Bacteriophages, or phages for short, are viruses that infect bacteria. Using phages therapeutically could be very useful in fighting antibiotic-resistant pathogens, but the molecular interactions between phages and host bacteria are not yet sufficiently understood. Jörg Vogel's research group at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) and the Institute of Molecular Infection Biology (IMIB) in Würzburg has now succeeded in specifically interfering with phage reproduction using a molecular tool called antisense oligomers (ASOs). According to the researchers, this innovative RNA technology offers new insights into the molecular world of phages and is expected to advance the development of future therapeutic applications. The study has been published in the journal Nature.

Vision happens when patterns of light entering the eye are converted into reliable patterns of brain activity. This reliability allows the brain to recognize the same object each time it is seen. Our brains, however, are not born with this ability; instead, we develop it through visual experience. Collaborating scientists at MPFI and the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies have recently discovered key circuit changes that lead to the maturation of reliable brain activity patterns. Their findings, published in Neuron this week, are likely generalizable beyond vision, providing a framework to understand the brain’s unique ability to adapt and learn quickly during the earliest stages of development.

In a step toward making ultrabright X-ray sources more widely available, an international collaboration led by the University of Michigan—with experiments at the U.K.'s Central Laser Facility—has mapped key aspects of electron pulses that can go on to generate laser-like X-ray pulses.