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A study co-led by the UB lays the chemical foundations that will allow the production of tailored alginates to meet the production demand in different industrial sectors Every year, thousands of tonnes of brown algae are extracted from the seabed to obtain compounds such as alginates, a polymer composed of sugars that has high density and strength, offering potential biotechnological applications.

Eighty-five percent of diagnosed cases of lung cancer are non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this group, 5% of patients show molecular alterations in the ALK gene involved in cell multiplication.

It shows neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects in animal models of the disease. Alzheimer's disease, the most common cause of dementia, is currently incurable. The current drugs available have very limited efficacy and only in mild stages of the disease. A team from the University of Barcelona has developed a promising therapeutic candidate to treat this disease, which affects more than 800,000 people in Spain.

The red coral colonies that were transplanted a decade ago on the seabed of the Medes Islands have survived successfully. They are very similar to the original communities and have contributed to the recovery of the functioning of the coral reef, a habitat where species usually grow very slowly.

A study published in BMC Biology reveals how tiny changes in the expression of a single gene can lead to big differences in eye size. The study was carried out in two closely related fruit fly species, Drosophila mauritiana and Drosophila simulans , which are model organisms for studies on evolutionary developmental biology.

The study, now featured on the cover of Science , provides a ground-breaking perspective on the evolutionary history of molluscs. An international team of experts has resolved long-standing questions about the evolutionary history of molluscs, one of the most diverse zoological groups on the planet. The study, now featured on the cover of Science , reconstructs the family tree of molluscs and provides a ground-breaking perspective on their evolutionary history.

The study investigates epigenetic regulation by placental DNA methylation, opening new perspectives on the relationship between this process and disorders of pregnancy and embryonic development. They identify the crucial role in placental development of a protein, which together with other enzymes, restores partially methylated domains in human trophoblast stem cells.

The results could be used to improve early detection of the disease, which affects 190 million women worldwide. The University of Barcelona has participated in an international study that has found new evidence linking traumatic experiences and stressful events with endometriosis, a chronic systemic inflammatory disease characterized by the presence of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterus.

Maternal stress could leave epigenetic imprints on genes in the placenta associated with cortisol - a necessary hormone for foetal development - and this would affect the baby's development from very early stages, as stated in a paper published in the journal European Neuropsychopharmacology. The study suggests that a mother's emotional wellbeing during pregnancy is not only important for her, but could also influence the future health of her baby.

After treating a tumour with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, cells known as senescent cells can appear. These are cells that do not divide, are involved in the ageing process and are resistant to cell death, but are still metabolically active in the human body. When they accumulate, they can jeopardize the patients' recovery.

Smartwatches that can collect physical and physiological data on users could be potentially interesting tools in biomedicine to gain a better understanding of brain diseases and behavioural disorders and possible driver mutations related to these pathologies. This is stated in a study published in the journal Cell , and led by the co-author Mark Gerstein, from Yale University (United States).

A recent study conducted on melon plants has revealed a defense mechanism that certain plants activate to deal with insect pests. It is a system of signaling molecules that, distributed through extracellular vesicles - including exosomes - allow plants to adapt their defenses according to the level of stress they are under.

Researchers describe the relationship between facial morphology and cerebral cortex measurements in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder A study published in Psychiatry Research identifies subtle differences in facial shapes that may be linked to the diagnosis of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Chimpanzees are the animals with the most complex memory, apart from humans. They remember where and when ripe fruits are available, and use this information to decide which trees they will visit and even where they will sleep to eat these fruits first thing in the morning. However, the cognitive strategies they use to find foods of animal origin rather than plant origin are not yet well understood.

Researchers at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) have discovered that R-Ras1 and R-Ras2 proteins regulate the diversity of subpopulations of oligodendrocytes, the cells responsible for producing myelin in the central nervous system. This finding, published in Glia , could lay the foundations for new regenerative therapies for diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

One of the most fascinating periods in the evolution of the human lineage is the appearance of the first ancestors capable of bipedalism. Knowing the type of locomotion used by many fossil species - walking upright on the ground or climbing from branch to branch with the strength of their arms - has been one of the most classic questions in the study of the process of hominization.

Researchers at the Faculty of Medicine of the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) have revealed that pipolins, mobile genetic elements present in bacteria, contain numerous defense systems against bacteriophages. The study, published in Nucleic Acids Research , analyzed more than 11,000 pipolins in bacterial genomes, identifying their crucial role in the genetic evolution of bacteria.

US researchers have participated in a study that reveals how alterations in brain development in psychosis may be related to metabolism and neurotransmitters. Researchers from the University of Seville have participated, together with representatives from other Spanish, British, American and Canadian research centers, in a recent scientific study that has identified important anomalies in the brain maturation of individuals with psychosis.

A study led by the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) reveals that repositioning the drug dimethyl fumarate reduces neuronal degeneration in a mouse model of TDP-43-dependent frontotemporal dementia. The finding opens the possibility of reusing an already approved drug to treat a neurodegenerative disease without a cure, potentially accelerating the development of new therapies for dementia patients.

Researchers from the Universitat de València have developed a new methodology to detect and visualise zinc in astrocytes (cells that help in the correct function of nerve cells), both at microscopy and electronic level. The project, published in the magazine Microscopy and Microanalysis, confirms the importance of astrocytes in the control of zinc levels in our brain, an essential element for many neural functions.