News by Subject Chemistry & Physics

Using an experiment conducted in a simulated group office environment, ETH researchers have proved for the first time that repeated workplace interruptions cause the body to increase the release of stress hormones. And they do so to a higher degree than the perceived psychological stress.

The lack of some genes in the BEC/TCEAL cluster could be related to some alterations associated with the autism spectrum disorder, according to a preclinical study published in the journal Genome Biology, and led by Professor Jordi Garcia Fernàndez, from the Faculty of Biology and the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB), and researcher Jaime Carvajal, from the Andalusian Centre for Developmental Biology - University Pablo de Olavide (CSIC-UPO).

Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have discovered a new mechanism by which clumps of tau protein are created in the brain, killing brain cells and causing Alzheimer's disease. A specific mutation to an enzyme called MARK4 changed the properties of tau, usually an important part of the skeletal structure of cells, making it more likely to aggregate, and more insoluble. Getting to grips with mechanisms like this may lead to breakthrough treatments.

A team led by scientists at Scripps Research has developed a theoretical approach that could ease the process of making highly complex, compact molecules. Such molecules are often found in plants and other organisms, and many are considered desirable starting points for developing potential new drugs. But they also tend to be highly challenging for chemists to construct and modify in the lab--a process called synthesis.

Through intricate experiments designed to account for sex-specific differences, scientists at Scripps Research have collaborated to zero-in on certain changes in the brain that may be responsible for driving alcohol abuse among people with PTSD. In studies with rodents, researchers found that males and females exhibit their own distinct symptoms and brain features of PTSD and alcohol use disorder. Such differences are not typically accounted for in laboratory-based studies yet could lead to more successful clinical treatments.

Moving around in the half-light is difficult but not impossible. To help us in this undertaking we have the rods, a type of photoreceptors present in the retina of vertebrates, capable of detecting very low lights. They are the protagonists of the new study published in PNAS by a team of researchers of SISSA and CNR-Iom which reveals new and essential details of how the retina works and in particular photoreceptors.

About half of the people with multiple sclerosis have the HLA-DR15 gene variant. A study led by the University of Zurich has now shown how this genetic predisposition contributes to the development of the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis in combination with environmental factors. The decisive factor is the shaping of a repertoire of immune cells which - although they are effective in fighting off pathogens such as Epstein-Barr virus - also attack brain tissue.

It is probably the immune response to, rather than the virus in itself, that causes sudden confusion and other symptoms from the nervous system in some patients with COVID-19. This is shown by a study of cases involving six Swedish patients, now published in the journal Neurology.

Mayo Clinic researchers, along with national and global collaborators, have developed a potential test for Machado-Joseph disease, or spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) ? a disease that has no cure. They also have clarified the role of a gene target associated with the disease.