inizio

The CROSSBRAIN EU project aims to address the heterogeneous nature of brain pathologies by developing wireless implantable microbots (µBots, planned dimensions 100 × 100 × 100 μm³) for highly localized neuromodulation. These devices are designed to precisely modulate brain activity with minimal invasiveness, enabling targeted resolution of specific spatiotemporal events, capabilities not currently achieved by existing neuromodulation technologies. A crucial step involves visualizing and ensuring...

Magnetic nanodiscs (MNDs) represent a transformative class of anisotropic magnetic nanoparticles with intrinsic vortex magnetization, enabling multifunctional applications in biomedical imaging and therapy. Here, we demonstrate their potential as dual-mode magnetic resonance (MR) contrast agents, a unique feature which is enabled by the high longitudinal relaxivity (r (1) ≈ 40 mM^(-1) s^(-1)) at ultralow magnetic fields (<70 µT) in combination with strong transverse relaxivity (r (2) > 150...

Programmed DNA double-strand break (DSB) formation is a crucial feature of meiosis in most organisms. DSBs initiate recombination-mediated linking of homologous chromosomes, which enables correct chromosome segregation in meiosis. DSBs are generated on chromosome axes by heterooligomeric focal clusters of DSB-factors. Whereas DNA-driven protein condensation is thought to assemble the DSB-machinery, its targeting to chromosome axes is poorly understood. We uncover in mice that efficient...

Programmed DNA double-strand break (DSB) formation is a unique meiotic feature that initiates recombination-mediated linking of homologous chromosomes, thereby enabling chromosome number halving in meiosis. DSBs are generated on chromosome axes by heterooligomeric focal clusters of DSB-factors. Whereas DNA-driven protein condensation is thought to assemble the DSB-machinery, its targeting to chromosome axes is poorly understood. We discovered in mice that efficient biogenesis of DSB-machinery...

XY chromosome missegregation is relatively common in humans and can lead to sterility or the generation of aneuploid spermatozoa. A leading cause of XY missegregation in mammals is the lack of formation of double-strand breaks (DSBs) in the pseudoautosomal region (PAR), a defect that may occur in mice due to faulty expression of Spo11 splice isoforms. Using a knock-in (ki) mouse that expresses only the single Spo11β splice isoform, here we demonstrate that by varying the genetic background of...