Dual role: Researchers show that platelets can worsen disease
Platelets are best known as rapid responders in the event of injury. They stop bleeding and are indispensable for wound healing. “However, thrombocytes can also aggravate diseases, especially when inflammatory processes are involved,” explains Marion Mußbacher, a pharmacist at the University of Graz. She investigated the “dual role” of platelets in relation to fatty liver disease, a condition closely linked to obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Forscher:innen entdecken natürlichen Wirkstoff zum Schutz vor Lebererkrankungen
Die Leber leidet still. „Fetteinlagerungen, strukturelle Zerstörung des Gewebes oder mutierende Tumorzellen – all das fliegt eine Weile unter dem Radar. Begleitet werden diese Veränderungen oft von leichten, jedoch chronischen Entzündungen“, erklärt Andreas Koeberle, Pharmazeut an der Universität Graz. Er hat mit seinem Team und Kolleg:innen der Universität Innsbruck den Wirkstoff Mitrephoron B untersucht, der neue Behandlungsansätze ermöglicht. Die Ergebnisse der Studie wurden kürzlich in der Open-Access-Fachzeitschrift „Theranostics“ veröffentlicht.
Climate at the cliffs: Researchers unravel the evolution of the Greenland ice margin
Vertical ice walls, up to 40 metres high: in "Game of Thrones" they were dramatised as fortifications; during the Cold War, they were studied with great interest. How these imposing walls along Greenland’s 80,000-kilometre-long ice margin formed, how they are evolving, and what impact they have on the climate is not yet fully understood. Researchers from the Universities of Graz and Innsbruck have come one step closer to solving the mystery. The results of their latest study have been published in the journal The Cryosphere.