Allgemein

It is essential for cells to control precisely which of the many genes of their genetic material they use. This is done in so-called transcription factories, molecular clusters in the nucleus. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), and Max Planck Center for Physics and Medicine (MPZPM) have now found that the formation of transcription factories resembles the condensation of liquids.

Our DNA is so tightly packed that it fits into the nucleus of every cell. Our genetic library is the source of products such as RNA and proteins. The first step in the production process is called transcription. The process behind how the areas in the nucleus where transcription occurs are created was not fully understood until recently.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved another new Collaborative Research Center/Transregio (SFB/TRR) at FAU, which also involves scientists from the Department of Biology. The goal of  SFB/TRR 305 “Striking a moving target: From mechanisms of metastatic organ colonisation to novel systemic therapies” is to understand the molecular mechanisms of metastasis development and, on this basis, to create new therapeutic approaches against cancer metastases.

The Joint Science Conference (GWK) of the German federal states has just announced that FAU will receive funds to establish a National Center for High Performance Computing (NHR@FAU). It will be part of a nationwide network with (initially) seven other centers. The federal and state governments will provide a total of up to 625 million € in funding for the entire project over the next 10 years.

In cooperation with researchers of the University of Tübingen, the University of Tromsø, the UC Davis and the Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich, the team of Prof. Dr. Markus Albert (Division of Molecular Plant Physiology at the Biology Department) has discovered how tomato plants identify Cuscuta as a parasite. The plant has a protein in its cell walls that is identified as ‘foreign’ by a receptor in the tomato. Their findings have now been published in the renowned journal Nature Communications.

Is it possible to influence the progression of an aggressive form of leukaemia and improve chances of recovery by adopting a special diet? Research conducted by the team of researchers led by Prof. Dr. Robert Slany at the Chair of Genetics at FAU and published in the journal ‘BloodAdvances’ suggests...

How does the immune system manage to fight invasive pathogens without damaging the body? And why does it sometimes turn against the body after all? A team from the Chair of Genetics at FAU has been exploring these questions together with the university hospitals in Erlangen and Regensburg.