Reverse optogenetic tool developed

29-Jul-2021 - Researchers at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) have developed a new optogenetic tool, i.e. a protein that can be controlled in the living organism with light. They used an opsin - a protein found in the brain and eyes - from zebrafish and introduced it into the brains of mice. Unlike other ...

A prognostic Alzheimer’s disease blood test in the symptom-free stage

Memory deficit is a normal side effect of aging. At what point does memory loss become pathological?

08-Jan-2021 - Using a blood test, a German-Dutch research team has predicted the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in people who were clinically diagnosed as not having Alzheimer’s disease but who perceived themselves as cognitively impaired (Subjective Cognitive Declined, SCD). The researchers analyzed blood ...

Observing proteins in their natural environment

11-Feb-2020 - Proteins can be responsible for the fact that the active ingredients of drugs are simply released from the target cells. You can watch them do this now. Certain medications, such as those used to treat cancer, lose their effect because proteins in the membrane of the target cell simply expel them ...

How oxygen destroys the core of important enzymes

06-Nov-2019 - New findings are expected to help protect the hydrogen-producing enzymes from harmful oxygen – which is interesting for biotechnological applications. Certain enzymes, such as hydrogen-producing hydrogenases, are unstable in the presence of oxygen. Researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) ...

Structure and function of photosynthesis protein explained in detail

02-Jan-2019 - Photosynthetic complex I is a key element in photosynthetic electron transport, but little has been known about it so far. An international team of researchers has solved the structure and elucidated the function of photosynthetic complex I. This membrane protein complex plays a major role in ...

New insights into the structure of a killer protein

01-Oct-2018 - The protein Bax is responsible for programmed cell death. Because it is constantly changing its location, its structure has so far been difficult to determine. Researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum and the University of Tübingen have gained new insights into the structure of the killer protein ...

The computer as microscope

18-Jan-2017 - Protein switches are active everywhere in the body and often affect the generation of diseases. Thanks to a special method, researchers from Bochum have gained new insights into their workings. Using a combination of infrared spectroscopy and computer simulation, researchers at Ruhr-Universität ...

Protein reactions identified with subatomic resolution

08-Oct-2015 - Using subatomic resolution, researchers have gained insights into the dynamic modus operandi of two switch proteins which are responsible for the import of compounds into the nucleus and for cell growth. The team headed by Prof Dr Klaus Gerwert from the Department of Biophysics at the ...

Measurable for the first time: How bio molecules react to lack of space

Sensor demonstrates lack of space in living cells

07-Jan-2015 - Proteins and other bio molecules are often analysed exclusively in aqueous solutions in test tubes. But it is uncertain if these experimental studies can be transferred to the densely-packed cellular environment. The Bochum-based researchers from the team of Junior Professor Dr Simon Ebbinghaus ...

"Funnel" attracts bonding partners to biomolecule

Water movement as detection aid for molecules

26-Sep-2014 - Water is a ubiquitous solvent in all life sciences – sometimes referred to as the "matrix of life". Contrary to earlier assumptions, it is not a passive witness of biochemical processes; rather, it participates in them actively. By influencing the movement of water molecules surrounding their ...