The protein DNase1 is one of the oldest biological agents in history: It has been on the market since 1958 and is now used, among other things, to treat cystic fibrosis. However, it takes considerable effort to produce it in immortalized hamster cells. This process is also costly. It would be far more cost-effective to produce it with undemanding yeast cells. A team under Dr. Markus Napirei in the Department of Anatomy and Molecular Embryology at Ruhr University Bochum, led by Professor Beate Brand-Saberi, has been able to achieve this for the first time. “This is the result of years of work, and could lay the groundwork for the manufacture of human DNase1 in yeast as a biological agent,” says the researcher. The work was published in the journal PLOS One on April 29, 2025.

Close to five million smuggled seahorses worth an estimated CAD$29 million were seized by authorities over a 10-year span, according to a new study that warns the scale of the trade is far larger than current data suggest.

Published today in Conservation Biology, the study analyzed online seizure records from 2010 to 2021 and found smuggling incidents in 62 countries, with dried seahorses, widely used in traditional medicine, most commonly intercepted at airports in passenger baggage or shipped in sea cargo.

“The nearly 300 seizures we analyzed were based only on online records and voluntary disclosures including government notices and news stories. This means that what we’re seeing is just the tip of the iceberg,” said first author Dr. Sarah Foster, research associate at UBC’s Project Seahorse and focal point for trade in the International Union for Conservation of Nature global expert group on seahorses and their relatives.

Talin is a protein that plays an important role in the immune system by activating integrins, receptors that help cells attach to one another. Now a new study by Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers shows how talin has distinct binding modes for two types of integrins that are important in blood cells. It also highlights how switching modes can enhance the integrins, potentially making them stronger.