All University of Würzburg articles
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NewsA highly precise target for medications against tropical diseases
Researchers have discovered a critical vulnerability shared by the pathogens that cause African sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and leishmaniasis. The PEX38 protein plays a crucial role in the formation of certain organelles of the trypanosomes that are essential for their energy supply.
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NewsA ring to transcribe them: The unique path of poxviruses
A study shows for the first time the mechanical elegance with which the viral protein VITF-3 controls the transcription process. Vaccinia viruses, the most widely studied model viruses from the poxvirus family, were examined at the molecular level.
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NewsHow the joint defence mechanism of two bacteria works
Back in 2021, researchers showed that bacteria of the genera Pseudomonas and Paenibacillus join forces to protect themselves from their predator, an amoeba. Now, they have been able to show exactly how this defense mechanism works.
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NewsResearchers uncover the secret route of prostate infections
A research team has developed a “mini prostate” organoid model using adult stem cells. Using this model, the scientists could follow a bacterial prostatitis infection step by step under controlled conditions and identify exactly how the bacteria attack.
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NewsThe ship-timber beetle’s fungal partner: more than just a food source
Researchers studying the ambrosia fungus of the ship-timber beetle discovered that this fungus stores significantly more nutrients than other types of fungi. The beetle’s symbiotic fungus accumulates various phenolic substances from the wood in its mycelium.
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NewsAnts signal deadly infection in altruistic self-sacrifice
Researchers have discovered that terminally ill ant brood, like infected cells, release an odor signaling their impending death and the risk they pose. This sophisticated early warning system facilitates rapid detection and removal of pathogenic infections.
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NewsA survival kit for smallpox viruses
Scientists have discovered a previously unknown type of assembly chaperone during their analysis of poxviruses, and they have decoded its function in full detail. This is the first known chaperone that is not formed by a protein but by a nucleic acid — specifically RNA.
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NewsNovel point of attack to combat dangerous tropical diseases
Researchers have compiled a high-precision inventory of the membrane proteins of cell organelles of the African sleeping sickness pathogen, offering hope for new treatment approaches for dangerous tropical diseases.
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NewsAntibiotics highjack bacterial immunity
Molecular defense system protects bacteria from viruses and at the same time makes them susceptible to antibiotics.
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NewsResearchers develop a new machine learning approach to bioinformatics
A current study reveals how machine learning, data integration and AI contribute to better strategies in the fight against pathogens.
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NewsSneaky pathogenic fungi hide from ants by dialling down their natural signals
Scientists have revealed that pathogenic fungi reduce their chemical detection signals to outplay social immunity among their social ant hosts.
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NewsCRISPR self-destruct protein may yield new tests for many viruses
A recently discovered protein has been found to act as a kind of multipurpose self-destruct system for bacteria, capable of degrading single-stranded RNA, single-stranded DNA and double-stranded DNA and holding potential for the development of at-home diagnostic tests for a wide range of infectious diseases.