Photosynthetic bacteria helped shape Planet Earth. Among them are cyanobacteria that produced the oxygen in our atmosphere and made complex life possible, captivating scientists for decades. Now, researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) report a surprising new discovery—a system thought to separate DNA has developed to sculpt the shape of the cell in cyanobacteria instead. The results, published in Science, shed light on how protein systems evolve and how multicellularity emerged in this type of ecologically essential bacteria. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft Hier jetzt das aktuell Außergewöhnliche auswählen …

Can Aztekin and his team have discovered how oxygen-sensing explains why amphibians regenerate limbs and mammals do not. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft Hier jetzt das aktuell Außergewöhnliche auswählen …

Photorespiration is a cellular conversion process in which plants release carbon dioxide and consume oxygen when exposed to light. Until now, it has been considered an especially wasteful by-product of photosynthesis. Yet according to the latest studies by researchers from Helmholtz Munich, the Technical University of Munich, and Heidelberg University, this process in fact plays an important role in the preservation of the plant epigenome, which controls which genes are turned on or off in response to environmental influences. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Susanne Rittinghausen, Anja Hackbarth, Otto Creutzenberg, Heinrich Ernst, Uwe Heinrich, Albrecht Leonhardt and Dirk Schaudien Abstract Background Biological effects of tailor-made multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) without functionalization were investigated in vivo in a two-year carcinogenicity study. In the past, intraperitoneal carcinogenicity studies in rats using biopersistent granular dusts had always been negative, whereas a number of such studies with different asbestos fibers had shown tumor induction. The aim of this study was to identify possible carcinogenic effects of MWCNTs. We compared induced tumors with asbestos-induced mesotheliomas and evaluated their relevance for humans by immunohistochemical methods. Methods A total of 500…