Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital are tackling Mycobacterium abscessus (Mab) antibiotic resistance. This naturally antibiotic-resistant pathogen is becoming more prevalent, highlighting the urgent need for novel therapeutics. To address this, the scientists designed new versions of the drug spectinomycin that overcome efflux, the main mechanism driving resistance. The work was published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. Mab infections are increasingly found in health care settings. Such infections can be hazardous for patients with compromised…
The diagnostic, which requires only a simple urine test to read the results, could make lung cancer screening more accessible worldwide. Using a new technology developed at MIT, diagnosing lung cancer could become as easy as inhaling nanoparticle sensors and then taking a urine test that reveals whether a tumor is present. The new diagnostic is based on nanosensors that can be delivered by an inhaler or a nebulizer. If the sensors encounter cancer-linked proteins in the lungs, they produce…
The Japan-led XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) observatory has released a first look at the unprecedented data it will collect when science operations begin later this year. The satellite’s science team released a snapshot of a cluster of hundreds of galaxies and a spectrum of stellar wreckage in a neighboring galaxy, which gives scientists a detailed look at its chemical makeup. “XRISM will provide the international science community with a new glimpse of the hidden X-ray sky,” said Richard Kelley, the…
Coal is an abundant resource in the United States that has, unfortunately, contributed to climate change through its use as a fossil fuel. As the country transitions to other means of energy production, it will be important to consider and reevaluate coal’s economic role. A joint research effort from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the National Energy Technology Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has shown how coal can play a vital role in next-generation…
Mutations in a tryptophan-metabolizing enzyme might affect dopamine regulation and lead to psychiatric disorders. Over the past decades, scientists have made substantial progress unveiling the underlying mechanisms behind many psychiatric disorders. Every year, new genetic mutations or protein dysregulations are identified as potential culprits for the symptoms, and sometimes even the root causes of complex neurological diseases, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s. Despite these efforts, the precise roles of several proteins involved in brain function remain obscure….
Researchers have developed a new mathematical framework that can shed light on small-scale turbulent flow to better understand the turbulence phenomena. Weather forecasting is important for various sectors, including agriculture, military operations, and aviation, as well as for predicting natural disasters like tornados and cyclones. It relies on predicting the movement of air in the atmosphere, which is characterized by turbulent flows resulting in chaotic eddies of air. However, accurately predicting this turbulence has remained significantly challenging owing to the…
MPFI Scientists identify ALS-linked protein VAP as a key stabilizer of mitochondria near dendritic spines to support memory formation. When experiencing new things, the structure and function of our neurons and their connections are rapidly being remodeled. This process, known as synaptic plasticity, is critical for us to learn and adapt. However, these changes require a lot of energy. Fortunately, our neurons are well-adapted to support these changes. Biological batteries known as mitochondria are strategically stabilized near sites of synaptic…
Lightweight and inexpensive, miniaturized mass filters are a key step toward portable mass spectrometers that could identify unknown chemicals in remote settings. Mass spectrometers, devices that identify chemical substances, are widely used in applications like crime scene analysis, toxicology testing, and geological surveying. But these machines are bulky, expensive, and easy to damage, which limits where they can be effectively deployed. Using additive manufacturing, MIT researchers produced a mass filter, which is the core component of a mass spectrometer, that…
A German-Swedish team has succeeded in simultaneously studying the rapid motion of electrons with high spatial accuracy and a temporal resolution in the attosecond range. The researchers combined a special type of electron microscopy, known as photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM), with the power of attosecond physics. They used unimaginably short flashes of light to precisely control the movement of electrons and record their behaviour. In the future, the method could be used to better understand the behaviour of electrons in…
P. Nowak is Professor of Immune Engineering and Drug Discovery. Prof. Radosław P. Nowak has taken up the new professorship for “Immune Engineering and Drug Discovery” at the Institute of Structural Biology at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB). The 36-year-old biochemist will strengthen the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation2 at the University of Bonn scientifically in the field of systems immunology. He also wants to actively promote the topic of “drug discovery” in Bonn on an interfaculty basis and with non-university…
Researchers from Chemnitz, Dresden und Shenzhen (China) describe in an article in the prestigious journal “Nature Nanotechnology“, how tiny magnetic springs can significantly advance medical applications. The integration of mechanical memory in the form of springs has for hundreds of years proven to be a key enabling technology for mechanical devices (like clocks), achieving advanced functionality through complex autonomous movements. In our times, the integration of springs in silicon-based microtechnology has opened the world of planar mass-producible mechatronic devices from…
Tiled titanium:sapphire laser amplification promises to enhance the experimental capability of ultra-intense ultrashort lasers for strong-field laser physics. Ultra-intense ultrashort lasers have a wide-ranging scope of applications, encompassing basic physics, national security, industrial service, and health care. In basic physics, such lasers have become a powerful tool for researching strong-field laser physics, especially for laser-driven radiation sources, laser particle acceleration, vacuum quantum electrodynamics, and so on. A dramatic increase in peak laser power, from the 1996 1-petawatt “Nova” to the…
…to reveal the expanding footprint of human activity at sea. Study reveals 75 percent of the world’s industrial fishing vessels are hidden from public view. A new study published today in the journal Nature offers an unprecedented view of previously unmapped industrial use of the ocean and how it is changing. The groundbreaking study, led by Global Fishing Watch, uses machine learning and satellite imagery to create the first global map of large vessel traffic and offshore infrastructure, finding a…
The technology could allow for smaller and faster devices and may have applications for quantum computing. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have created the world’s first functional semiconductor made from graphene, a single sheet of carbon atoms held together by the strongest bonds known. Semiconductors, which are materials that conduct electricity under specific conditions, are foundational components of electronic devices. The team’s breakthrough throws open the door to a new way of doing electronics. Their discovery comes at a time…
A new computational method unveils hundreds of new ceramic materials with a wide range of potentially industry-disrupting properties like electronics that could function in a lava bath. If you have a deep-seated, nagging worry over dropping your phone in molten lava, you’re in luck. A research team led by materials scientists at Duke University has developed a method for rapidly discovering a new class of materials with heat and electronic tolerances so rugged that they that could enable devices to…
Like mail carriers who manage to deliver their parcels through snow, rain, heat and gloom, a critical group of mammalian proteins helps cells function properly even under less-than-ideal conditions. Using state-of-the-art cell imaging and genome editing technology, University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists have begun to unravel how this collection of proteins performs its essential service. The discovery could eventually help researchers better understand and develop new treatments for diseases like cancer, diabetes and those that cause immune dysfunction. Led by Anjon…
Feedback
