Bonn, September 3 – How does the activity of nerve cells give rise to complex mental processes? This question drives the research of Prof. Lukas Kunz from the Department of Epileptology at University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the Professorship “Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience” at University of Bonn. He is investigating how the human brain perceives the world from its own perspective and structures it spatially. For his NEUROSPACE project, the neuroscientist has received a Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). The European Union is providing a total of approximately 1.5 million euros over five years to fund the project.

A Pediatric Investigation study finds that early autism identification can fail after screening, with gaps in referral, diagnosis, service capacity, and support. Reviewing evidence across children aged 0–5 years, researchers show that screening can accelerate diagnosis for some children but cannot replace repeated surveillance or clinical concern. The findings support faster, more coordinated and equitable pathways that help families reach assessment and needs-based support sooner, even before diagnostic certainty is complete.

Traditional MIC-based antibiotic susceptibility testing often misses sub-resistant bacteria, including persistent, tolerant, and heteroresistant populations, which may contribute to treatment failure and resistance evolution. Researchers at Huazhong University of Science and Technology have developed DP-AST, a deep learning-based microfluidic rapid phenotypic AST platform inspired by the Dujiangyan irrigation system. DP-AST measures MIC, bacterial growth activity, and concentration-effect curves to identify hidden sub-resistant bacteria. The study also identified gadE as a key regulator of amikacin sub-resistance in E. coli, offering new insights for resistance mechanism studies and future clinical diagnostics.Traditional MIC-based antibiotic susceptibility testing often misses sub-resistant bacteria, including persistent, tolerant, and heteroresistant populations, which may contribute to treatment failure and resistance evolution. Researchers at Huazhong University of Science and Technology have developed DP-AST, a deep learning-based microfluidic rapid phenotypic AST platform inspired by the Dujiangyan irrigation system. DP-AST measures MIC, bacterial growth activity, and concentration-effect curves to identify hidden sub-resistant bacteria. The study also identified gadE as a key regulator of amikacin sub-resistance in E. coli, offering new insights for resistance mechanism studies and future clinical diagnostics.Traditional MIC-based antibiotic susceptibility testing often misses sub-resistant bacteria, including persistent, tolerant, and heteroresistant populations, which may contribute to treatment failure and resistance evolution. Researchers at Huazhong University of Science and Technology have developed DP-AST, a deep learning-based microfluidic rapid phenotypic AST platform inspired by the Dujiangyan irrigation system. DP-AST measures MIC, bacterial growth activity, and concentration-effect curves to identify hidden sub-resistant bacteria. The study also identified gadE as a key regulator of amikacin sub-resistance in E. coli, offering new insights for resistance mechanism studies and future clinical diagnostics.