Unique characteristics of previously unexplored protein discovered

Research collaboration achieves scientific breakthrough in understanding cell division

17-Jul-2024 - An international research collaboration, led by Prof. Dr. Robert Grosse (Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies and Institute of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Freiburg), Dr. Libor Macurek (Institute of Molecular Genetics, Czech Academy of ...

Former unknowns: Noelin proteins central to learning ability of mammalian brains

German-American research team led by Freiburg physiologists reveals the fundamental importance of Noelin proteins for the plasticity of neurons

18-Aug-2023 - A German-American research team led by Prof. Dr. Bernd Fakler of the Medical Faculty of the University of Freiburg, has succeeded in demonstrating the central influence of Noelin1-3 proteins on the learning ability of mammalian brains. The detailed study results have been published in the journal ...

Freiburg research team casts light on signal-dependent formation of mitochondria

Scientists reveal the transport of positively charged signal sequences through negatively charged groove

08-Aug-2023 - Known as the power plant of the cell, mitochondria are essential to human metabolism. Human mitochondria consist of 1,300 different proteins and two fatty biomembranes. The vast majority of mitochondrial proteins are produced with a cleavable transport signal and have to be actively transported ...

Cytoskeleton acts as cells’ bouncer for bacteria

Researchers have discovered a previously unknown function of septins in defending cells against dangerous hospital pathogens

24-Oct-2022 - Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P.a.) are resistant to most antibiotics and cause life-threatening infections of wounds or the lungs. The P.a. bacteria species has an entire arsenal of strategies for evading the immune system and infecting tissue. Researchers working with Prof. Dr. Winfried Römer and Dr. ...

How cells control mitochondria

Researchers discover a signaling protein that controls the assembly of human cellular “power plants”

16-Jul-2021 - Errors in the metabolic processes of mitochondria are responsible for a variety of diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Scientists needed to find out just how the necessary building blocks are imported into the complex biochemical apparatus of these cell areas. The TOM complex ...

A Small Protein in Bacteria Overlooked Up to Now

Researchers identify an essential factor involved in the ordered recycling of phycobilisome light-harvesting structures

02-Feb-2021 - The biological process of photosynthesis is found at the beginning of nearly all food chains. It produces oxygen to breathe and provides the energetic foundation for using biotechnological processes to synthesize biofuels and chemical feedstock. Therefore, researchers are particularly interested ...

Mechanism that causes cell nuclei to grow discovered

24-Sep-2020 - By far the most important process in cell development is how cells divide and then enlarge in order to multiply. A research team headed by Freiburg medical scientist Prof. Dr. Robert Grosse has now discovered that bundled fibers of actin within a cell nucleus play an important part in how they ...

A simple solution to a complex problem

Researchers use a novel approach to identify a transport protein in mycobacteria

24-Apr-2019 - A team headed by Dr. Claudia Jessen-Trefzer of the University of Freiburg’s Institute for Pharmaceuticals Sciences has for the first time identified a transport protein in mycobacteria which is responsible for the uptake of the nutrient L-arabinofuranose. The lead authors of the study, Miaomiao ...

How to target a gene

Finding proteins important for plant development, DNA repair and gene targeting

08-Mar-2018 - All living cells have invented mechanisms to protect their DNA against breaks during duplication and against damage by UV-light or chemicals. A team of biologists led by Prof. Dr. Ralf Reski from the Faculty of Biology of the University of Freiburg, Germany has now found that members of the RecQ ...

Opening the cavity floodgates

Biochemists investigate the transport of large proteins through bacterial cell membranes

25-Jan-2018 - Every cell is surrounded by a membrane, which ensures the internal biochemical milieu and regulates the exchange of substances with its surroundings. In every cell membrane, there are a large number of transporters that allow only one sort of molecule to pass through. In the case of very small ...