Bacteria make up more than 10% of all living things but until recently we had little realization that, as in humans, soil bacteria have internal clocks that synchronize their activities with the 24-hour cycles of day and night on Earth. New research shows just how complex and sophisticated these bacterial circadian clocks are, clearing the way for an exciting new phase of study. This work will provide diverse opportunities, from precision timing of the use of antibiotics, to bioengineering smarter…
For someone with a blood cancer, receiving stem cells from a donor offers the possibility of a cure. But patients undergoing this procedure, called allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation, also face the possibility of a common side effect – graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD). In GVHD, the donated cells start attacking the patient’s own healthy cells, believing them to be intruders. Chronic GVHD ranges from mild to severe; unfortunately, it can be quite debilitating and is a major cause of death for patients. Treatments…
Researchers have modified a commercial virtual reality headset, giving it the ability to measure brain activity and examine how we react to hints, stressors and other outside forces. The research team at The University of Texas at Austin created a noninvasive electroencephalogram (EEG) sensor that they installed in a Meta VR headset that can be worn comfortably for long periods. The EEG measures the brain’s electrical activity during the immersive VR interactions. The device could be used in many ways,…
A new discovery in a cause of inner-ear bone loss. The researchers from Osaka University showed how bone erosion caused by cholesteatoma occurs. This study showed that a subset of cells called osteoclastogenic fibroblasts expresses a protein, activin A, which causes the breakdown of the bones. Because of this discovery, novel medical treatments can be developed as first-line management for cholesteatomas. Researchers from Osaka University show that the possible cause of local bone erosion in cholesteatomas are fibroblasts from the…
Researchers at Tohoku University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have unveiled new information about the anomalous dynamics at play when an electric current is applied to a new class of magnetic materials called non-collinear antiferromagnets. Researchers at Tohoku University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have unveiled a representative effect of the anomalous dynamics at play when an electric current is applied to a new class of magnetic materials called non-collinear antiferromagnets. Their findings were published in the journal Nature…
… quickly adapts to new environmental conditions. Hospital-acquired infections are often hard to treat because the corresponding pathogens become increasingly resistant against antibiotics. Here, the bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii is particularly feared, and there is great pressure to devise novel therapeutic approaches to combat it. Bioinformaticians from Goethe University Frankfurt and Research Unit FOR2251 of the German Research Foundation have now detected an unexpectedly wide diversity of certain cell appendages in A. baumannii that are associated with pathogenicity. This could lead…
HALO research aircraft to analyze the transport of greenhouses gases and aerosols over the Pacific. The extreme precipitation that occurs during the Asiatic monsoon season repeatedly causes catastrophic devastation in Southeast Asia. The same weather systems which cause these extreme events also affect the altitude region of 12 to 20 kilometers. Strong convection transports partly heavily polluted air masses from the ground-level atmosphere in Southeast Asia into this altitude region, the so-called upper troposphere/lower stratosphere, and from the northern Pacific…
By fine-tuning the spin density in some materials, researchers may be able to develop new quantum sensors or quantum simulations. Electronic devices typically use the charge of electrons, but spin — their other degree of freedom — is starting to be exploited. Spin defects make crystalline materials highly useful for quantum-based devices such as ultrasensitive quantum sensors, quantum memory devices, or systems for simulating the physics of quantum effects. Varying the spin density in semiconductors can lead to new properties…
…that function with minimal external pressure. New stand-alone thin-film version of the solid-state electrolyte called lithium phosphorus oxynitride (LiPON) shows promise in functional battery tests. A team of battery researchers led by the University of California San Diego and University of Chicago has developed a new methodology to produce the potentially game-changing thin-film solid-state electrolyte called lithium phosphorus oxynitride (LiPON). The team went on to implement their free-standing version of LiPON film in functional battery tests and found that it…
Research from the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience has identified a mechanism through which insulin-like growth factors facilitate brain plasticity. The insulin superfamily of hormones, including insulin, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1), and insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2), play a crucial role not only in regulating blood sugar, metabolism, and growth, but also in healthy brain development and function, including learning and memory. These hormones can enter the brain through the bloodstream from the liver or can be synthesized…
Researchers at TU Graz have gained new insights into the functioning of a protein found in bacteria, whose enzymatic activity is activated by blue light. Light affects living organisms in many different ways: for example, plants orient their growth direction towards the sun, while circadian rhythms in humans are controlled by daylight. These processes always involve photoreceptors, which are proteins that can sense different colours and intensities of light. 10,000-fold increase in enzymatic activity Now, researchers at Graz University of…
New methods from ISTA scientists at SIGGRAPH 2023. 3D light sculptures. Tsunami waves on a beach. Previewing color tattoos. Contributions from the Bickel and Wojtan groups at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) to the 2023 SIGGRAPH conference tackle an impressive variety of classic and novel questions. While their focuses range from computer graphics to fabrication methods, the computer scientists are united in finding cost-effective, innovative solutions and empowering users. SIGGRAPH is the top worldwide annual convention for…
On Thursday, RV Polarstern is scheduled to set off from Tromsø, Norway, towards the North Pole. For two months, a good fifty scientific expedition participants will explore the Arctic in transition as sea ice extent reaches its annual minimum in September. They will explore the biology, chemistry and physics of sea ice as well as the effects of sea ice retreat on the entire ocean system from the surface to the deep sea. Eleven years ago, Antje Boetius was part…
Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research shed light on how harmful fungi evade recognition by their plant hosts and aid infection. Many cereal crops, such as wheat and barley, are prey to devastating fungal diseases caused by infection with so-called grass powdery mildews. A key battleground between the plants and the powdery mildews is the interaction between plant immune receptors and pathogen effectors, molecules which are delivered into host cells by pathogens to establish infection. These…
Artificial intelligence helps elucidate structure of a novel light sensor. The small Caenorhabditis elegans nematode avoids light. While it does not have eyes, some of its cells contain a protein called LITE-1, which warns it of the sun, whose rays are dangerous for the animal. A team of scientists from Goethe University Frankfurt, the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, and the Simons Foundation’s Flatiron Institute in New York has now elucidated the structure of LITE-1 – a completely new type…
Employing state-of-the-art numerical simulations, a study led by scientists at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) has obtained the first systematic characterization of the properties of stellar winds in a sample of cool stars. They found that stars with stronger magnetic fields produce more powerful winds. These winds create unfavourable conditions for the survival of planetary atmospheres, thus affecting the possible habitability of these systems. The Sun is among the most abundant stars in the universe known as “cool…
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