What happens to the nanoparticles when they are injected into the bloodstream, for example, to destroy solid tumours? Hossein Mohammad-Beigi, Duncan Sutherland, and Thomas Boesen have collaborated with colleagues from Department of Molecular Biology & Genetics on tackling such a challenging question using zebrafish embryos as a new study model in nanomedicine and nanotoxicology. The results have been published in ACS Nano.

The properties of nanoparticles are widely acknowledged and they are an important tool in pharmaceutical applications, among others. However, there is a need for deeper understanding of the protein layers accumulating on their surface, as these protein layers affect the functional role of the nanoparticles. AU researchers have developed a method for more efficient studies of the protein composition, which recently has been published in Nature Communications.

A so-called circular RNA molecule, which is thought to be carcinogenic, is not present in cancer cells after all. A Danish research team has published the new results in Nature Communications.

Cryogenic Electron Microscopy (cryo-EM) has become a truly important technique in molecular cell biology as well as medicine and biotechnology. Together with the University of Copenhagen, Aarhus University has established state-of-the-art cryo-EM facilities in Aarhus and Copenhagen, which will be inaugurated on October 12, 2020. The research infrastructure is expected to strengthen the Danish research in proteins, enzymes and new medicine.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation has granted DKK 15 million from its interdisciplinary synergy programme to project DRAMA. With researchers from both Nat and Tech, including Merete Bilde and Tobias Weidner, the project will decipher the role of atmospheric microbial aerosols for cloud formation.

Skrydstrup Group has developed a simple, secure, and highly efficient protocol for producing aldehydes, which are important chemical building blocks. The method includes using their two-chamber reactor, and the results have been published in the highly renowned journal, Nature Catalysis. The synthetic methodology is foreseen to have an impact for drug discovery and development in both industry and academia.

VILLUM Experiment has just awarded grants to Danish researchers, who each represent innovative approaches to their research areas, and thus to test their brave and strange technical and scientific research ideas. Associate Professor Alexander Zelikin and Professor Kim Daasbjerg are among the recipients.

The research initiative LifeTime represents more than 50 European universities, including Aarhus University. A new Perspective article in Nature, co-authored by Jørgen Kjems from iNANO and Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, outlines LifeTime's vision of how to revolutionize healthcare through personalised, cell-based interceptive medicine.

Structural disorder is vital for proteins’ function in diverse biological processes. It is therefore highly desirable to be able to predict the degree of order and disorder from amino acid sequence. AU researchers have developed a prediction tool by using machine learning together with experimental NMR data for hundreds of proteins, which is envisaged to be useful for structural studies, as well as understanding the biological role and regulation of proteins with disordered regions.

Congratulations to Peter Balling, who per. 1 September 2020 has been appointed professor of experimental physics at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Aarhus University.