Max Planck researchers from Dortmund programmed a tool that accurately recognises and picks proteins in electron cryo-tomography, substituting troublesome hand selection. Electron cryo-tomography (cryo-ET) is emerging as a powerful technique to provide detailed 3D images of cellular environments and enclosed biomolecules. However, one of the challenges of the methodology is the identification of protein molecules in the images for further processing. A research team around Stefan Raunser, Director at the MPI of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund, led by Thorsten Wagner,…

Quantum key distribution system based on integrated photonics lays groundwork for network implementation. Researchers have developed a quantum key distribution (QKD) system based on integrated photonics that can transmit secure keys at unprecedented speeds. The proof-of-principle experiments represent an important step toward real-world application of this highly secure communication method. QKD is a well-established method of providing secret keys for secure communication between distant parties. By using the quantum properties of light to generate secure random keys for encrypting and…

A team of astrophysicists and citizen scientists have identified what may be some of the last planets NASA’s retired Kepler space telescope observed during its nearly decade-long mission. The trio of exoplanets – worlds beyond our solar system – are all between the size of Earth and Neptune and closely orbit their stars. ”These are fairly average planets in the grand scheme of Kepler observations,” said Elyse Incha, a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “But they’re exciting because Kepler observed them…

A team of researchers from EPFL have found a way to use the phenomenon of strong gravitational lensing to determine with precision – about 3 times more precise than any other technique – the mass of a galaxy containing a quasar, as well as their evolution in cosmic time. Knowing the mass of quasar host galaxies provides insight into the evolution of galaxies in the early universe, for building scenarios of galaxy formation and black hole development. The results are…

Syracuse University and Texas A&M researchers use computer modeling to find out the sources of salinization and alkalinization in U.S. watersheds. From protecting biodiversity to ensuring the safety of drinking water, the biochemical makeup of rivers and streams around the United States is critical for human and environmental welfare. Studies have found that human activity and urbanization are driving salinization (increased salt content) of freshwater sources across the country. In excess, salinity can make water undrinkable, increase the cost of…

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have demonstrated that silver retains antimicrobial activity for longer when it is impregnated into ‘bioactive glass’, and shown for the first time how this promising combination delivers more long-lasting antimicrobial wound protection than conventional alternatives.  Bioactive glasses are a unique class of synthetic biomaterials made from silicone and have been used for some years in bone grafting. Silver has long been known to prevent or reduce the growth of biofilms (communities of bacteria) in…

Platform combines structural details with molecular information about a tumor. At a glance: Researchers have developed a new tool that merges structural details with molecular information about tumors. The detailed information could enable pathologists to identify biological markers that better predict how patients will fare.   The ultimate goal is to provide physicians with details that would improve cancer diagnosis and treatment. When it comes to diagnosing, staging, and assessing cancer, for more than a century pathologists have relied on…

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at the Otto-von-Guericke University in Magdeburg has gained new insights into how inflammatory mediators of pathogen defense can remotely drive cancer cells into death – an important contribution to improving cancer immunotherapies. Modern immunotherapies boost the body’s own defenses against cancer. They activate killer T cells of the immune system that can specifically recognize and destroy cancer cells. In many patients, however, cancer cells adapt and become invisible to killer T cells so that the…

MIT engineers’ new technology can probe the neural circuits that influence hunger, mood, and a variety of diseases. The brain and the digestive tract are in constant communication, relaying signals that help to control feeding and other behaviors. This extensive communication network also influences our mental state and has been implicated in many neurological disorders. MIT engineers have now designed a new technology that can be used to probe those connections. Using fibers embedded with a variety of sensors, as…

A team of international scientists has used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to detect a new carbon compound in space for the first time. Known as methyl cation (pronounced cat-eye-on) (CH3+), the molecule is important because it aids the formation of more complex carbon-based molecules. Methyl cation was detected in a young star system, with a protoplanetary disk, known as d203-506, which is located about 1,350 light-years away in the Orion Nebula. Carbon compounds form the foundations of all known life,…

Streptomyces bacteria produce a group of signalling molecules that trigger a variety of processes. Bacteria of the genus Streptomyces produce chemical substances called arginoketides, to which many other microorganisms react: Bacteria form biofilms, algae join together to form aggregates, and fungi produce signalling substances that they would not otherwise produce triggering new responses from other organisms. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (Leibniz-HKI) show this in a study, in which they investigated various Streptomyces…

Simple molecular liquids such as water or glycerol are of great importance for technical applications, in biology or even for understanding properties in the liquid state. Researchers at the MPSD have now succeeded in observing liquid glycerol in a completely unexpected rubbery state. Writing in PNAS, they report how they created rapidly expanding bubbles on the surface of the liquid in vacuum using a pulsed laser. However, the thin, micrometers-thick liquid envelope of the bubble did not behave like a…

To adapt to perceived changes in our environment, the brain constantly updates the activity of neural circuits in the prefrontal cortex, a region involved in attention, anticipation, and decision-making. But until now, researchers did not know what mechanisms were responsible for these modifications – which are essential to rodents, primates, and humans if they are to survive. “By studying this fascinating ability, we have found a specific type of neuronal connection in the prefrontal cortex, which helps to update our…

System could be used aboard underwater vehicles for many applications. Researchers report a new single-photon Raman lidar system that operates underwater and can remotely distinguish various substances. They also show that the new system can detect the thickness of the oil underwater up to 12 m away, which could be useful for detecting oil spills. “Differentiating substances in water and detecting their distribution characteristics in the ocean are of great significance for marine monitoring and scientific research,” said research team…

In 1929, astronomers discovered that galaxies are streaming away from us and each other. They interpreted this observation that the universe is expanding. However, when they measured how fast it is expanding, they got different answers using different methods. The difference continues to be a thorn in their description of the expanding universe. A team of researchers led by Souvik Jana at the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Bengaluru, have proposed a solution. Their paper, to be published in the…

More than two dozen researchers with ties to West Virginia University have helped unearth evidence of ripples in spacetime that have never been observed before now. Gravitational waves travel outwards from a source at light speed, stretching and squeezing the very fabric of spacetime — for instance, making the length of a ruler longer or shorter, or making time tick a little faster or slower as the wave passes. The first evidence for these ripples at very low frequencies was…

The quantum nature of interactions between elementary particles allows drawing non-trivial conclusions even from processes as simple as elastic scattering. The ATLAS experiment at the LHC accelerator reports the measurement of fundamental properties of strong interactions between protons at ultra-high energies. The physics of billiard ball collisions is taught from early school years. In a good approximation, these collisions are elastic, where both momentum and energy are conserved. The scattering angle depends on how central the collision was (this is…

Recent research at the Technion lays the ground for future high-performance alternatives to silicon in microelectronics. By stretching an oxide material at an atomic level, the researchers are able to control its conductivity, a milestone advancement towards making efficient switches, which are the basic building blocks of computer chips. Researchers in the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering have demonstrated control over an emerging material, which they consider as a possible future alternative to silicon in…

The future of electronics will be based on novel kinds of materials. Sometimes, however, the naturally occurring topology of atoms makes it difficult for new physical effects to be created. To tackle this problem, researchers at the University of Zurich have now successfully designed superconductors one atom at a time, creating new states of matter. What will the computer of the future look like? How will it work? The search for answers to these questions is a major driver of…

How can this be done? Rare-earth elements (REEs) are found in smartphones, plasma screens and even artificial joints. As components of wind turbines or electric motors, they play an important role in the production of clean energy. The battle for these valuable resources is already in full swing. In the scientific journal Nature, researchers from Germany, China and the USA show new ways to get a circular economy for REEs off the ground. Raimund Bleischwitz, an expert in circular economy…