Researchers were able to greatly reduce tumors in a preclinical model of a rare genetic lung disease. Researchers at the Tufts University School of Engineering are building a reputation for precision targeting in drug delivery. Their tools: tiny lipid-based nanoparticles (LNPs) that can be fine tuned to latch on to specific tissues, organs, even cell types within the body. Their latest creation: LNPs that carry genetic instructions directly into the lungs. Even before LNP delivery had its first blockbuster debut…
Degrading pyrogenic (fire-affected) organic matter is an important ecosystem function of fungi in post-fire environments. The Science Wildfires can cause significant changes in the carbon found in soils. These fires can completely burn carbon away, or they can alter its chemical composition. This fire-affected carbon, called pyrolyzed organic matter (PyOM), is difficult for many organisms to use as food. Although many soil organisms are killed by wildfires, the fungus Pyronema domesticum can grow rapidly after fires. Using RNA sequencing, researchers demonstrated that…
It happens in the first hours after fertilization: The cells of the early embryo begin to independently produce proteins, the building blocks for cells and organs. Their own, uniquely composed genetic material serves as the blueprint. In vertebrates, the starting signal for this process comes from three maternal proteins that bind to the DNA of the offspring. New findings from Dr. Meijiang Gao from a research team led by Dr. Daria Onichtchouk in the University of Freiburg’s Institute of Biology…
Chilly seawater may slow ice loss on the island until 2050, then warming and melting may accelerate. A region of cooling water in the North Atlantic Ocean near Iceland, nicknamed the “Blue Blob,” has likely slowed the melting of the island’s glaciers since 2011 and may continue to stymie ice loss until about 2050, according to new research. The origin and cause of the Blue Blob, which is located south of Iceland and Greenland, is still being investigated. The cold…
Rice lab’s RAMBO reveals unexpected influence on compound’s crystal lattice. Phonons are collective atomic vibrations, or quasiparticles, that act as the main heat carriers in a crystal lattice. Under certain circumstances, their properties can be modified by electric fields or light. But until now, nobody noticed they can respond to magnetic fields as well. That may be because it takes a powerful magnet. Rice University scientists led by physicist Junichiro Kono and postdoctoral researcher Andrey Baydin triggered the unexpected effect in a totally nonmagnetic semiconducting crystal of…
A nanomaterials-engineered penetrating sealer developed by Washington State University researchers is able to better protect concrete from moisture and salt – the two most damaging factors in crumbling concrete infrastructure in northern states. The novel sealer showed a 75% improvement in repelling water and a 44% improvement in reducing salt damage in laboratory studies compared to a commercial sealer. The work could provide an additional way to address the challenge of aging bridges and pavements in the U.S. “We focused…
Elegantly curved seating furniture that is delivered in a flat-pack and assumes its shape overnight all by itself – this may sound like a dream to those who ever puzzled over the assembly instructions from a furniture store. HygroShape is the first concept for furniture that makes this dream a reality. It relies on the shaping forces of nature and combines these with the possibilities of digitalization. It was developed by the team of Prof. Achim Menges at the Institute…
Single-cell RNA sequencing, or “scRNA-seq” for short, is a technique that allows scientists to study the expression of genes in an individual cell within a mixed population – which is virtually how all cells exist in the body’s tissues. Part of a larger family of “single-cell sequencing” techniques, scRNA-seq involves capturing the RNA of a single cell and, after multiple molecular conversion reactions, sequencing it. Since RNA is the intermediate step from gene (DNA) to protein, it provides an overview…
Scientists use quantum entangled light for a new form of microscopy able to detect signals normally hidden by quantum noise. The Science Lasers are often used to look at objects in microscopes. But even the best laser has “quantum noise” that makes a picture blurry and hides the details. This in turn results in measurements that are less precise than scientists need. Researchers have designed a new type of microscope that uses squeezed light to reduce measurement uncertainty. Unlike today’s…
The brain has neurons that fire specifically during certain mathematical operations. This is shown by a recent study conducted by the Universities of Tübingen and Bonn. The findings indicate that some of the neurons detected are active exclusively during additions, while others are active during subtractions. They do not care whether the calculation instruction is written down as a word or a symbol. The results have now been published in the journal Current Biology. Most elementary school children probably already…
X-ray laser experiments show that intense light distorts the structure of a thermoelectric material in a unique way, opening a new avenue for controlling the properties of materials. Thermoelectric materials convert heat to electricity and vice versa, and their atomic structures are closely related to how well they perform. Now researchers have discovered how to change the atomic structure of a highly efficient thermoelectric material, tin selenide, with intense pulses of laser light. This result opens a new way to…
Passive solar evaporation system could be used to clean wastewater, provide potable water, or sterilize medical tools in off-grid areas. An estimated two-thirds of humanity is affected by shortages of water, and many such areas in the developing world also face a lack of dependable electricity. Widespread research efforts have thus focused on ways to desalinate seawater or brackish water using just solar heat. Many such efforts have run into problems with fouling of equipment caused by salt buildup, however,…
A new study looking at the presence of pharmaceuticals in the world’s rivers found concentrations at potentially toxic levels in more than a quarter of the locations studied. The new study looked at 258 rivers across the globe, including the Thames in London and the Amazon in Brazil, to measure the presence of 61 pharmaceuticals, such as carbamazepine, metformin and caffeine. The researchers studied rivers in over half of the world’s countries – with rivers in 36 of these countries…
Scientists of TU Freiberg trace the Amazon rainforest’s respiration with measuring robot. On March 3, a team of geoscientists at TU Bergakademie Freiberg will travel to Manaus carrying with them a 120 centimetres long measuring device. With the newly developed robot they aim to analyse the gas exchange of carbon dioxide of 13 lakes and ponds in the Amazon Basin. Back in their laboratory, they will also identify the gas flow of methane and nitrous oxide. Having travelled to Manaus…
Whenever bats use echolocation when foraging for food or to communicate with other bats: sounds are omnipresent. How Seba’s short-tailed bat, a species native to South America, filters out important signals from the wide diversity of ambient sound is being examined by researchers at the Institute of Cell Biology and Neuroscience at Goethe University Frankfurt. The most recent finding: the brain stem, which to date had been regarded as being solely responsible for very basic tasks, already processes the probabilities…
Researchers at TU Darmstadt are using HPC at the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre to develop a new approach for modelling turbulence in fluid flows. From designing new airplane wings to better understanding how fuel sprays ignite in a combustion engine, researchers have long been interested in better understanding how chaotic, turbulent motions impact fluid flows under a variety of conditions. Despite decades of focused research on the topic, physicists still consider a fundamental understanding of turbulence statistics to be among the…
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