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Categories: Biology: Molecular, Offbeat: General
Published Kangaroo Island ants 'play dead' to avoid predators
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They're well known for their industrious work, but now a species of ant on Kangaroo Island is also showing that it is skilled at 'playing dead', a behavior that researchers believe is a recorded world first.
Published Exploring the underground connections between trees
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Fungal networks interconnecting trees in a forest is a key factor that determines the nature of forests and their response to climate change. These networks have also been viewed as a means for trees to help their offspring and other tree-friends, according to the increasingly popular 'mother-tree hypothesis'. An international group of researchers re-examined the evidence for and against this hypothesis in a new study.
Published Scientists develop gene silencing DNA enzyme that can target a single molecule
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Researchers have developed a DNA enzyme -- or DNAzyme -- that can distinguish between two RNA strands inside a cell and cut the disease-associated strand while leaving the healthy strand intact. This breakthrough 'gene silencing' technology could revolutionize the development of DNAzymes for treating cancer, infectious diseases and neurological disorders.
Published Galactic bubbles are more complex than imagined
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Astronomers have revealed new evidence about the properties of the giant bubbles of high-energy gas that extend far above and below the Milky Way galaxy's center.
Published A cocktail party of 3D-printed robot heads
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Imagine a cocktail party full of 3D-printed, humanoid robots listening and talking to each other. That seemingly sci-fi scene is the goal of an augmented listening laboratory. With precise control over the simulated subjects, the researchers can adjust the parameters of the experiment and even set the machines in motion to simulate neck movements.
Published T cells can activate themselves to fight tumors
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Scientists find an auto-signaling mechanism driving the T cell anti-tumor response; findings may inspire new cancer therapeutics and biomarkers.
Published New probe aids novel findings on cell functions
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New research shows the use of a new cellular probe helped discover new findings about certain cellular processes.
Published Nose shape gene inherited from Neanderthals
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Humans inherited genetic material from Neanderthals that affects the shape of our noses, finds a new study.
Published Elucidating the mysteries of enzyme evolution at the macromolecular level
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Researchers have made a major breakthrough earlier this year in the field of evolutionary conservation of molecular dynamics in enzymes. Their work points to potential applications in health, including the development of new drugs to treat serious diseases such as cancer or to counter antibiotic resistance.
Published Researchers close to unleashing rapeseed's protein power for human consumption
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Half of plant proteins in the EU come from rapeseed plants. Until now, the plant has only been used for oil and animal feed, as it is both bitter and unsafe for human consumption. In a new study, researchers have gotten closer to removing the plant's bitter substances, and in doing so, are paving the way for a new protein source to support the green transition.
Published Scurrying centipedes inspire many-legged robots that can traverse difficult landscapes
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Intrigued to see if the many limbs could be helpful for locomotion in this world, a team of physicists, engineers, and mathematicians are using this style of movement to their advantage. They developed a new theory of multilegged locomotion and created many-legged robotic models, discovering the robot with redundant legs could move across uneven surfaces without any additional sensing or control technology as the theory predicted.
Published AI could run a million microbial experiments per year
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Automation uncovers combinations of amino acids that feed two bacterial species and could tell us much more about the 90% of bacteria that humans have hardly studied. An artificial intelligence system enables robots to conduct autonomous scientific experiments -- as many as 10,000 per day -- potentially driving a drastic leap forward in the pace of discovery in areas from medicine to agriculture to environmental science.
Published Alternative 'fuel' for string-shaped motors in cells
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Researchers discover a unique two-component molecular motor that uses a kind of renewable chemical energy to pull vesicles toward membrane-bound organelles.
Published The future of data storage lies in DNA microcapsules
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Storing data in DNA sounds like science fiction, yet it lies in the near future. Experts expect the first DNA data center to be up and running within five to ten years. Data won't be stored as zeros and ones in a hard drive but in the base pairs that make up DNA: AT and CG. Such a data center would take the form of a lab, many times smaller than the ones today.
Published Neutron star's X-rays reveal 'photon metamorphosis'
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A 'beautiful effect' predicted by quantum electrodynamics (QED) can explain the puzzling first observations of polarized X-rays emitted by a magnetar -- a neutron star featuring a powerful magnetic field, according to an astrophysicist.
Published Scientists discover the dynamics of an 'extra' chromosome in fruit flies
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Most chromosomes have been around for millions of years. Now, researchers have revealed the dynamics of a new, very young chromosome in fruit flies that is similar to chromosomes that arise in humans and is associated with treatment-resistant cancer and infertility. The findings may one day lead to developing more targeted therapies for treating these conditions.
Published Why do Champagne bubbles rise the way they do? Scientists' new discovery is worthy of a toast
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ere are some scientific findings worthy of a toast: Researchers have explained why bubbles in Champagne fizz up in a straight line while bubbles in other carbonated drinks, like beer or soda, don’t.
Published Astronomers spot a star swallowing a planet
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Scientists have observed a star swallowing a planet for the first time. Earth will meet a similar fate in 5 billion years.
Published Scientists recover an ancient woman's DNA from a 20,000-year-old pendant
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An international research team has for the first time successfully isolated ancient human DNA from a Paleolithic artefact: a pierced deer tooth discovered in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia. To preserve the integrity of the artefact, they developed a new, nondestructive method for isolating DNA from ancient bones and teeth. From the DNA retrieved they were able to reconstruct a precise genetic profile of the woman who used or wore the pendant, as well as of the deer from which the tooth was taken. Genetic dates obtained for the DNA from both the woman and the deer show that the pendant was made between 19,000 and 25,000 years ago. The tooth remains fully intact after analysis, providing testimony to a new era in ancient DNA research, in which it may become possible to directly identify the users of ornaments and tools produced in the deep past.
Published New tusk-analysis techniques reveal surging testosterone in male woolly mammoths
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Traces of sex hormones extracted from a woolly mammoth's tusk provide the first direct evidence that adult males experienced musth, a testosterone-driven episode of heightened aggression against rival males, according to a new study.