Researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey have discovered that a protein produced by parasitic worms in the gut enhances wound healing in mice. The study, to be published August 23 in the journal Life Science Alliance (LSA), reveals that applying the protein to skin wounds speeds up wound closure, improves skin regeneration, and inhibits the formation of scar tissue. Whether the protein can be harnessed to enhance wound healing in human patients remains to be seen. Skin wounds must…
In a world overrun by petroleum-based plastics, scientists are searching for alternatives that are more sustainable, more biodegradable and far less toxic to the environment. Two new studies by biologists at Washington University in St. Louis highlight one potential source of game-changing materials: purple bacteria that, with a little encouragement, can act like microscopic factories for bioplastics. A study led by graduate student Eric Conners found that two relatively obscure species of purple bacteria have the ability to produce polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), natural…
Researchers from Charité are developing new methods to use the internal clock inside tumor cells to optimize cancer therapies. How effective medications are depends on various factors, including the time of day when they are administered. Why? Because our bodies don’t always function exactly the same. Instead, they follow the cycle set by their internal clock, otherwise known as circadian rhythm. But since each person’s circadian rhythm is different and depends on a number of different factors, it is difficult…
The elimination of damaged cell components is essential for the maintenance of the body’s tissues and organs. An international research team led by the University of Bonn has made significant findings on mechanisms for the clearing of cellular wastes, showing that strength training activates such mechanisms. The findings could form the basis for new therapies for heart failure and nerve diseases, and even afford benefits for manned space missions. A corresponding article has been published in the latest issue of…
Chlamydiae are sexually transmitted pathogens that can apparently survive in the human gut for a long time. Researchers from Würzburg and Berlin report this in the journal PLOS Pathogens. People who are infected with chlamydia can transmit these bacteria to other people during unprotected sex. The pathogens usually cause no or only mild symptoms at first, such as itching in the vagina, penis or anus. If the infection is noticed, it can be easily treated with antibiotics. If this does…
Primate ornamentation plays a crucial role in communication not only within social groups but also between them, according to a new study. The research reveals that the males of species with overlapping home ranges often display vibrant colors or elaborate features, traits that may help reduce intergroup aggression by enabling quick assessments of potential rivals. Ornaments are sexually selected traits that serve as powerful signals, often indicating an individual’s genetic quality, health or physical strength. These differences in appearance between…
A chemistry PhD student is stranded at the Leibniz-HKI in Jena and uses the time for research on Candida albicans. Combined with antifungal drugs, synthetic polymers are particularly effective against Candida albicans. This was discovered by a German-Australian research team, who also elucidated the mechanism of action behind this. The researchers presented their findings in Nature Communications. The international collaboration came about by chance through an unplanned research stay that initiated the study at the Leibniz-HKI in Jena. Every year,…
Physicists from Aalto University in Finland, alongside an international team of collaborators, have theoretically and experimentally shown that superconducting qubit coherence loss can be directly measured as thermal dissipation in the electrical circuit holding the qubit. At the heart of the most advanced quantum computers and ultrasensitive detectors are superconducting Josephson junctions, the basic elements of qubits –– or quantum bits. As the name suggests, these qubits and their circuitry are very efficient conductors of electricity. ‘Despite the fast progress…
… as an anode material for Li batteries operating in freezing conditions. Achieved a discharge capacity five times higher than that of graphite anode material, even in environments as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius. The Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) has developed a redox-active metal-organic hybrid electrode material (SKIER-5) for Li batteries that remains stable in cold conditions as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius. By addressing the limitations of graphite as an anode material of conventional Li batteries under…
Integrated photonic circuits operating at room temperature combined with optical nonlinear effects could revolutionize both classical and quantum signal processing. Scientists from the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw, in collaboration* with other institutions from Poland as well as Italy, Iceland, and Australia, have demonstrated the creation of perovskite crystals with predefined shapes that can serve in nonlinear photonics as waveguides, couplers, splitters, and modulators. The research results, published in the prestigious journal Nature Materials, describe the fabrication…
Scientists demonstrate highly selective catalyst for low-temperature, direct conversion of natural gas to liquid fuel. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborating institutions have engineered a highly selective catalyst that can convert methane, a major component of natural gas, into methanol, an easily transportable liquid fuel, in a single, one-step reaction. As described in a paper just published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, this direct process for methane-to-methanol conversion runs at a…
Study observes key minuscule molecular interactions. An international team of scientists is the first to report incredibly small time delays in a molecule’s electron activity when the particles are exposed to X-rays. To measure these tiny high-speed events, known as attoseconds, researchers used a laser to generate intense X-ray flashes that allowed them to map the inner workings of an atom. Their findings revealed that when electrons are ejected by X-rays, they interact with another type of particle called the…
Scientists and engineers are ready to fly an infrared mission called EXCITE (EXoplanet Climate Infrared TElescope) to the edge of space. EXCITE is designed to study atmospheres around exoplanets, or worlds beyond our solar system, during circumpolar long-duration scientific balloon flights. But first, it must complete a test flight during NASA’s fall 2024 scientific ballooning campaign from Fort Sumner, New Mexico. “EXCITE can give us a three-dimensional picture of a planet’s atmosphere and temperature by collecting data the whole time the world orbits its…
As climate change creates hotter, drier conditions, we are seeing longer fire seasons with larger, more frequent wildfires. In recent years, catastrophic wildfires have destroyed homes and infrastructure, caused devastating losses in lives and livelihoods of people living in affected areas, and damaged wildland resources and the economy. We need new solutions to fight wildfires and protect areas from damage. Researchers at Stanford have developed a water-enhancing gel that could be sprayed on homes and critical infrastructure to help keep…
Bonn researchers clarify self-regulation of the immune response in the CRISPR bacterial defense system: CRISPR gene scissors, as new tools of molecular biology, have their origin in an ancient bacterial immune system. But once a virus attack has been successfully overcome, the cell has to recover. Researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn, in cooperation with researchers from the Institut Pasteur in France, have discovered a timer integrated into the gene scissors that enables the…
Highly secure quantum communication in an urban environment. Researchers from Jena, Berlin, Erlangen and Oberpfaffenhofen from the QuNET initiative are preparing to connect several users within the Berlin metropolitan region in a quantum-secure network as part of a large-scale key experiment. With this experiment, they will demonstrate the current state of development of the initiative for highly secure communication. QuNET is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Launched by the BMBF, the QuNET initiative is working…
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