With life expectancy increasing, age-related diseases are also on the rise, including sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass due to aging. Researchers from the University of Basel’s Biozentrum have demonstrated that a well-known drug can delay the progression of age-related muscle weakness. Already in our best years, our muscles begin to shrink and their strength dwindles. Unfortunately, this is a natural part of aging. For some people, the decline in muscle mass and function is excessive. This condition, called sarcopenia,…
Structural coloration is promised to be the display technology of the future as there is no fading – it does not use dyes – and enables low-power displays without strong external light source. However, the disadvantage of this technique is that once a device is made, it is impossible to change its properties so the reproducible colors remain fixed. Recently, a POSTECH research team has successfully obtained vivid colors by using semiconductor chips – not dyes – made by mimicking…
Organoid-related discovery may also help drug makers screen potential pharmaceuticals. Scientists who were working on a way to determine the viability of batches of tiny liver organoids have discovered a testing method that may have far broader implications. Their study published Sept. 7, 2020, in Nature Medicine, reports identifying a “polygenic risk score” that shows when a drug, be it an approved medication or an experimental one, poses a risk of drug-induced liver injury (DILI). The work was conducted by…
Scientists at Osaka University use extremely intense laser pulses to create magnetized-plasma conditions comparable to those surrounding a black hole, study that may help explain the still mysterious X-rays that can be emitted from some celestial bodies. Laser Engineering at Osaka University have successfully used short, but extremely powerful laser blasts to generate magnetic field reconnection inside a plasma. This work may lead to a more complete theory of X-ray emission from astronomical objects like black holes. In addition to…
Panthasaurus maleriensis lived about 225 million years ago in what is now India. It is an ancestor of today’s amphibians and has been considered the most puzzling representative of the Metoposauridae. Paleontologists from the universities of Bonn and Opole (Poland) examined the fossil’s bone tissue and compared it with other representatives of the family also dating from the Triassic. They discovered phases of slower and faster growth in the bone, which apparently depended on the climate. The results have now…
Researchers discover how messenger RNAs transport information to where photosynthesis takes place. In photosynthesis, solar energy is converted into chemical energy, which is then used in nature to produce organic molecules from carbon dioxide. In plants, algae and cyanobacteria, the key photosynthesis reactions take place in two complex structures known as photosystems. These are located in a special membrane system, the thylakoids. However, many details of their molecular structure and the way the proteins are incorporated into the membranes have…
Researchers study the speed and precision of signal transductions in the brain / Study published in Nature Communications Researchers at Münster University have discovered that glial cells – one of the main components of the brain – not only control the speed of nerve conduction, but also influence the precision of signal transduction in the brain. The research results have been published in the journal Nature Communications. For the brain to work efficiently, it is important that a nerve impulse…
Fibroblast growth factor 1 effects on specific brain cell types, and on nets that enmesh neurons, inform how it restores blood sugar levels to normal in diabetic animals. In rodents with type 2 diabetes, a single surgical injection of a protein called fibroblast growth factor 1 can restore blood sugar levels to normal for weeks or months. Yet how this growth factor acts in the brain to generate this lasting benefit has been poorly understood. Clarifying how this occurs might…
Hundreds of innovators, research pioneers, clinicians, industry leaders and policy makers from all around Europe are united by a vision of how to revolutionize healthcare. In two publications – a perspective article in the journal Nature and the LifeTime Strategic Research Agenda – they now present a detailed roadmap of how to leverage the latest scientific breakthroughs and technologies over the next decade, to track, understand and treat human cells throughout an individual’s lifetime. The LifeTime initiative, co-coordinated by the…
A research team led by zoologist Dr Amy MacLeod has been using drones to count marine lizards on the Galapagos Islands. The aim of the Leipzig University project is to determine the colony sizes of this vulnerable species and, with the help of volunteers, to precisely locate them – in order to ultimately be able to better protect the iguanas. A recent study on marine iguanas also shows that many of the proteins found in the secretions of special glands…
The ultrashort pulse (USP) laser has been known to shine whenever highly sensitive material needs to be machined quickly yet gently. The Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT has investigated one such application that certainly looks to have a bright future: The Aachen-based researchers developed a quick, reliable and nondestructive method of ablating lithium-ion batteries’ anode material with an ultrashort pulsed laser beam. This ablation technique exposes electrical contact points called tabs. A more flexible way of producing diverse electrodes…
The long-term expression of genes in vertebrate organs predisposes these genes to be subsequently utilized in other organs during evolution. The scientists Kenji Fukushima and David D. Pollock report this finding in the journal Nature Communications. Vertebrate organs organize physiological activities, and the diverse expression patterns of thousands of genes determines organ identities and functions. Because of this, the evolution of gene expression patterns plays a central role in organismal evolution. Major organ-altering evolutionary events such as development of the…
Jena research group receives two million euros to develop intelligent, recyclable plastic materials Sustainable plastics that have the ability for self-healing, have intelligent properties and can be recycled if required will be the subject of future research at Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany). A project in this field, coordinated by the chemist and materials scientist Prof. Ulrich S. Schubert, is being granted two million euros in funding from the Carl Zeiss Foundation. Repairing scratches with a hair dryer “Imagine scratched…
Lack of shade? Too many nutrients from adjacent fields? Modified banks? If a river or stream is not doing well, there are many possible causes, but they are sometimes difficult to detect. Scientists from the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) have now developed a method that evaluates biological symptoms of rivers and calculates probable causes. “Our tool works similar to a visit to the doctor, where they ask us ‘What’s wrong?’”, explains PD Dr. Christian Feld from Aquatic Ecology. But instead…
Rice physicists set far-more-accurate limits on speed of quantum information Nature’s speed limits aren’t posted on road signs, but Rice University physicists have discovered a new way to deduce them that is better — infinitely better, in some cases — than previous methods. “The big question is, ‘How fast can anything — information, mass, energy — move in nature?’” said Kaden Hazzard, a theoretical quantum physicist at Rice. “It turns out that if somebody hands you a material, it is…
New gel deposition technique developed at UIC Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have developed a unique method for precisely controlling the deposition of hydrogel, which is made of water-soluble polymers commonly used to support cells in experiments or for therapeutic purposes. Hydrogel mimics the extracellular matrix – the natural environment of cells in the body. The researchers noticed that their technique – which allows for the encapsulation of a single cell within a minute hydrogel droplet – can…
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