Tag: Medicine

Projects

Why corona will not disappear and new vaccines will be needed

In a new research project, virologist Andreas Bergthaler is investigating how coronavirus mutations emerge in human hosts. He is seeking an explanation, among other things, for the sudden appearance of greatly mutated variants such as the ones dubbed British and South African. While the expert does not consider it certain that the virus could become […] Continue reading “Why corona will not disappear and new vaccines will be needed”

Projects

Important jigsaw piece for the therapy of rare genetic diseases discovered

Many human cell types have a precise calcium uptake mechanism. One gene in which part of the blueprint for these so-called calcium channels is encoded is also partly to blame for a rare human developmental disorder that triggers epilepsy and autism. A research group from Innsbruck is exploring these links and working on a potential […] Continue reading “Important jigsaw piece for the therapy of rare genetic diseases discovered”

Portrait

Coronavirus: from molecule to drug

By Margit Schwarz-Stiglbauer

The virologist Christoph Steininger is involved in several EU-wide research projects on the coronavirus. In an FWF-funded project on the clinically highly relevant CMV virus, his research group has just achieved a scientific breakthrough. Both research areas show how important purely curiosity-driven basic research can be for the development of drugs. Continue reading “Coronavirus: from molecule to drug”

On the road

Grüezi, Hoi and Salü – Greetings from Zurich!

By Corina Madreiter-Sokolowski

Armed with a Schrödinger fellowship and her cat, Corina Madreiter-Sokolowski moved to Switzerland. At ETH Zurich, the pharmacist investigates ageing processes at molecular level. The research environment of this top-notch university made the young scientist realise the importance of networking and exchanges, as she reveals in her report for scilog. Continue reading “Grüezi, Hoi and Salü – Greetings from Zurich!”

Projects

How immune cells cross the blood-brain barrier

The search for specific therapies for multiple sclerosis has prompted an international research group to investigate how immune cells can cross the blood-brain barrier and trigger inflammatory processes in nerve tissue. The results obtained by the Center for Brain Research in Vienna show that the development of this inflammatory disease is dominated by two types […] Continue reading “How immune cells cross the blood-brain barrier”