Mosaic pneumococcal population structure caused by horizontal gene transfer is shown on the left for a subset of genes. Matrix on the right shows a genome-wide summary of the relationships between the bacteria, ranging from blue (distant) to yellow (closely related). Photo: Pekka Marttinen

Gene transfers are particularly common in the antibiotic-resistance genes of Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria.

When mammals breed, the genome of the offspring is a combination of the parents' genomes. Bacteria, by contrast, reproduce through cell division. In theory, this means that the genomes of the offspring are copies of the parent genome. However, the process is not quite as straightforward as this due to horizontal gene transfer through which bacteria can transfer fragments of their genome to each other. As a result of this phenomenon, the genome of an individual bacterium can be a combination of genes from several different donors. Some of the genome fragments may even originate from completely different species.

fotograf Jana Weiss

A study from Stockholm University have now established what was previously suspected, that the high levels of brominated flame retardants measured in cats are from the dust in our homes. The study has been published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. The study shows that cats are exposed to chemicals found in electronics and furniture, chemicals that become dust and can adversely affect health. It is the first time that this connection has been verified. In a previous study, the researchers demonstrated that brominated flame retardants were found in higher concentrations in the blood of cats that had developed Feline hyperthyroidism (hyperthyroidism in cats) compared to healthy cats. Now, new measurements of healthy cats establish their dust exposure. Paired samples were taken from the same household, i.e. they took both dust samples and blood samples at the same time.

L’ENEA ha brevettato “Sesto Senso”, un sistema multisensoriale in grado di monitorare e ottimizzare i consumi energetici di abitazioni e uffici assicurando temperatura e illuminazione ideali sia in estate che in inverno. Ma c’è di più. Grazie ad un sistema innovativo di rilevamento delle presenze, questo vero e proprio ‘maggiordomo virtuale’ può attivare o disattivare autonomamente luci, elettrodomestici, tapparelle e schermature solari nella casa; inoltre, attraverso un’analisi qualitativa della CO2, avvisa anche se occorre aprire le finestre per arieggiare i locali. Questo sistema intelligente è composto di un’unità centrale e di un insieme di sensori ambientali che funzionano come una rete neuronale artificiale: i sensori di monitoraggio acquisiscono i dati su temperatura, umidità, luminosità, valori della CO2 ma anche informazioni su movimenti, rumore e transito di persone nell’abitazione.

Pitching & co-pro event - feature films

08 – 10 Mar 17

Bordeaux (France)

Cartoon Movie is neither a fair nor a festival, but rather a pitching & co-pro forum for animated feature films.

For two days, producers have the opportunity to pitch their film project in order to speed up financing, find co-producers and interest international distributors.

Since its creation in 1999, 274 films found financing, representing a total budget of 1.9 billion EUR.

Read more on http://www.cartoon-media.eu/cartoon-movie-event/cartoon-movie-2017.htm

Generation of recombinant rotavirus from cloned cDNA

Osaka University scientists generate a new plasmid-based reverse genetics system for rotaviruses. Rotaviruses are the most common cause of severe diarrhea and kill hundreds of thousands of infants a year. Although current vaccines are effective in preventing aggravation of rotaviruses, the development of more effective vaccines at lower cost is expected. Technology cannot study well how rotaviruses invade and replicate in a cell. To identify which genes are crucial for the infection of rotaviruses, scientists at the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases at Osaka University report a new plasmid-based reverse genetics system. The study can be read in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Activation of the brain's fear network, visualized using functional magnetic resonance imaging (picture: Dr. Tina Lonsdorf, Systems Neuroscience UKE Hamburg)

Several newly discovered variants of a gene increase the risk of developing anxiety disorders. A research team aims to derive new therapies from this finding which are better tailored to the individual patients. Mental, social and inherited factors all play a role in anxiety disorders. In the journal "Molecular Psychiatry", a research team from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) in Bavaria, Germany, describes a hitherto unknown genetic pathway for developing such diseases: They pinpointed at least four variants of the GLRB gene (glycine receptor B) as risk factors for anxiety and panic disorders. More than 5000 voluntary participants and 500 patients afflicted by panic disorder took part in the study that delivered these results.

Cells behave differently when removed from their environments, just as cells that develop in cultures do not behave like cells in living creatures. To study the effects of Alzheimer’s disease in a more natural environment, scientists from the lab of professor Bart De Strooper (VIB-KU Leuven, Dementia Research Institute-UK) in collaboration with scientists from ULB (profs Pierre Vanderhaeghen and Jean-Pierre Brion) successfully circumscribed this challenge by transplanting human neural cells into mouse brains containing amyloid plaques, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. The results of their research showed that, unlike mouse neurons, human neurons that developed in this environment were extremely susceptible to Alzheimer’s disease. Their high-impact results are published in leading academic journal Neuron.

foto di dj fabo

Il Parlamento continua ad ignorare gli appelli del  Dj cieco e tetraplegico divenuto simbolo di una battaglia coraggiosa e per la libertà di tutti: “Schiavi di uno Stato che ci costringe ad andare all’estero per liberarci da una tortura insopportabile e infinita” E sono tre: terzo rinvio per l’entrata in aula della legge sul Biotestamento, il cui inizio dei lavori alla Camera era atteso prima a fine gennaio, poi il 20 febbraio, poi il 27, e ora è stato spostato ulteriormente ai primi di marzo.

Rappresentazione artistica del sistema formato da Trappist-1 e i suoi sette pianeti rocciosi.

Grazie a un’intensa campagna osservativa, condotta con telescopi terrestri e spaziali, un team internazionale di ricercatori ha scoperto che la stella Trappist-1 ospita almeno sette pianeti, tutti di dimensioni simili alla Terra. I dati mostrano che, potenzialmente, sono tutti e sette in grado di ospitare acqua allo stato liquido. Sale a sette il conto dei pianeti terrestri in orbita attorno a Trappist-1, la nana rossa ad appena 40 anni luce da noi. È passato poco più di un anno dall’annuncio della scoperta di tre pianeti di dimensioni simili alla Terra in orbita attorno a questa stella fredda e di piccola taglia, e oggi, grazie a uno studio condotto con telescopi terrestri e spaziali, scopriamo che la nostra “vicina” di casa ospita un sistema planetario molto più ricco del previsto.

An example of trilobite

Despite a plethora of exceptionally preserved trilobites, trilobite reproduction has remained a mystery. No previously described trilobite has had unambiguous eggs or genitalia preserved. This study by Thomas A. Hegna and colleagues reports the first occurrence of in situ preserved trilobite eggs from the Lorraine Group in upstate New York, USA.