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Scientists at Leipzig University, in collaboration with colleagues at Vilnius University in Lithuania, have developed a new method to measure the smallest twists and torques of molecules within milliseconds. The method makes it possible to track the gene recognition of CRISPR-Cas protein complexes, also known as -genetic scissors-, in real time and with the highest resolution.

Physics of Cancer finds first potential application in oncology - More accurate prognosis of how breast tumours spread Researchers led by Leipzig University have found a ground-breaking application in oncology for the scientific field of Physics of Cancer. This is a milestone for the new research field, proving its clinical relevance for the first time.

Researchers from Leipzig University and MPI studied the behaviour of male animals in Sumatra and Borneo Migrant male orangutans on Borneo and Sumatra learn about unfamiliar foods in their new home range by -peering- at experienced locals: intensely observing them at close range. This is what an international research team led by Leipzig University and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig found out in a long-term study with 152 male animals observed over a period of 30 years.

Until now, nylon has been produced from petroleum-based raw materials. However, this is quite harmful to the environment because non-renewable fossil resources are used, a great deal of energy is required, and climate-damaging nitrous oxide is emitted during production. A research team from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and the Leipzig University has now developed a process that can produce adipic acid, one of two building blocks of nylon, from phenol through electrochemical synthesis and the use of microorganisms.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects millions of people worldwide, and there is currently no cure for this disease of the central nervous system. Damage to the nerve fibres, also called axons, is responsible for the severity of MS in patients and for the course of the disease. And myelin, which is the protective layer around axons, plays a key role in this process.

A clear majority of East Germans can identify with democracy as an idea, but less than half are satisfied with their everyday experience of democracy. This was the result of a representative survey of 3,546 people from the eastern German states conducted by the Else-Frenkel-Brunswik Institute of the University of Leipzig, the results of which were presented today (June 28) at the Federal Press Conference in Berlin by the study's directors Oliver Decker and Elmar Brähler.

News from Living organisms use powerful physical principles to control interactions at their surfaces. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, Leipzig University and TU Dresden have now discovered why cholesterol-containing surfaces can exhibit greatly reduced attachment of proteins and bacteria.

Social isolation is very likely to have a negative impact on brain function. In people who have little social contact and are over 50, the structure of the brain's grey matter decreases more over time than in people who are less isolated. There is also a decline in cognitive performance. These are the findings of a study conducted by the University of Leipzig Medical Center in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences.

A new study has revealed a natural solution to mitigate the effects of climate change, such as extreme weather events. Researchers from Leipzig University, the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig (iDiv) and other research institutions have discovered that high plant diversity acts as a buffer against fluctuations in soil temperature.

In everyday life, our emotions often change from moment to moment, and people experience these fluctuations to varying degrees. Psychologists at the University of Leipzig have investigated the connection between the personality trait neuroticism - a potential risk factor for mental health - and emotional experience.

News from Studying proteins with novel methods is Dr Matthias Elgeti's speciality. An EPR spectrometer is helping him to study the structure and dynamics of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). His work is concerned with the side effects of drugs and the regulation of bodily functions such as hunger.

Cis-tetrahydrocannabinoids can now be produced synthetically, enabling pharmaceutical applications A group of researchers at Leipzig University has developed a new method for synthesising cis-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - a natural substance found in the cannabis plant that produces the characteristic psychoactive effect and has many potential applications, including in the pharmaceutical industry.

The number of people with dementia is increasing. Therefore, early detection and diagnosis of the age-related disease are becoming increasingly important. Researchers at the Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Medicine and Public Health (ISAP) at the University of Leipzig have conducted a representative survey to investigate the attitudes of people aged 60 and over toward early diagnosis of dementia: they analyzed data from two telephone surveys and compared the results.

When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, the difficult question arises as to which type of treatment is the right one. Gene expression testing is one of the methods used by doctors to help make a prognosis about the course of the disease and, based on this, to select a suitable therapy. However, the reliability of these tests has not been fully established.

International study shows that treating gastric cancer with new antibody has positive effects Gastric cancer is the fifth most commonly diagnosed malignancy worldwide. It ranks a sad third in cancer-related causes of death. The reason for this is late diagnosis coupled with rapid spread of tumour cells in the body.

Should patients over the age of 70 with head and neck cancer receive aggressive combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy? This is a controversial issue among patients, their families and health professionals. A large-scale international study involving Leipzig University Hospital proves the effectiveness of this combined treatment in older patients.

A diet rich in plant substances promotes the elasticity of blood vessels and counteracts their aging. An international research team with the participation of the University of Leipzig has for the first time demonstrated a strong positive effect of the green, Mediterranean diet on the condition of the aorta.

One of the most widely used plastics in the world is polyethylene terephthalate, or PET for short. It is everywhere in our daily lives in the form of reusable PET drinks bottles. At the end of the lifecycle of a product containing PET, the environmentally friendly reuse of the PET components through the activity of enzymes is an economically and ecologically interesting alternative to incineration, landfill or purely chemical recycling.

The human body contains more than 30 trillion cells. Until recently, the sheer number of cells in the organism meant that approaches to understanding human diseases and developmental processes based on the analysis of single cells were a futuristic vision. The development of new sequencing methods is currently revolutionising our understanding of cellular heterogeneity.

More than half of people with chronic hepatitis B have a form of the disease in which the immune system almost never achieves sustained control, despite many years of treatment. According to current knowledge, those affected therefore require lifelong drug therapy. In the world's first study on the discontinuation of treatment with the common antiviral drug for the severe form called HBeAg-negative hepatitis B, scientists have shown that some patients can achieve sustained immune control if they discontinue the antiviral therapy after a certain period of time.