Titanium dioxide: E171 first enters the blood via the mouth

E171, a food additive, has been used until recently as a whitening and opacifying agent in many products such as pastries, sweets, sauces and ice cream. It is composed of micro- and nanoparticles of titanium dioxide, or TiO2.

How do cells react to micro- and nanoplastics?

The smaller plastic particles are, the more easily they can be taken up by cells. In addition, the shape, surface and chemical properties play an important role in answering the question of how the particles could affect ...

Friendly fungi announce themselves to their hosts

For many years after discovering a diverse population of sometimes dangerous microbes constantly living in our intestines, scientists described the situation as a form of living with the enemy. But when it comes to commensal ...

Allergy-friendly apple varieties

In a few years, apples that are officially deemed allergy-friendly will be available in supermarkets. The apples are a result of a project in which researchers in cooperation with the Züchtungsinitiative Niederelbe (ZIN), ...

Mice can smell oxygen

The genome of mice harbours more than 1000 odorant receptor genes, which enable them to smell myriad odours in their surroundings. Researchers at the Max Planck Research Unit for Neurogenetics in Frankfurt, the University ...

New receptors discovered for Helicobacter pylori

Helicobacter pylori is a spiral bacterium that can colonize the human stomach - sometimes with fatal consequences. A research group led by Prof. Markus Gerhard of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Assistant Professor ...

A surplus with consequences

Why do healthy cells become malignant and proliferate uncontrollably? Scientists of the University of Würzburg have investigated the role of a special protein in this process and settled and old controversy.

Red deer make more out of less food during winter

During the winter season, northern-latitude herbivores must cope with a food supply that is both restricted and of poorer quality. The ability of red deer to handle these extreme situations was the focus of a study conducted ...

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