Researchersof the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have foundout why the African naked mole-rat (Heterocephalusglaber), one of the world’s most unusual mammals, feels no pain whenexposed to acid. African naked mole-rats live densely packed in narrow darkburrows where ambient carbon dioxide (CO2) levels are very high. In bodytissues, CO2 isconverted into acid, which continuously activates pain sensors. However, naked mole-rats are anexception: they have an altered ion channel in their pain receptors that isinactivated by acid and makes the animals insensitive to this type of pain. Dr.Ewan St. John Smith and Professor Gary Lewin conclude that this paininsensitivity is due to the African mole-rats’ adaptation to their extremehabitat over the course of evolution (Science, Vol. 334, Dec.16, 2011, 1557-1560)*.

MDC Researchers: Ion Channel Makes African Naked Mole-Rat Insensitive to Acid-Induced Pain

Researchersof the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have foundout why the African naked mole-rat (Heterocephalusglaber), one of the world’s most unusual mammals, feels no pain whenexposed to acid. African naked mole-rats live densely packed in narrow darkburrows where ambient carbon dioxide (CO2) levels are very high. In bodytissues, CO2 isconverted into acid, which continuously activates pain sensors. However, naked mole-rats are anexception: they have an altered ion channel in their pain receptors that isinactivated by acid and makes the animals insensitive to this type of pain. Dr.Ewan St. John Smith and Professor Gary Lewin conclude that this paininsensitivity is due to the African mole-rats’ adaptation to their extremehabitat over the course of evolution (Science, Vol. 334, Dec.16, 2011, 1557-1560)*.

MDC Researchers: Ion Channel Makes African Naked Mole-Rat Insensitive to Acid-Induced Pain

Researchersof the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have foundout why the African naked mole-rat (Heterocephalusglaber), one of the world’s most unusual mammals, feels no pain whenexposed to acid. African naked mole-rats live densely packed in narrow darkburrows where ambient carbon dioxide (CO2) levels are very high. In bodytissues, CO2 isconverted into acid, which continuously activates pain sensors. However, naked mole-rats are anexception: they have an altered ion channel in their pain receptors that isinactivated by acid and makes the animals insensitive to this type of pain. Dr.Ewan St. John Smith and Professor Gary Lewin conclude that this paininsensitivity is due to the African mole-rats’ adaptation to their extremehabitat over the course of evolution (Science, Vol. 334, Dec.16, 2011, 1557-1560)*.

MDC Researchers: Ion Channel Makes African Naked Mole-Rat Insensitive to Acid-Induced Pain

Researchers at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) and Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany have developed a new method for detailed analyses of electrical activity in the brain. The method, recently published in Neuron, can help doctors and researchers to better interpret brain cell signals. In turn, this may lead to considerable steps forward in terms of interpreting for example EEG measurements, making diagnoses and treatment of various brain illnesses.

Tapping the brain orchestra

An international research team headed by DESY scientists from the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL) in Hamburg, Germany, has recorded the shortest X-ray exposure of a protein crystal ever achieved. The incredible brief exposure time of 0.000 000 000 000 03 seconds (30 femtoseconds) opens up new possibilities for imaging molecular processes with X-rays. This is of particular interest to biologists, but can be employed in many fields, explain lead authors Dr. Anton Barty and Prof. Henry Chapman from the German accelerator centre Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY. CFEL is a joint venture of DESY, the Max Planck Society and the University of Hamburg.

Fastest X-ray images of tiny biological crystals

Large forest regions in Canada are apparently about to experience rapid change. Based on models, scientists can now show that there are threshold values for wildfires just like there are for epidemics. Large areas of Canada are apparently approaching this threshold value and may in future exceed it due to climate change. As a result both the area burnt down annually and the average size of the fires would increase, write the researchers of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and the University of Michigan in the December issue of the journal The American Naturalist. The strategies for combating wildfires in large parts of Canada should therefore be reconsidered.

Rapid rise in wildfires in large parts of Canada?

By researching fruit flies, neuroscientists of the NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence in Berlin were able to gain a better understanding of a meaningful mechanism of neuronal communication. They demonstrated the importance of a specific protein for signal transmission between nerve cells. This is of high significance as certain people with autism – a functional development disturbances of the brain – suffer from genetic defects in this protein. Therefore the findings could improve the possibility of treating this disease more effectively. The results are presented in the latest issue of the professional journal Science.

Berlin’s neuroscientists decode important mechanism of nerve cell communication

Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have discovered a tiny RNA molecule, called miR-520, which at once blocks two important pathways in the development of cancer in cells. In estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer, the production of this microRNA is often reduced and this is correlated with malignant behavior of tumor cells. The DKFZ team has found out that tumors with low levels of miR-520 have a particularly strong tendency to metastasize.

No brakes on breast cancer cells

“BioBoost” is aimed at converting residual biomass into energy carriers for the production of high-quality and engine-compatible fuels and chemicals as well as for the generation of electricity and heat. The project coordinated by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) will start in early 2012. Six research institutions and seven industrial partners from all over Europe will participate. Research under BioBoost will complement the bioliq® concept of KIT, which is designed for the production of designer fuels for diesel and Otto engines from biogenous residues, e.g., straw.

BioBoost – Boost of Biomass-based Energy

The thalamus is the central translator in the brain: Specialized nerve cells (neurons) receive information from the sensory organs, process it, and transmit it deep into the brain. Researchers from the Institute of Toxicology and Genetics (ITG) of KIT have now identified the genetic factors Lhx2 and Lhx9 responsible for the development of these neurons. Their results contribute to understanding the development of the thalamus. In the long term, they are to help healing thalamic strokes.

Towards a Therapy to Healing Stroke