News from the SNI network Damaged but not defeated Bacteria use nano-spearguns to retaliate against attacks Some bacteria deploy tiny spearguns to retaliate against attacks from rivals. Researchers at the Uni- versity of Basel mimicked attacks by poking bacteria with the tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM). Using this approach, they discovered that the bacte- ria only assemble and deploy their nanoweapon if their cell envelope is damaged in an attack. Mitchell Brüderlin, a doctoral student at the SNI PhD School, was principally responsible for carrying out this work in the groups led by Professors Marek Basler and Roderick Lim (Biozentrum, University of Basel) and was first author of the publication in Science Advances. SNI post with video Original publication Origami-based artificial heart tissue As part of a Nano-Argovia project, researchers from the SNI network have developed a new method for producing artificial heart tissue. In the form of a plas- ter, this multi-layered tissue could support the heal- ing process of dead tissue in the event of a heart attack, for example. The researchers from the FHNW School of Life Sciences, the University of Basel and the industrial partner Omya AG recently published their results in the journal ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering. SNI post Original publication As part of his doctoral thesis at the SNI PhD School, Mitchell Brüderlin inves- tigated how bacteria defend themselves against an attack. Researchers have grown a multi-layered, functional artificial heart tissue. To do so, they structured a paper scaffold made of cellulose with a micro and macro pattern. The heart muscle cells aligned themselves based on the microstructure (background, right), while the macrostructure caused the tis- sue to fold (heart model, center). Overall, the researchers were able to sig- nificantly improve the contractility of the tissue. (Image: FHNW and University of Basel, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) 28 SNI INSight June 2025