Is Musical Enjoyment in Our Genes?

11-Apr-2025 - Does our ability to enjoy music have a biological basis? A genetic twin study, published in Nature Communications, shows that music enjoyment is partly heritable. An international team led by scientists from the Max Planck Institutes for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and for ...

What drives our cravings for food and drink?

New research shines light on how the brain interprets nutritional and hydration needs and turns them into action

02-Apr-2025 - To ensure we get the calories and hydration we need, the brain relies on a complex network of cells, signals, and pathways to guide us when to eat, drink, or stop. Yet, much about how the brain deciphers the body’s needs and translates them into action remains unknown. Researchers from the Max ...

Numerous World’s First Scientific Breakthroughs on Path to De-Extinction

Colossal Secures $200M in Series C Funding From TWG Global

21-Jan-2025 - Colossal Biosciences, the world’s first de-extinction company, has announced $200M in a Series C financing by TWG Global, a diversified holding company with operating businesses and investments in technology/AI, financial services, private lending and sports and media, jointly led by Mark Walter ...

Cause of the yo-yo effect deciphered

Fat cells store memories of obesity in their cell nucleus

20-Nov-2024 - Anyone who has ever tried to get rid of a few extra kilos knows the frustration: the weight drops initially, only to be back within a matter of weeks – the yo-yo effect has struck. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now been able to show that this is all down to epigenetics. Epigenetics is the part ...

Harnessing Mutations: A Breakthrough in Fruit Fly Genetics

A game-changing technique, TF-High-Evolutionary (TF-HighEvo), allows large-scale assessment of de-novo mutations in multicellular organisms

16-Sep-2024 - Developed in collaboration with researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory of the Max Planck Society and published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, this technique provides fresh insights into the evolutionary dynamics of gene ...

How to live 400 years

Genome of the longest-lived vertebrate decoded: It is huge and has special repair capabilities

12-Sep-2024 - The Greenland Shark (Somniosus microcephalus), an elusive dweller of the depths of the northern Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean, is the world’s longest-living vertebrate, with an estimated lifespan of about 400 years. An international team of scientists has mapped the Greenland Shark’s genome for ...

Searching old stem cells that stay young forever

Sea anemone regulates stem cells through evolutionarily conserved genes

23-Aug-2024 - The sea anemone Nematostella vectensis is potentially immortal. Using molecular genetic methods, developmental biologists led by Ulrich Technau from the University of Vienna have now identified possible candidates for multipotent stem cells in the sea anemone for the first time. These stem cells ...

‘Jumping Genes’ Support Immune Cells in Tissue

Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy (LIT) describe a new type of regulation of immune cells by so-called 'jumping genes'

29-Jul-2024 - The immune system defends the body against invading bacteria and viruses, as well as the spread of tumor cells. Unfortunately, the necessary immune response of the body causes unwanted damage that the body must heal. After combating these dangers, the immune system needs to be dampened again, ...

Brain-heart axis: strokes change epigenetics of immune system

Heart condition because of stroke? A new study discovers why this can happen – and how we can counter it in future

24-Jul-2024 - A stroke not only causes acute damage to the brain, but can also have long-term health implications for other organs – such as the heart. “However, there has been little research to date on the effects of brain injuries on systemic immunity,” says Professor Arthur Liesz from the Institute for ...

Father's Diet Before Conception Influences Children's Health

Father's body weight influences the weight of the children and their susceptibility to metabolic diseases

07-Jun-2024 - A recent study conducted by Helmholtz Munich and the German Center for Diabetes Research provides new insights into how fathers' diets and overweight can affect their children's health even before conception. The findings of the study can help develop preventive health measures for men wishing to ...