Djungarian hamsters ( Phodopus sungorus ), originating from Asian steppes, change fur color from brown in summer to white in winter when they reduce body mass and size of reproductive organs. The species also enters energy-conserving daily torpor, characterized by a substantial temporal reduction of metabolic rate (MR) and body temperature (T b ). However, spontaneous daily torpor (food ad libitum) is only used by winter-accli...

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have emerged as promising in vitro tools, providing a robust system for disease modelling and facilitating drug screening. Human iPSCs have been successfully differentiated into lung cells and three-dimensional lung spheroids or organoids. The lung is a multicellular complex organ that develops under the symphonic influence of the microenvironment. Here, we hypothesize that the generation...

Originally Lipid droplets (LDs) were considered as being droplets for lipid storage only. Increasing evidence, however, demonstrates that LDs fulfill a pleiotropy of additional functions. Among them is the modulation of protein as well as lipid homeostasis. Under unfavorable pro-oxidative conditions, proteins can form aggregates which may exceed the overall proteolytic capacity of the proteasome. After stress termination LDs c...

Summary Solar disinfection (SODIS) is a simple drinking water treatment method that improves microbiological water quality where other means are unavailable. It makes use of the deleterious effect of solar irradiation on pathogenic microbes and viruses. A positive impact on health has been documented in several epidemiological studies. However, the molecular mechanisms damaging cells during this simple treatment are not yet fu...