The development of an effective vaccine against the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has posed a significant challenge for decades due to the high genetic diversity of the virus. A research team led by Prof. Dr. Thomas Krey from the Institute of Biochemistry and the Center for Structural and Cell Biology in Medicine at the University of Lübeck, in collaboration with international partners, has now achieved a major breakthrough: using so-called “epitope-focused immunogens,” they were able to induce broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) in laboratory models for the first time. The promising results of the study were published in the renowned journal Science Advances.

Researchers at Kyushu University have revealed a new mechanim underlying how spatial distance between specific regions of DNA is linked to bursts of gene activity. Using advanced cell imaging techniques and computer modeling, the researchers showed that the folding and movement of DNA, as well as the accumulation of certain proteins, changes depending on whether a gene is active or inactive.

For the second consecutive year, three faculty members in the Department of Biology have received National Institutes of Health Maximizing Investigators’ Research Awards (MIRA) recognizing their sustained research potential in bacterial and applied phage biology, neurobiology, and behavioral and evolutionary biology.

Desert ants of the Cataglyphis nodus species use the Earth's magnetic field for spatial orientation, but rely on a different component of the field than other insects. This is the result of a survey published today in the journal Current Biology by a research team led by Dr Pauline Fleischmann from the University of Oldenburg, Germany. It suggests that the ants also use a different mechanism for magnetoreception than most insects studied to date, including the famous monarch butterflies. The researchers suspect that magnetoreception in desert ants is based on a mechanism involving tiny particles of the iron oxide mineral magnetite or other magnetic particles.

Helping out your neighbor or minding your own business? A challenging choice with different benefits for each decision. Game theory provides guidance in making such choices—from a theoretical perspective. Novel findings by Jakub Svoboda and Krishnendu Chatterjee at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) reveal new network structures that enhance cooperation throughout a system. These insights have potential applications also in biology.

The opensource LabEmbryoCam uses 3D-printed components to form a robotic microscope and is the result of over a decade of research at the University of Plymouth. Its creators say the instrument can autonomously monitor the earliest stages of development in any aquatic species.

Hummingbird bills — their long, thin beaks — look a little like drinking straws. But new research shows just how little water, or nectar, that comparison holds. University of Washington scientists have discovered that the hummingbird bill is surprisingly flexible. While drinking, a hummingbird rapidly opens and shuts different parts of its bill simultaneously, engaging in an intricate and highly coordinated dance with its tongue to draw up nectar at lightning speeds.