Oldenburg team reports first successful mass spawning of stony corals in Germany. Scientists at the University of Oldenburg’s Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) have scored a success: in the aquariums at the ICBM’s Wilhelmshaven site they were able to induce sexual reproduction in stony corals for the first time ever in Germany. The research team, led by Professor Peter Schupp from the Environmental Biochemistry group, succeeded in accurately recreating the environmental conditions of the corals’…
PANDORA sequencing method developed by UC Riverside-led team can detect once-undetectable small RNAs. A team led by a biomedical scientist at the University of California, Riverside, has developed a new RNA-sequencing method– “Panoramic RNA Display by Overcoming RNA Modification Aborted Sequencing,” or PANDORA-seq — that can help discover numerous modified small RNAs that were previously undetectable. RNA plays a central role in decoding the genetic information in DNA to sustain an organism’s life. It is generally known as the intermediate…
By binding specific ions in specially designed cages within its pores, a new membrane could enable more efficient flows in energy storage devices. Membranes that allow certain molecules to quickly pass through while blocking others are key enablers for energy technologies from batteries and fuel cells to resource refinement and water purification. For example, membranes in a battery separating the two terminals help to prevent short circuits, while also allowing the transport of charged particles, or ions, needed to maintain…
Progression of Duchenne Muscle Dystrophy (DMD) can be delayed in mice by supplementing their diets with Urolithin A, according to new results reported today. The findings, published in Science Translational Medicine, raise hopes that new treatment options could one-day be developed for DMD, an uncurable genetic condition characterized by progressive muscle degeneration. About 1 in 3,500 boys are born with DMD, which usually develops in childhood and significantly reduces life expectancy. The new research carried out at the laboratory of…
Researchers at the University of Münster discover how cell contacts are dynamically remodelled during egg development in fruit flies / Study published in “Developmental Cell”. Within multicellular organisms, cells build connections with each other forming cell layers that cover the surfaces of tissues and organs and separate structures in the body. For example, the skin forms a mantle around the entire organism, and the layer of cells lining the blood vessels creates a boundary between the bloodstream and tissues. Special…
Scientists at the University of Bayreuth and the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen have developed a novel sensor that provides real-time insights into the inner life of plants. The hormone auxin is of central importance for the development of plants. Scientists at the University of Bayreuth and the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen have now developed a novel sensor that makes the spatial distribution of auxin in the cells of living plants visible in…
Next-generation sutures can deliver drugs, prevent infections, and monitor wounds. Sutures are used to close wounds and speed up the natural healing process, but they can also complicate matters by causing damage to soft tissues with their stiff fibers. To remedy the problem, researchers from Montreal have developed innovative tough gel sheathed (TGS) sutures inspired by the human tendon. These next-generation sutures contain a slippery, yet tough gel envelop, imitating the structure of soft connective tissues. In putting the TGS…
Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology discover a surprising phase transition in twisted bilayer graphene. Most materials go from being solids to liquids when they are heated. One rare counter-example is helium-3, which can solidify upon heating. This counterintuitive and exotic effect, known as the Pomeranchuk effect, may now have found its electronic analogue in a material known as magic-angle graphene, says a team of researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science led…
Around the world, a huge amount of research and development work is currently being done on carbon-containing, or organic, molecules that emit coloured light after appropriate excitation. This research field is driven by the display industry and the development of biomedical imaging techniques. While precise colour tuning in organic fluorescent dyes has so far usually been achieved by mixing different molecules, ETH researchers have now developed an approach that can generate a broad palette of colours by way of chemical…
The current method of manufacturing carbon nanotubes–in essence rolled up sheets of graphene–is unable to allow complete control over their diameter, length and type. This problem has recently been solved for two of the three different types of nanotubes, but the third type, known as ‘zigzag’ nanotubes, had remained out of reach. Researchers with Japan’s National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS) have now figured out how to synthesize the zigzag variety. Their method is described in the journal Nature Chemistry,…
Nanographene is flexible, yet stronger than steel. With unique physical and electronic properties, the material consists of carbon molecules only one atom thick arranged in a honeycomb shape. Still early in technological development, current fabrication methods require the addition of substituents to obtain a uniform material. Additive-free methods result in flimsy, breakable fibers–until now. An international team of researchers has developed self-assembling, stable and strong nanographene wires. The results were published on March 24 in Journal of the American Chemical…
Glassy materials play an integral role in the modern world, but inherent brittleness has long been the Achilles’ heel that severely limits their usefulness. Due to the disordered amorphous structure of glassy materials, many mysteries remain. These include the fracture mechanisms of traditional glasses, such as silicate glasses, as well as the origin of the intriguing patterned fracture morphologies of metallic glasses. Cavitation has been widely assumed to be the underlying mechanism governing the fracture of metallic glasses, as well…
Light modulation via optical MEMS microshutter and micromirror arrays could provide huge energy savings. Buildings are responsible for 40 percent of primary energy consumption and 36 percent of total CO2 emissions. And, as we know, CO2 emissions trigger global warming, sea level rise, and profound changes in ocean ecosystems. Substituting the inefficient glazing areas of buildings with energy efficient smart glazing windows has great potential to decrease energy consumption for lighting and temperature control. Harmut Hillmer et al. of the…
Small device contains wells to let small bits of tissue grow, develop, and be studied in real time. Scientists from MIT and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras have grown small amounts of self-organizing brain tissue, known as organoids, in a tiny 3D-printed system that allows observation while they grow and develop. The work is reported in Biomicrofluidics, by AIP Publishing. Current technology for real-time observation of growing organoids involves the use of commercial culture dishes with many wells in…
The Tibetan Plateau, known as “the roof of the world”, has warmed more rapidly than global average in the past decades. The observed warming of the Tibetan Plateau since 1960s can be attributed to human activities, particularly greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, the Plateau may warm faster in the future than climate models projected, according to a study recently published in Environmental Research Letters. The Tibetan Plateau contains the largest volumes of ice outside the Arctic and Antarctic, feeding water to…
Researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) have experimentally demonstrated a novel cancer diagnosis technique based on the scattering of circularly polarized light. Computational studies revealed that this technique can detect the progression of precancerous lesions and early cancer. This method can be implemented using an endoscope equipped with spin-LEDs–devices that emit circularly polarized light. Most cancers of the digestive system emerge in the surface layer first and then progress into deeper layers. While surface layer carcinomas can be…
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