When wildfires threaten people’s communities, human health is impacted far beyond the inferno. Residual smoke distributes on the breeze, infiltrating homes, schools and offices. To help people protect themselves and their families, researchers have developed a low-cost, durable, do-it-yourself (DIY) air cleaner that works as well as more expensive HEPA filters to clear indoor air of pollutants such as smoke and possibly limit the impact of airborne disease spread. Richard Corsi, dean of the University of California, Davis (UC Davis)…
The research may enable the design of synthetic, light-activated cells for wound healing or drug delivery. Life takes shape with the motion of a single cell. In response to signals from certain proteins and enzymes, a cell can start to move and shake, leading to contractions that cause it to squeeze, pinch, and eventually divide. As daughter cells follow suit down the generational line, they grow, differentiate, and ultimately arrange themselves into a fully formed organism. Now MIT scientists have…
For decades, scientists believed cool temperate rainforests were fragile ecosystems easily damaged by disturbances like fires or logging. But new research from the University of Melbourne challenges this view, revealing how these ancient forests actually depend on disturbance for their survival. The study focused on Nothofagus moorei, or Antarctic beech, a towering tree that forms the backbone of these ecosystems. The research team analyzed data from silvicultural experiments established in the 1960s across 15 plots in northern New South Wales….
Plasmonic modulators are tiny components that convert electrical signals into optical signals in order to transport them through optical fibres. A modulator of this kind had never managed to transmit data with a frequency of over a terahertz (over a trillion oscillations per second). Now, researchers from the group led by Jürg Leuthold, Professor of Photonics and Communications at ETH Zurich, have succeeded in doing just that. Previous modulators could only convert frequencies up to 100 or 200 gigahertz – in…
New DNA map could lead to more nutritious, sustainable nuts California produces 99% of the nation’s pistachios, generating nearly $3 billion in economic value in the state. But pistachios have been slightly understudied in part because of the lack of a high-quality map of their DNA. University of California, Davis, researchers have now generated the most comprehensive genome sequence of the pistachio, allowing plant breeders to create better — perhaps more nutritious — varieties. They’ve also detailed how pistachio nuts…
UNIGE scientists reveal the key role of specific genes in feather development, providing insights into their evolution from dinosaurs. Feathers are among the most complex cutaneous appendages in the animal kingdom. While their evolutionary origin has been widely debated, paleontological discoveries and developmental biology studies suggest that feathers evolved from simple structures known as proto-feathers. These primitive structures, composed of a single tubular filament, emerged around 200 million years ago in certain dinosaurs. Paleontologists continue to discuss the possibility of…
Recent studies have shown that carbon stocks in terrestrial ecosystems are increasing, mitigating around 30% of the CO2 emissions linked to human activities. The overall value of carbon sinks on the earth’s surface is fairly well known—as it can be deduced from the planet’s total carbon balance anthropogenic emissions, the accumulation of carbon in the atmosphere and the ocean sinks—yet, researchers know very little about carbon distribution between the various terrestrial pools: living vegetation—mainly forests—and nonliving carbon pools—soil organic matter,…
Technion researchers develop a technology for encoding, retrieving, and rapidly reading data stored in DNA Researchers from the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science have developed an AI-based method that accelerates DNA-based data retrieval by three orders of magnitude while significantly improving accuracy. The research team included Ph.D. student Omer Sabary, Dr. Daniella Bar-Lev, Dr. Itai Orr, Prof. Eitan Yaakobi, and Prof. Tuvi Etzion. DNA data storage is an emerging field that leverages DNA as a platform for…
A new technique has enabled ultra-powerful magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners to identify tiny differences in patients’ brains that cause treatment-resistant epilepsy. In the first study to use this approach, it has allowed doctors at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, to offer the patients surgery to cure their condition. Previously, 7T MRI scanners – so called because they operate using a 7 Tesla magnetic field, more than double the strength of previous 3T scanners – have suffered from signal blackspots in crucial…
Researchers from Japan leverage computational methods to identify potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins, revealing promising natural compounds for guiding antiviral drug development Ikoma, Japan—The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the urgent need for effective therapeutic agents against SARS-CoV-2. Although vaccines helped control the spread of the virus, the emergence of new variants continues to challenge global health efforts. Small-molecule inhibitors targeting viral proteins could serve as an effective alternative for controlling the spread of COVID-19 at both individual and community levels….
The cells that make up the walls of the finest of all lymphatic vessels have a lobate, oak leaf-like shape that makes them particularly resilient to changes in fluid volume. A similar cell shape also supports mechanical stability in plants. This has been shown by researchers from Uppsala University in a new article published in the journal Nature. The lymphatic system consists of a network of lymph vessels that maintains the body’s fluid balance and supports the immune system. The…
A grant from the American Cancer Society will allow researchers to develop a comprehensive picture of the factors that may contribute to increased cancer risk in some neighborhoods. A University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health researcher has received a $1.2 million grant from the American Cancer Society to evaluate potential links between the neighborhood environment and cancer risk. “The study will give us a much more complex look at the many factors that may contribute to increased…
Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital found that removing one protein from tumors could help thwart cancer cells in multiple ways, enhancing immunotherapy effects Targeted inhibition of a “signal jammer” protein may improve how tumors respond to immunotherapy. Published today in Nature, a new study demonstrates how some cancer cells use the protein voltage-dependent anion channel 2 (VDAC2) like a signal jammer to prevent the body’s anticancer systems from communicating with the immune system. The research also reveals the…
Organelles in cells were originally often independent cells, which were incorporated by host cells and lost their independence in the course of evolution. A team of biologists headed by Professor Dr Eva Nowack at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) are examining the way in which this assimilation process occurs and how quickly. They now describe their findings about an intermediate stage in this process in the scientific journal Science Advances. Eukaryotic cells – i.e. cells with a nucleus – contain…
A new analysis of data collected over three years by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) collaboration provides even stronger evidence than the group’s previous datasets that dark energy, long thought to be a “cosmological constant,” might be evolving over time in unexpected ways. Dr. Mustapha Ishak-Boushaki, professor of physics at The University of Texas at Dallas, is co-chair of the DESI working group that interprets cosmological survey data gathered by the international collaboration, which includes more than 900 researchers…
Clinical trial of people destined to develop early-onset Alzheimer’s disease shows eliminating amyloid from brain may prevent symptoms, supports need for confirmatory studies An experimental drug appears to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s-related dementia in people destined to develop the disease in their 30s, 40s or 50s, according to the results of a study led by the Knight Family Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network-Trials Unit (DIAN-TU), which is based at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The findings suggest…
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