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Fritz Lipmann Institute receives 2.5 million euros to advance microbiome research

Fungi, bacteria, archaea and viruses - trillions of microorganisms colonize the skin, mucous membranes and organs of humans. Together, they constitute the microbiome.

3 Feb 2022

Study offers unprecedented insight into the mechanism of action of topo VI enzyme

The function of an enzyme, critical to most forms of life, has been revealed.

2 Feb 2022

Composition of poplar tree microbiome changes dramatically over time, study finds

Recent work shows that the plant microbiome-;the microorganisms in a plant and its immediate environment-;influences plant health, survival, and fitness. The initial assembly of the microbiome is particularly important.

9 Jan 2022

Ocean living microbes make oxygen in the dark

There is more going on in the deep, dark ocean waters than you may think: Uncountable numbers of invisible microorganisms go about their daily lives in the water columns, and now researchers have discovered that some of them produce oxygen in an unexpected way.

6 Jan 2022

CRISPR-Cas enzyme-based diagnostics to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection

A recent review in the journal Life provided a detailed description of CRISPR-Cas-based diagnostic techniques to identify severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, but also emphasized the potential use of this technology towards developing effective molecular diagnostic platforms for any future pandemic.

13 Dec 2021

Genetically engineered bacteria can monitor health from within

That feeling in your gut? Well, it's in your head, but some of it does truly start in the gastrointestinal tract.

12 Nov 2021

New computer program can read any genome sequence and decipher its genetic code

Yekaterina "Kate" Shulgina was a first year student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, looking for a short computational biology project so she could check the requirement off her program in systems biology. She wondered how genetic code, once thought to be universal, could evolve and change.

9 Nov 2021

Researchers develop the smallest CRISPR to date for genome editing

A compact and efficient CRISPR-Cas system, named CasMINI, could be broadly useful for cell-engineering and gene-therapy applications because it is easier to deliver into cells. The findings appear in a study publishing September 3 in the journal Molecular Cell.

4 Sep 2021

Stanford researchers engineer an efficient, multi-purpose, mini CRISPR system

The common analogy for CRISPR gene editing is that it works like molecular scissors, cutting out select sections of DNA. Stanley Qi, assistant professor of bioengineering at Stanford University, likes that analogy, but he thinks it's time to reimagine CRISPR as a Swiss Army knife.

4 Sep 2021

Recognizing viral genomes in quick, ‘CRISP’ ways

Researchers from China recently reviewed the latest advancements, applications, and prospects of virus detection using CRISPR-Cas systems.

27 Aug 2021

University of Arkansas receives $6.1 million grant to establish an institute focused on virus research

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $6.1 million grant to the University of Arkansas to establish a research institute focused on virology and virus ecology.

17 Aug 2021

How do host factors like the lung microbiome aid in SARS‐CoV‐2 infection?

A new article has been published in Cellular and Molecular Lifesciences, which focuses on the connection between host factors and the worsening of the COVID-19. Further, the impact of the virus on the host’s microbiome and secondary infection has also been studied.

8 Jul 2021

New study maps evolutionary history and interrelationships of protein domains

Proteins have been quietly taking over our lives since the COVID-19 pandemic began. We've been living at the whim of the virus's so-called "spike" protein, which has mutated dozens of times to create increasingly deadly variants. But the truth is, we have always been ruled by proteins. At the cellular level, they're responsible for pretty much everything.

1 Jul 2021

Researchers use genomic sequencing technique to detect presence of various microbes

About 12,000 bacteria and viruses collected in a sampling from public transit systems and hospitals around the world from 2015 to 2017 had never before been identified, according to a study by the International MetaSUB Consortium, a global effort at tracking microbes that is led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

27 May 2021

A single archaeal enzyme can produce a spectacular range of natural and non-natural cardiolipins

Cells of all life forms are surrounded by a membrane that is made of phospholipids. One of these are the cardiolipins, which form a separate class due to their unique structure.

7 May 2021

DNA spike-ins increase reliability of amplicon-based sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 genomes

In the interests of cost-effectiveness and rapidity, amplicon-based sequencing of the viral genome has been used to provide a sensitive means of genomic surveillance. A new preprint, which was released on the bioRxiv* server, shows how this can be tweaked to make it a reliable source of genomic data by reducing the known potential for contamination.

19 Mar 2021

Researchers develop innovative profiling methods for SARS-CoV-2 infection

A team of researchers from various institutions in the USA used RNA-sequencing data and other methods to profile unique genes and other characteristics associated with SARS-CoV-2 in New York City (NYC).

17 Mar 2021

Mice study shows gut mycobiome influences the metabolism of processed diet

Studies of the microbiome in the human gut focus mainly on bacteria. Other microbes that are also present in the gut -- viruses, protists, archaea, and fungi -- have been largely overlooked.

8 Mar 2021

CRISPR genomic editing to obtain more productive and nutritive plant varieties

New study by the IBMCP of the UPV university facilitates the use of the CRISPR genomic editing technique on plants.

8 Feb 2021

Research sheds new light on how the CRISPR immune system evolved

With new insights into how the genetic tool CRISPR - which allows direct editing of our genes - evolved and adapted, we are now one step closer to understanding the basis of the constant struggle for survival that takes place in nature. The results can be used in future biotechnologies.

25 Nov 2020