasserhaushalt steuern, hat ein Team der Ruhr-Universität unter Leitung von Prof. Dr. Christopher Grefen herausgefunden. Das Team identifizierte die beiden Lipid-modifizierenden Enzyme GELP80 und GELP100 als entscheidende Faktoren für die Ausbildung funktionsfähiger Spaltöffnungen (Stomata). Die Ergebnisse wurden in der Fachzeitschrift The Plant Cell am 26. Mai 2026 veröffentlicht. Sie liefern neue Einblicke in die Mechanik der Pflanzenentwicklung und könnten langfristig dazu beitragen, Nutzpflanzen widerstandsfähiger gegen Trockenheit zu machen. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

A research team from the University of Cologne has identified a new approach for treating particularly aggressive pancreatic cancer. It makes use of a genetic mutation that allows the immune system to attack the cancer cells again / publication in ‘Nature Communications’ Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Muhammad A Shah, Emily L Denton, Cheryl H Arrowsmith, Mathieu Lupien and Matthieu Schapira Abstract Background The notion that epigenetic mechanisms may be central to cancer initiation and progression is supported by recent next-generation sequencing efforts revealing that genes involved in chromatin-mediated signaling are recurrently mutated in cancer patients. Results Here, we analyze mutational and transcriptional profiles from TCGA and the ICGC across a collection 441 chromatin factors and histones. Chromatin factors essential for rapid replication are frequently overexpressed, and those that maintain genome stability frequently mutated. We identify novel mutation hotspots such as K36M in histone H3.1, and uncover…

Cancer is a group of almost 200 diseases that involve variety of changes in cell structure, morphology, and physiology. Cancer phenotype is underlying several alterations in cellular dynamics with three most critical features, which includes self-sufficiency in growth signals and insensitivity to inhibitory signals, evasion of programmed cell death and limitless replicative potential with a potential for the invasion of other organs. Cancer disease is widespread among metazoans. Some properties of cancer cells such as uncontrolled cell proliferation, lack of apoptosis, hypoxia, fermentative metabolism and free cell motility, i.e. metastasis, resemble a prokaryotic lifestyle, which leads to the assumption of…