Rice, UTHealth study adds details to mechanisms responsible for memory. A chameleonlike protein in neurons can change its mind, and in the process change our brains. Scientists at Rice University and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) uncovered new clues in the protein CPEB3 as part of their dogged pursuit of the mechanism that allows humans to have long-term memories. The study by Rice theoretical biophysicist Peter Wolynes and Neal Waxham, a neurobiologist at UTHealth’s McGovern…
Analytical model from Rice University helps researchers fine-tune battery performance. A simpler and more efficient way to predict performance will lead to better batteries, according to Rice University engineers. That their method is 100,000 times faster than current modeling techniques is a nice bonus. The analytical model developed by materials scientist Ming Tang and graduate student Fan Wang of Rice University’s Brown School of Engineering doesn’t require complex numerical simulation to guide the selection and design of battery components and…
This latest image of Jupiter, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope on 25 August 2020, was captured when the planet was 653 million kilometres from Earth. Hubble’s sharp view is giving researchers an updated weather report on the monster planet’s turbulent atmosphere, including a remarkable new storm brewing, and a cousin of the Great Red Spot changing colour — again. The new image also features Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. A unique and exciting detail of Hubble’s new snapshot appears…
Mobile radar device pinpoints signs of life When someone is buried by an avalanche, earthquake or other disaster, a rapid rescue can make the difference between life and death. The Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR has developed a new kind of mobile radar device that can search hectare-sized areas quickly and thoroughly. The new technology combines greater mobility with accurate detection of vital signs. Some regions of the world record hundreds of earth tremors a…
Red dwarfs are the coolest kind of star. As such, they potentially allow liquid water to exist on planets that are quite close to them. In the search for habitable worlds beyond the borders of our solar system, this is a big advantage: the distance between an exoplanet and its star is a crucial factor for its detection. The closer the two are, the higher the chance that astronomers can detect the planet from Earth. “But these stars are rather…
A small-molecule degrades a cancer-promoting protein by gluing it into filaments. “Molecular glue degraders” are a new class of cancer drugs, which “glue” cancer growth-promoting proteins directly to the molecular machinery of a cell’s disposal system, leading to the subsequent degradation of the cancer-driving proteins and anti-tumor activity. Scientists from Heidelberg and USA have now deciphered another mechanism whereby a small molecule can degrade a cancer protein. This drug binds to the lymphoma-driving protein BCL6, and induces BCL6 self-polymerization, which…
Bremen consortium develops innovative docking system for underwater robots. How can inaccessible places on the Earth, such as the deep sea, as well as those on other planets be investigated? Extreme goals present extreme challenges for the technology used. These are more serious than just corrosion or resistance to unusual pressures. For example, the new technological solutions will enable communication with and supply of energy to underwater robots by way of an innovative docking system. Toward this end, a consortium…
Until now, hexagonal boron nitride was considered the insulator of choice for miniaturized transistors — new investigations by TU Wien (Vienna) show: This may not be the way to go. For decades, there has been a trend in microelectronics towards ever smaller and more compact transistors. 2D materials such as graphene are seen as a beacon of hope here: they are the thinnest material layers that can possibly exist, consisting of only one or a few atomic layers. Nevertheless, they…
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing and the Cluster of Excellence for Ageing Research CECAD at the University of Cologne have discovered folate metabolism as a fundamental process for ageing. Its regulation underlies many known ageing signaling pathways and leads to longevity. This could provide a new opportunity to improve human health during ageing on a broad basis. Fundamental signalling pathway is crucial for longevity Several different causes of ageing have been discovered, but the question…
Even in our cosmic backyard, the Solar System, many questions remain open. On Venus there are formations similar to volcanoes, but it is not known if they are active. The surface of Mars suggests that there was once a vast ocean, but how it disappeared remains unclear. On the other hand, recent detections of chemical compounds that may indicate the presence of biological activity on Mars and Venus, the so-called biosignatures, keep the search for life outside Earth alive. The…
Liquid water is an important prerequisite for life to develop on a planet. As researchers from the University of Bern, the University of Zurich and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS report in a new study, liquid water could also exist for billions of years on planets that are very different from Earth. This calls our currently Earth-centred idea of potentially habitable planets into question. Life on Earth began in the oceans. In the search for life…
Researchers from Leipzig published a gigantic digital map displaying the full diversity of life through thousands of photos. The so-called LifeGate encompasses all 2.6 million known species of this planet and shows their relationship to each other. The interactive map can now be accessed free of charge at https://lifegate.idiv.de. Joint press release of Leipzig University (Botanical Garden) and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) If you want to find out which places are close to Quito, you search…
For a long time, antibiotics were considered a silver bullet against bacterial infections. Over time, many pathogens have adapted to resist antibiotics, so the search for new drugs is becoming increasingly important. An international team of researchers including scientists at the University of Basel, has now discovered a new antibiotic by computational analysis and deciphered its mode of action. Their study is an important step in the development of new effective drugs. The WHO calls the creeping and rapidly growing…
DSMZ publishes unique database for the cultivation of microorganisms. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH in Braunschweig, Germany have published a freely accessible database for growth media of microorganisms. The content and functions of this worldwide unique database – MediaDive (https://mediadive.dsmz.de/) – are explained by the researchers in their article published in the renowned journal Nucleic Acids Research. Microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi are the basis for life and survival on Earth….
Gemini North telescope on Hawai‘i reveals first dormant, stellar-mass black hole in our cosmic backyard. Astronomers using the International Gemini Observatory, operated by NSF’s NOIRLab, have discovered the closest-known black hole to Earth. This is the first unambiguous detection of a dormant stellar-mass black hole in the Milky Way. Its close proximity to Earth, a mere 1600 light-years away, offers an intriguing target of study to advance our understanding of the evolution of binary systems. Black holes are the most…
… new compounds of lanthanum and hydrogen. All superconductors known today that are used in research and industry are superconducting only below 150 degrees Kelvin (around minus 120 degrees Celsius). Materials that have this property at higher temperatures are therefore being sought worldwide. Based on theoretical modeling, hydrides have increasingly come into focus. An international research team led by scientists from the University of Bayreuth now reports in “Nature Communications” on new compounds of lanthanum and hydrogen synthesized under high…
The search for nectar costs insects a lot of energy, so they have to be as efficient as possible. Colourful patterns on the petals can help with that. Be it mallow, foxglove or forget-me-not: many flowers bear colourful patterns, which are known as nectar guides in biology. They are assumed to show the pollinating insects the shortest way to the nectary. This guiding function could increase the efficiency of the insects in their search for food, and at the same…
Nine millisecond pulsars, most of them in rare and sometimes unusual binary systems: that is the first result of a targeted survey with MeerKAT in South Africa. An international team with significant contributions from AEI (Hannover) und MPIfR (Bonn) selected 79 unidentified pulsar-like sources from observations of NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and observed them at radio frequencies with MeerKAT. Using this tried-and-tested method with a next-generation telescope array has significant advantages over previous surveys. The team discovered nine rapidly…
Through global-scale seismic imaging of Earth’s interior, research led by The University of Alabama revealed a layer between the core and the mantle that is likely a dense, yet thin, sunk ocean floor, according to results published today in Science Advances. Seen only in isolated patches previously, the latest data suggests this layer of ancient ocean floor may cover the core-mantle boundary. Subducted underground long ago as the Earth’s plates shifted, this ultra-low velocity zone, or ULVZ, is denser than…
Jupiter’s moon, Europa, is slightly smaller than Earth’s Moon and is one of the most promising places to search for alien life. Amid the Jovian system, Europa is of particular interest to scientists because of the strong evidence for nutrients, water and energy to potentially provide a habitable environment for some form of life beyond Earth. In addition, Europa is believed to be made up into four layers (from surface to center): an ice shell, salt water ocean, rocky mantle,…
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