Keir Starmer Has A ‘Grip’ On Labour Despite Gaza Ceasefire Divisions, Say Shadow Minister

Posted on 29/10/2023 by Boris Clair

Keir Starmer still has a “grip” on Labour despite a growing revolt over his refusal to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, one of his close allies has said.

But Peter Kyle, the shadow science minister, refused to say whether the Labour leader would sack members of his frontbench team who defied him.

Starmer has only called for a humanitarian pause in the war, stopping short of demanding a full ceasefire.

On Sunday morning 13 members of his own frontbench team had so far called for a ceasefire.

London mayor Sadiq Khan, Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar have done the same.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Kyle attempted to play down the significance of the divisions.

“We are united in sympathy in what is unfolding there and impacting civilians,” he said.

“People are calling for a ceasefire. We are calling for a pause. So we can dance on the head of a pin.”

Ceasefires tend to be long-term and designed to deescalate a conflict and pave the way for a political solution.

While humanitarian pauses can last just hours to enable aid to be delivered and are often confined to a small area rather than the entire conflict zone.

Kyle said: “Keir has been listening to people with both perspectives in the party and has turned it into a set of policy announcements and calls that would make a tangible difference on the ground.

“Keir is doing so, leading in a way which has strength, it has absolutely firm policies which are implementable and in line with the international community right now.

“That shows he has a grip on our party, yes we are having a debate and Keir is engaged in that debate. Don’t ever doubt his leadership ability.”

Asked if Starmer would sack shadow ministers who publicly differed with him on policy, Kyle said: “What he is going to do, I suspect, is to continue to engage with them.”

Members of a political party’s fronbench team are usually expected to abide by collective responsibility and not voice opposition to the leader’s policies.

In July last year Starmer removed Labour MP Sam Tarry as a shadow transport minister for making up policy “on the hoof”.

“That can’t be tolerated in any organisation because we have got collective responsibility,” the Labour leader said at the time.

On October 7 Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza, killing 1,400 people and taking around 230 hostages.

In response, Israel has launched an intensive bombing campaign in Gaza and a ground invasion is expected.

Belfast Royal Victoria Hospital: I’m nearly 80 and still nursing

Posted on 29/10/2023 by Boris Clair

“Unflappable” Jimmy turns 80 next month and is still working in intensive care at a Belfast hospital.

‘My NHS hell waiting for surgery and information’

Posted on 29/10/2023 by Boris Clair

When former BBC correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones broke his elbow he waited days for an operation.

Here’s Everything Selling Sunset Fans Will Want To Know About The Drama Of Season 7

Posted on 28/10/2023 by Boris Clair

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Everyone’s favourite reality series about luxury real estate (and fashion) in Los Angeles, Selling Sunset is heading back to Netflix next week.

Season seven will dive straight back into the lives, careers and drama of the team at the Oppenheim Group – and it’s safe to say we’re hoping it will address some of the unanswered questions from the end of the last series.

What’s guaranteed, however, is another season of fallouts, new friendships, great fashion and you guessed it, some bell-ringing for those all-important house sales too.

Ahead of it’s release, here’s everything you need to know about season seven of Selling Sunset…

Mary Fitzgerald, Nicole Young, Chrishell Stause and Chelsea Lazkani in season seven of Selling Sunset

What happens in season 7 of Selling Sunset?

First of all, if you need a season six recap, we’ve got you covered.

But in the six months since it aired, a lot has happened. Heather welcomed her first child, Chrishell got married to G-Flip in Vegas, and there’s rumours of a surprising feud between Amanza and Chrishell (which the former teased season seven would touch on).

The explosive teaser for season seven sees threats of the gloves coming off at the OG, as bosses Jason and Brett warn the agents that they need to step up after becoming “complacent.”

The twins even compare them to their Selling the OC counterparts, who are seen at the table in a reality series crossover, as Gio tells them he doesn’t want their office to be paying for the new LA one. Ouch.

After some time in Australia with her partner G-Flip, Chrishell attempts to find a balance between her professional life and personal one, though it seems she isn’t quite on board with Jason’s new girlfriend, Marie-Lou. As she tells her: “I’m losing braincells over this conversation.”

Bre and Chelsea still seem to be at odds, while it’s unclear if Nicole and Chrishell have resolved their legal drama from the previous season.

Chrishell also doesn’t turn up to a dinner and Amanza seems to document it and call it “ridiculous” that she doesn’t attend. Could this be the beginning of the feud that led to Amanza blocking her friend on Instagram? Guess we’ll have to tune in to find out.

Who is returning for Selling Sunset season 7?

From the trailer it seems to safe to say most of the show’s main cast will be returning this season including Chrishell, Jason, Brett, Mary and her husband Romaine, Amanza, Emma, Chelsea, Nicole and Bre. It’s unclear if Davina will appear again after she had less screen time in season six, and isn’t seen in the trailer either.

Many of the show's favourites are back for season seven — Many of the show’s favourites are back for season seven

Heather Rae El Moussa will also return, though it’s likely that she’ll pop up throughout the season as the star was heavily pregnant and went onto maternity with her baby boy during filming.

There’s no sign of Christine’s return, though, which isn’t surprising as she said she wouldn’t come back “in a million years.”

When will season 7 be released?

All 11 episodes of Selling Sunset season seven will be available to stream on Netflix on 3 November 2023.

No More Soggy Bottoms: The Great British Bake Off Has Returned To Form

Posted on 28/10/2023 by Boris Clair

One of the catastrophes that can befall competitors on The Great British Bake Off is the dreaded soggy bottom: instead of a crisp and flaky crust, the base of their pie has turned into a gooey and congealed mess.

Lately, the long-running baking competition series, known for being one of the most comforting shows on television, has produced too many soggy bottoms. Embarrassing culturally themed weeks that made a mockery of the cuisines they were intended to celebrate. Hosts with an annoying tendency to turn everything into a dumb comedy bit. The overuse of gimmicks and stunts deviated from actual baking tasks, and sometimes even felt like they were setting the bakers up to fail. All of these have left a sour taste, like a curdled custard or a burned caramel.

So this summer, when Bake Off producers promised this year’s season would be a return to form, I thought: “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

To the relief of us long-suffering Bake Off fans, the new season has so far delivered, like when a baker knocks their bake out of the park and receives a coveted handshake from pompous and notoriously hard-to-please judge Paul Hollywood (or less annoyingly, when judge Prue Leith declares a baker’s bake “a triumph”). As soon as I hit play on the first episode, I felt the cozy vibes envelop me.

The show’s producers admitted the culturally themed weeks were a misstep and that some of the challenges have become too elaborate. As a result, they’ve pledged to stick to classic themes, like cakes, bread, biscuits and pastries. We can breathe a little easier, knowing there isn’t a horrifically bad culturally-themed week looming. And the cringey comedy bits have largely been kept to a minimum and haven’t felt overly hacky. For instance, the season premiere, which typically opens with a pop culture-themed sketch, began with The Breadfather, a spoof of The Godfather, which was actually pretty funny.

My renewed sense of optimism in the show comes down to a hero ingredient, as the judges like to say when looking for a dominant flavour in a baker’s finished product. New co-host Alison Hammond couldn’t be a more perfect fit for the show. With her instant warmth and exuberance, infectious laugh, and clear appreciation for the show and its bakers, it’s like she was born to preside over the Bake Off tent. Moreover, as an experienced TV host, she seems to understand exactly what a Bake Off host is meant to do. She banters and jokes with the bakers, ensuring they’re doing OK and not feeling too nervous. She also knows when to get out of the way and keep things moving.

That’s the key: Don’t distract from the bakers, who are the real stars. Although, other than when they are awarded Star Baker, it feels weird to call them stars since what makes them so endearing is that they’re regular people. A typical Bake Off contestant is often earnest, self-deprecating and focused on trying their best. This year’s batch of bakers are as delightful as always, like Tasha, who immediately won me over when she roasted Hollywood early in the first episode; and Saku, whose cheerful enthusiasm and snarky quips remind me of every boisterous Asian auntie at a family friend’s dinner party.

The bakers on this season of The Great British Bake Off

Bake Off makes great television by turning each baking task into a high-stakes emotional journey — but not in the deliberately manipulative way we typically associate with reality television. Last week’s episode, Chocolate Week, was, dare I say, the most stressful episode of TV this year since Connor’s Wedding. The drama! The tension! Will the bakers’ homemade chocolates come out of their molds? Will their edible chocolate boxes stand up? Will their fillings stay solid or ooze out like a mudslide? Will everyone finish on time? And why, every season, is it always sweltering on the day the bakers are tasked with tempering chocolate?! What sweet, sweet relief I felt when the judges decided it wouldn’t be fair to eliminate anyone because of the strenuous conditions in the tent: Tasha, who nearly passed out due to the heat, wasn’t able to finish her bake. Whew, what an anxiety-inducing hour of television!

There are also season-long narratives to follow and become invested in. Each season, some bakers consistently do well, while some bakers are a bit shaky at first — and then, week by week, get better and better. It’s a real joy to watch bakers who come into their own as the season unfolds, and they surprise even themselves with how good they are.

Even though it is, of course, a highly produced TV show, the appeal of Bake Off is that the recipe isn’t particularly complicated: Pleasant bakers making magical creations in pastel-coloured kitchens inside a sun-filled tent in the British countryside. Here’s hoping the show continues to stick to the recipe, steering clear of soggy bottoms and producing a triumph worthy of being awarded Star Baker.

The Great British Bake Off airs on Tuesdays at 8pm on Channel 4.

Halloween: Why Do We Really Celebrate Spooky Season?

Posted on 28/10/2023 by Boris Clair

Love it or hate it, Halloween has a long rich history – and has been a significant celebration in our culture for more than a thousands years.

While its religious connotations have now faded, and the event is associated with dressing up, pumpkins, and everything eerie, the occasion is still full of references to its pagan roots.

Here’s why we celebrate October 31, and why some curious traditions (bobbing for apples, anyone?) have stood the test of time.

What does paganism have to do with Halloween?

A lot, really. The whole event comes from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, a religious, pagan celebration which was meant to mark the official end of summer and welcome the harvest.

Of course, if you live in the UK, by the end of October, summer feels like a lifetime ago.

But, for the pagans in the Celtic regions of Ireland, the UK and northern France, who lived around 2,000 years ago, lighting bonfires and wearing costumes to ward off ghosts was the best way to ring in the special occasion.

And because the dark, cold winter, is often linked to death, they believed the line between the world of the living and the dead blurred around this time – so the ghosts of the dead could return to the living world.

These spirits not only caused mischief and damaged crops, but they made it “easier for the Druids or Celtic priests to make predictions about the future”, according to History.com.

Pagans would burn crops and animals as sacrifices to their gods, and would wear costumes usually made out of animal heads and skins, to tell each other’s fortunes.

History.com said it was their way of ringing in the new year.

And, just to quell any misconceptions, it’s not the same as Mexico’s well-known Day of the Dead celebration, which is about the afterlife and the continuation of life – not about death and ghosts, like Halloween.

As Britannica explains: “Although often linked to Halloween, the Day of the Dead is a time when death is celebrated, not feared.”

The sixth annual Broadway Halloween Parade

How did Samhain become Halloween?

The Pagan event evolved over time as Celtic culture faded.

After the Roman invasion in 43 AD, two other festivals were incorporated into Samhain.

History.com claims one was called Feralia, a day in late October when Romans honoured the passing of the dead, and the second was a day when Romans, honoured the goddess of fruit and trees, Pomona.

But it really started to change when, according to the US government’s Library of Congress, Pope Gregory III decided to make November 1 the time to honour both known and unknown saints who have attained heaven, in the eighth century.

History.com claimed: “It’s widely believed today that the church was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, church-sanctioned holiday.”

The online encyclopedia, Britannica, explained that All Saints Day – also called All Hallows’ Day – then started to weave in some of the Samhain traditions from the day before.

That meant Samhain started to be called All Hallows’ Eve, which is how we now know it as Halloween.

And once the occasion moved to the US and trick or treat became increasingly common at the start of the 20th Century, History.com claims parents were “encouraged by newspapers and community leaders to take anything ‘frightening or grotesque’ out of the celebrations”.

That’s probably how the event ended up losing its superstitious and religious overtones.

Why do we carve pumpkins?

This tradition actually comes from Ireland, where turnips were used instead of pumpkins.

According to the Library of Congress, the myth comes down to a man called Stingy Jack who supposedly fought with the devil, was rejected by Heaven and refused to go to Hell – so he ended up wandering the world as a ghost.

All he had was just a gift from the devil, a burning lump of coal with a turnip as a source of light – and that’s why we call carved pumpkins called Jack o’Lanterns.

Over time, it became associated with a means to banish evil spirits.

Why do we talk about ghosts so often around Halloween?

Ghosts are often associated with this time of year, because the pagans believed spirits walked the Earth during the festival – a belief reinforced by Christian missionaries who introduced All Souls’ Day.

That’s why we wear scary costumes to repel the spirits.

What about bats?

As bonfires were said to light the way for souls looking into the afterlife – and keep away the evil spirits – the light would attract insects, and therefore draw in bats, which is how spotting bats became part of the festival.

Where did trick or treat come from?

There are several different theories floating around.

One potential explanation is that Celtic people would leave food to appear the spirits travelling the Earth at night – and then people started to try and get in on the trend themselves.

Another suggests people may have been collecting food and money from local homes in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day, and it then evolved into trick or treat.

The US Library of Congress said it may have come from the German-American Christmas tradition of “belsnickeling” where children call on their neighbours to see if they can guess who they are. They were rewarded with food or other treats if no one could identify them.

Britannica also pointed out that this custom became popular in the early 20th century as Irish and Scottish communities revived the Old World tradition of “guising”. Someone would dress up, tell a joke, or perform, in exchange for fruit or a treat.

Why do we go bobbing for apples?

It was allegedly a courting ritual that was part of a Roman festival honouring Pomona, who was the goddess of agriculture and abundance.

Essentially, those who played would predict their future relationships based on their performance in the game.

AI can alert urban planners and policymakers to cities’ decay

Posted on 27/10/2023 by Boris Clair

More than two-thirds of the world’s population is expected to live in cities by 2050, according to the United Nations. As urbanization advances around the globe, researchers at the University of Notre Dame and Stanford University said the quality of the urban physical environment will become increasingly critical to human well-being and to sustainable development initiatives.

However, measuring and tracking the quality of an urban environment, its evolution and its spatial disparities is difficult due to the amount of on-the-ground data needed to capture these patterns. To address the issue, Yong Suk Lee, assistant professor of technology, economy and global affairs in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, and Andrea Vallebueno from Stanford University used machine learning to develop a scalable method to measure urban decay at a spatially granular level over time.

Their findings were recently published in Scientific Reports.

“As the world urbanizes, urban planners and policymakers need to make sure urban design and policies adequately address critical issues such as infrastructure and transportation improvements, poverty and the health and safety of urbanites, as well as the increasing inequality within and across cities,” Lee said. “Using machine learning to recognize patterns of neighborhood development and urban inequality, we can help urban planners and policymakers better understand the deterioration of urban space and its importance in future planning.”

Traditionally, the measurement of urban quality and quality of life in urban spaces has used sociodemographic and economic characteristics such as crime rates and income levels, survey data of urbanites’ perception and valued attributes of the urban environment, or image datasets describing the urban space and its socioeconomic qualities. The growing availability of street view images presents new prospects in identifying urban features, Lee said, but the reliability and consistency of these methods across different locations and time remains largely unexplored.

In their study, Lee and Vallebueno used the YOLOv5 model (a form of artificial intelligence that can detect objects) to detect eight object classes that indicate urban decay or contribute to an unsightly urban space — things like potholes, graffiti, garbage, tents, barred or broken windows, discolored or dilapidated façades, weeds and utility markings. They focused on three cities: San Francisco, Mexico City and South Bend, Indiana. They chose neighborhoods in these cities based on factors including urban diversity, stages of urban decay and the authors’ familiarity with the cities.

Using comparative data, they evaluated their method in three contexts: homelessness in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco between 2009 and 2021, a set of small-scale housing projects carried out in 2017 through 2019 in a subset of Mexico City neighborhoods, and the western neighborhoods of South Bend in the 2011 through 2019 period — a part of the city that had been declining for decades but also saw urban revival initiatives.

Researchers found that the trained model could adequately detect the objects it sought across different cities and neighborhoods, and did especially well where there are denser populations, such as San Francisco.

For instance, the maps allowed researchers to assess the temporal and geographic variation in homelessness in the San Francisco area, an issue that has grown over the years.

The model struggled in the more suburban area of South Bend, according to Lee, demonstrating a need to tweak the model and the types of objects identified in less dense populations. In addition, the researchers found there is still a risk for bias that should be addressed.

“Our findings indicate that trained models such as ours are capable of detecting the incidence of decay across different neighborhoods and cities, highlighting the potential of this approach to be scaled in order to track urban quality and change for urban centers across the U.S. and cities in other countries where street view imagery is available,” he said.

Lee said the model has potential to provide valuable information using data that can be collected in a more efficient way compared to using coarser, traditional economic data sources, and that it could be a valuable and timely tool for the government, nongovernmental organizations and the public.

“We found that our approach can employ machine learning to effectively track urban quality and change across multiple cities and urban areas,” Lee said. “This type of data could then be used to inform urban policy and planning and the social issues that are impacted by urbanization, including homelessness.”

Novel device promotes efficient, real-time and secure wireless access

Posted on 27/10/2023 by Boris Clair

A new device from the lab of Dinesh Bharadia, an affiliate of the UC San Diego Qualcomm Institute (QI) and faculty member with the Jacobs School of Engineering’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, offers a fresh tool for the challenge of increasing public access to the wireless network.

Researchers developed prototype technology to filter out interference from other radio signals while sweeping underutilized spectrum frequency bands for high-traffic periods. The technology could help regulators distribute wireless access at an affordable cost during low-traffic periods.

“Through meticulous analysis of spectrum usage, we can identify underutilized segments and hidden opportunities, which, when leveraged, would lead to a cost-effective connectivity solution for users around the globe,” said Bharadia. “Crescendo stands at the forefront of this initiative, offering a low-complexity yet highly effective solution with advanced algorithms that provides robust spectrum insights for all.”

Accessing a “Quiet” Resource

When unoccupied, broadband frequencies owned by users like the U.S. Navy or military can offer wireless connection to the public or corporations at low cost. The challenge is determining when the primary owners use the frequencies, and when they would be available for public use.

Working with Associate Professor Aaron Schulman of the Jacobs School of Engineering Computer Science and Engineering Department, researchers from Bharadia’s Wireless Communications, Sensing and Networking Group created a novel device called “Crescendo.”

Crescendo features adaptive software that allows it to sweep for activity across a range of frequencies within an agency-owned wideband spectrum. The device can adapt to signal interference in real-time by dynamically adjusting which signals it receives to tune out interference from nearby towers, base stations and other sources of high power signals. The technology’s high signal fidelity also ensures that users can count on a secure connection, with any cyberattacks identified in real-time.

“Knowing what’s going on in the spectrum helps us improve communications, regulation, privacy and security,” said UC San Diego Ph.D. student and lead author Raghav Subbaraman.

Crescendo improves on an earlier design called “SweepSense,” a prototype developed by Subbaraman and colleagues in Bharadia’s lab and the Jacobs School of Engineering’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

In practice, Crescendo can be built using commercial off-the-shelf parts and attached to existing radio units with programmable software. Researchers can monitor a particular spectrum’s activity through color-coded graphs showing hot spots of activity in red.

“When I look at this plot, I get very excited because I can see the [wireless] spectrum as colors or visible light,” said Subbaraman. “I think as more people learn about this, it should hopefully become more accessible to them. We take it for granted that we turn on WiFi, our phone just connects, and we get the Internet. But what actually happens is what we see here.”

As a prototype, Crescendo still has areas Subbaraman would like to fine-tune, including reducing its number of components to decrease the cost of production. Subbaraman would also like to conduct field tests with multiple “spectrum sensors” — devices that measure wireless network activity — to determine whether they might work in concert.

Intermittent fasting is safe, effective for those with Type 2 diabetes, study suggests

Posted on 27/10/2023 by Boris Clair

Time-restricted eating, also known as intermittent fasting, can help people with Type 2 diabetes lose weight and control their blood sugar levels, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open from researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago.

Participants who ate only during an eight-hour window between noon and 8 p.m. each day actually lost more weight over six months than participants who were instructed to reduce their calorie intake by 25%. Both groups had similar reductions in long-term blood sugar levels, as measured by a test of hemoglobin A1C, which shows blood sugar levels over the past three months.

The study was conducted at UIC and enrolled 75 participants into three groups: those who followed the time-restricted eating rules, those who reduced calories and a control group. Participants’ weight, waist circumference, blood sugar levels and other health indicators were measured over the course of six months.

Senior author Krista Varady said that participants in the time-restricted eating group had an easier time following the regime than those in the calorie-reducing group. The researchers believe this is partly because patients with diabetes are generally told to cut back on calories by their doctors as a first line of defense, so many of these participants likely had already tried — and struggled with — that form of dieting. And while the participants in the time-restricted eating group were not instructed to reduce their calorie intake, they ended up doing so by eating within a fixed window.

“Our study shows that time-restricted eating might be an effective alternative to traditional dieting for people who can’t do the traditional diet or are burned out on it,” said Varady, a professor of kinesiology and nutrition. “For many people trying to lose weight, counting time is easier than counting calories.”

There were no serious adverse events reported during the six-month study. Occurrences of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) did not differ between the diet groups and control groups.

Today, 1 in 10 U.S. residents has diabetes, and that number is expected to rise to 1 in 3 by 2050 if current trends continue, the researchers explain. Finding more options for controlling weight and blood sugar levels for these patients, therefore, is crucial.

Just over half the participants in the study were Black and another 40% were Hispanic. This is notable as diabetes is particularly prevalent among those groups, so having studies that document the success of time-restricted eating for them is particularly useful, the researchers said.

The study was small and should be followed up by larger ones, said Varady, who is also a member of the University of Illinois Cancer Center. While it acts as a proof of concept to show that time-restricted eating is safe for those with Type 2 diabetes, Varady said people with diabetes should consult their doctors before starting this sort of diet.

The other current and former UIC authors on the paper are Vasiliki Pavlou, Sofia Cienfuegos, Shuhao Lin, Mark Ezpeleta, Kathleen Ready, Sarah Corapi, Jackie Wu, Jason Lopez, Kelsey Gabel, Lisa Tussing-Humphreys, Vanessa Oddo, Julienne Sanchez and Dr. Terry Unterman. Other authors are from Northwestern University, the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and the University of Southern California.

Possible cause of male infertility

Posted on 27/10/2023 by Boris Clair

Mature spermatozoa are characterized by an head, midpiece and a long tail for locomotion. Now, researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the Transdisciplinary Research Unit “Life & Health” at the University of Bonn have found that a loss of the structural protein ACTL7B blocks spermatogenesis in male mice. The cells can no longer develop their characteristic shape and remain in a rather round form. The animals are infertile. The results of the study have now been published in the scientific journal Development.

Male sperm cells are constantly produced in large quantities in the testicles during so-called spermatogenesis. In this process, the typical elongated sperm cells are formed from round germ cells. This enormous change in shape requires the fine tuned reorganization of specialized structural proteins. One of these structural proteins is ACTL7B. “Since it is exclusively made in humans and mice during the maturation of male sperm, it has been postulated that the protein is important for this phase of development,” notes corresponding author Prof. Hubert Schorle from the Institute of Pathology at UKB, who is also a member of the Transdisciplinary Research Area (TRA) “Life & Health” at the University of Bonn.

To investigate the role of the structural protein in spermiogenesis, Prof. Schorle’s team generated a mouse model with a mutation in the Actl7b gene using gene-editing technology. This results in a complete loss of function of ACTL7B. “Without ACTL7B, development is blocked, the cells often remain in a roundish shape, usually do not form the elongated, typical sperm shape and die to a large extent ,” says first author Gina Esther Merges, a doctoral student in Professor Schorle’s laboratory.

Disruption in the network of proteins

In this context, the Bonn researchers found that ACTL7B is required for the reorganization of the cytoskeleton of spermatids. Using mass spectrometric analyses, they identified two interaction partners of ACTL7B, DYNLL1 and DYNLL2. “We were able to show that without the structural protein, DYNLL1 and 2 are not correctly localized in the round spermatids. Since it is probably a larger protein complex with further interaction partners, we attribute the above described effect to a loss of temporally and spatially precisely regulated and targeted redistribution of these proteins,” Prof. Schorle notes.

This explains why the sperm of male mice with a mutated Actl7b gene is not able to develop the characteristic shape. Due to this, the animals are infertile. In addition, according to other research, there is evidence that levels of the protein ACTL7B are reduced in some fertility patients. “Our study shows that mutations in the Actl7b gene could be the cause of male infertility,” says Prof. Schorle.

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