Researchers from Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1423 – Structural Dynamics of GPCR Activation and Signaling – at Leipzig University and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg have discovered in a joint project how unstructured segments of surface proteins regulate the biological function of a cell. Their study, recently published in the renowned journal Nature Communications, sheds new light on the interplay between G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) – located in the membranes of nearly all body cells – the messengers that activate them, and the signalling processes within a target cell. This interplay has a major role in drug discovery.

Hypoxia, or low oxygen in the body, is common in solid tumors. Now, researchers have identified that an RNA molecule, EUDAL, enables oral cancer cells to resist chemotherapy by keeping a growth receptor permanently switched on under low-oxygen conditions. This drives autophagy, a cellular process that helps tumors evade treatment. These findings suggest that EUDAL is both a warning sign for poor treatment response and a potential therapeutic target, offering new hope against stubborn cancers.

A collaborative team led by Ana Boskovic and Jamie Hackett at EMBL Rome explored how different paternal preconception environments influence embryonic development. Their findings revealed that:

- An imbalanced paternal gut microbiome or altered diet disrupts the expression of key genes involved in extra-embryonic tissue development or growth.

- Genetic background modulates these effects, indicating that a complex interaction between genetics and environmental influences underlies inheritance.

- Paternal age impacts offspring development at the earliest stages of embryogenesis.

University of Utah biologist Çağan Şekercioğlu’s magnum opus began 26 years ago as an effort to determine a particular statistic for bug-eating birds in tropical rainforests. BIRDBASE now helps identify species that are at greatest risk of extinction. 

A research team based at Kyoto University has announced the discovery of a new species of shrimp as described in a Zootaxa paper.