Folate-based radiopharmaceuticals can be used in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging to detect folate receptors in brain tumours. The discovery of folate receptors and their exploitation potential with respect to brain tumours is a new and significant finding in the field. The discovery is related to gliomas, which are a group of serious brain tumours. Researchers discovered that brain tumours contain increased amount of folate receptor expression relative to adjacent brain tissue. This phenomenon has been observed in both experimental…
Numerous visual illusions are caused by limits in the way our eyes and visual neurones work – rather than more complex psychological processes, new research shows. Researchers examined illusions in which an object’s surroundings affect the way we see its colour or pattern. Scientists and philosophers have long debated whether these illusions are caused by neural processing in the eye and low-level visual centres in the brain, or involve higher-level mental processes such as context and prior knowledge. In the…
Latest research reveals the properties of a type of food poisoning bacteria, and paves way for establishment of preventive methods. Recently, Providencia spp. which have been detected in patients with gastroenteritis, and similar to enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli. O157 and Salmonella spp., have been attracting attention as causative agents of food poisoning. For children with low immunity, food poisoning can be lethal as it causes severe symptoms such as diarrhea and dehydration, so clarifying the source of infection and pathogenic factors…
Researchers from the Gothelf lab at Aarhus University have developed a new method to manipulate the shape of DNA, opening up exciting new avenues for exploration in molecular biology, nanotechnology, and beyond. A human cell harbors roughly 2 meters of DNA, encompassing the essential genetic information of an individual. If one were to unwind and stretch out all the DNA contained within a single person, it would span a staggering distance – enough to reach the sun and back 60…
The discovery of a rare type of star system in two independent studies by the University of Warwick and the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) provides new insights into the dynamo model’s predictions for stellar evolution. The new white dwarf pulsar, an extremely close binary system of a white dwarf star and a red dwarf star that together would fit inside the Sun, is only the second known of its kind. White dwarfs are extremely dense stellar remnants with…
Controlling chemical reactions to generate new products is one of the biggest challenges in chemistry. Developments in this area impact industry, for example, by reducing the waste generated in the manufacture of construction materials or by improving the production of catalysts to accelerate chemical reactions. For this reason, in the field of polariton chemistry – which uses tools of chemistry and quantum optics – in the last ten years different laboratories around the world have developed experiments in optical cavities…
In a new study, marine biologist Carolin Müller of the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) demonstrates the ingestion of microplastic particles by juvenile sea bream. She also investigated which environmental factors determine whether the young stages of the fish ingest the plastic. Nearshore ecosystems, such as lagoons and river estuaries, are important nurseries for a variety of commercially important fish species. In the seagrass beds of the lagoons, the fish find shelter and food and thus ideal conditions…
In the form of “FlyGrid”, a project team led by Graz University of Technoloy (TU Graz) presents the prototype of a flywheel storage system that can store electricity locally and deliver it using fast-charging technology. Innovative charging and storage solutions have become much more important due to the growing availability of renewable energies such as solar, wind and hydro power and the increases in the field of electromobility. They are intended to store power generation surpluses for those times when…
Terahertz-to-visible light conversion for future telecommunications. A study carried out by a research team from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), University of Exeter Centre for Graphene Science, and TU Eindhoven demonstrates that graphene-based materials can be used to efficiently convert high-frequency signals into visible light, and that this mechanism is ultrafast and tunable, as the team presents its findings in Nano Letters (DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c00507). These outcomes open the path to exciting applications in…
UR researchers develop a method for reliable planning of syntheses. Cross-coupling reactions–chemical transformations in which two fragments are joined together–are a valuable tool in the synthesis of organic molecules. Applications range from drug development and synthesis of naturally occurring molecules to materials science. Despite many known methods, finding the right conditions for new reactions remained a challenge. Given the numerous factors that can affect the outcome of the reaction, such as the presence or absence of ligand molecules, catalyst precursors,…
Researchers from the UvA Institute of Physics and ENS de Lyon have discovered how to design materials that necessarily have a point or line where the material doesn’t deform under stress, and that even remember how they have been poked or squeezed in the past. These results could be used in robotics and mechanical computers, while similar design principles could be used in quantum computers. The outcome is a breakthrough in the field of metamaterials: designer materials whose responses are…
Scientists have created one of the most detailed 3D images of the synapse, the important juncture where neurons communicate with each other through an exchange of chemical signals. These nanometer scale models will help scientists better understand and study neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s disease and schizophrenia. The new study appears in the journal PNAS and was authored by a team led by Steve Goldman, MD, PhD, co-director of the Center for Translational Neuromedicine at the University of Rochester and…
An international team including a University of Washington scientist has found that the water on one of Saturn’s moons harbors phosphates, a key building block of life. The team led by the Freie Universität Berlin used data from NASA’s Cassini space mission to detect phosphates in particles ejected from the ice-covered global ocean of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Phosphorus, in the form of phosphates, is vital for all life on Earth. It forms the backbone of DNA and is part of…
Syracuse University and Texas A&M researchers use computer modeling to find out the sources of salinization and alkalinization in U.S. watersheds. From protecting biodiversity to ensuring the safety of drinking water, the biochemical makeup of rivers and streams around the United States is critical for human and environmental welfare. Studies have found that human activity and urbanization are driving salinization (increased salt content) of freshwater sources across the country. In excess, salinity can make water undrinkable, increase the cost of…
Discovering the link between climate change and sea sponge loss. Sea sponges are essential to marine ecosystems. They play critical roles in the ocean, as they provide shelter and food to a plethora of marine creatures, recycle nutrients by filtering thousands of litres of sea water daily, and are hosts to microbes that may be the key to some of the most pressing medical challenges we face today. Now, scientists from UNSW have discovered that when a tropical sea sponge…
On Germany’s highest mountain, the Zugspitze, the air is thin and contains very few pollutants. Ultrafine particles only exist there when they are transported through the atmosphere over long distances. A research team from the University of Bayreuth led by Prof. Dr. Anke Nölscher has now installed a new module for collecting ultrafine particles at the summit of the Zugspitze. The sampling at the Schneefernerhaus Environmental Research Station and the subsequent laboratory analyses are part of the Bavarian project network…
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