Researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine have identified a new therapeutic target to treat patients with type 1 diabetes. The study, which will be published December 9 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM), reveals that inhibiting a protein called OCA-B protects mice from type 1 diabetes by limiting the activity of immune cells that would otherwise destroy the pancreas’ insulin-producing β cells. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks…
JILA researchers have developed tools to “turn on” quantum gases of ultracold molecules, gaining control of long-distance molecular interactions for potential applications such as encoding data for quantum computing and simulations. The new scheme for nudging a molecular gas down to its lowest energy state, called quantum degeneracy, while suppressing chemical reactions that break up molecules finally makes it possible to explore exotic quantum states in which all the molecules interact with one another. The research is described in the…
Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR) in Japan have completed a feasibility study indicating that electric rays and sting rays equipped with pingers will be able to map the seabed through natural exploration The ocean is a big place full of natural resources including fossil fuels, minerals, and of course, fish. The problem is that many of these resources are on the ocean floor in places we have yet to find. Ocean exploration is therefore necessary,…
This novel method was the first to detect conformational changes in the protein TDP-43 in the patients’ CSF. The project team headed by Professor Klaus Gerwert and Professor Lars Tönges published their research results in the international journal Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology from 3 December 2020. Altered protein structures in ALS ALS is a fatal neurodegenerative disease causing a rapid loss of motor function, which usually results in a serious condition with early death within a few years….
Protein therapies are often more potent and selective toward their biochemical targets than other types of drugs, particularly small molecules. However, proteins are also more likely to be quickly degraded by enzymes or cleared from blood by the kidneys, which has limited their clinical use. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have engineered red blood cell (RBC) carriers that release therapeutic proteins when stimulated by light, with the help of a honey bee peptide. Because protein drugs are unstable…
Drought stress has been a major roadblock in crop success, and this obstacle will not disappear anytime soon. Luckily, a dynamic duo like Batman and Robin, certain root-associated microbes and the plants they inhabit, are here to help. Plants and animals have a close connection to the microbes like bacteria living on them. The microbes, the creatures they inhabit, and the environment they create all play a critical role for life on Earth. “We know that microbiomes, which are the…
High-fat diet allows cancer cells to outcompete immune cells for fuel. At a glance: High-fat diet causes cancer cells to rewire metabolism, increase fat consumption Cancer cells outcompete immune cells for fuel, impairing immune function inside tumors Blocking metabolic rewiring in cancer cells enhances anti-tumor immunity Findings suggest new strategies to target cancer metabolism, improve immunotherapies Obesity has been linked to increased risk for over a dozen different types of cancer, as well as worse prognosis and survival. Over the…
Complete removal of microbial contaminant layer accumulated on the membrane surface by sunlight irradiation. Providing a foundation for the development of new membrane materials on the convergence between water treatment and photocatalyst technologies. Membrane technology is widely used in various water treatment processes such as water desalination, sewage treatment, and advanced water treatment for producing clean tap water. The membrane filtration technology is a method that can significantly improve water quality and has been suggested as an alternative that can…
Investigation of femtosecond time-resolved x-ray scattering signals reveals a faster chiral compared to collinear magnetic order dynamics A joint research project of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), the University of Siegen, Forschungszentrum Jülich, and the Elettra Synchrotron Trieste has achieved a new milestone for the ultra-fast control of magnetism. The international team has been working on magnetization configurations that exhibit chiral twisting. Chirality is a symmetry breaking, which occurs, for example, in nature in molecules that are essential for life….
A team of researchers from Italy, Norway, and Germany has demonstrated that the properties of molecules undergo significant changes when interacting with quantized electromagnetic fields in optical cavities. Using novel theoretical methodologies and computational simulations, the team revealed that the ground- and excited-state chemistry of molecules can be modified by a confinement in space. They show how the transfer of electrons inside the system can be controlled by modulating the frequency of the cavity field. Their newly-developed methodology could have…
The SABATLE project coordinated by TU Graz focuses on the sustainability and safety of redox flow technologies, which are of immanent importance for the stabilization of the power grid. The increasing use of battery technologies in the mobility sector and in stationary applications has been leading to increasing efforts in battery research of operational safety and battery recycling. The group led by Stefan Spirk at the Institute of Bioproducts and Paper Technology at TU Graz is now also devoting itself…
They are known as “magic sized nano clusters” because they have special properties: The particles consist of only a few atoms, but since they are arranged in a special crystal structure, they are extremely stable. Unless you expose them to light. Scientists from the Center for Nanointegration (CENIDE) at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) have discovered that such materials undergo fundamental changes as soon as they are merely analysed using optical methods. “Nature Communications” reports on the issue. Junior professor…
Neural networks are some of the most important tools in artificial intelligence (AI): they mimic the operation of the human brain and can reliably recognize texts, language and images, to name but a few. So far, they run on traditional processors in the form of adaptive software, but experts are working on an alternative concept, the “neuromorphic computer”. In this case, the brain’s switching points – the neurons – are not simulated by software but reconstructed in hardware components. A…
Large amounts of new particles can form in the valleys of the Himalayas from naturally emitted gases and can be transported to high altitudes by the mountain winds and injected into the upper atmosphere. The emitted particles may eventually affect climate by acting as nuclei for cloud condensation. These new findings about particles formation and sources will contribute to a better understanding of past and future climate. “To understand how the climate has changed over the last century we need…
Orbiting instrument hints at how stored magnetic energy heats solar atmosphere. A phenomenon first detected in the solar wind may help solve a long-standing mystery about the sun: why the solar atmosphere is millions of degrees hotter than the surface. Images from the Earth-orbiting Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, aka IRIS, and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly, aka AIA, show evidence that low-lying magnetic loops are heated to millions of degrees Kelvin. Researchers at Rice University, the University of Colorado Boulder and…
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the world, testing remains a key strategy for tracking and containing the virus. Bioengineering graduate student, Maha Alafeef, has co-developed a rapid, ultrasensitive test using a paper-based electrochemical sensor that can detect the presence of the virus in less than five minutes. The team led by professor Dipanjan Pan reported their findings in ACS Nano. “Currently, we are experiencing a once-in-a-century life-changing event,” said Alafeef. “We are responding to this global need…
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