Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Microbiology
Published

Why do some people live to be 100? Intestinal bacteria may hold the answer      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Some people live longer than others -- possibly due to a unique combination of bacteria in their intestines, new research concludes.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology
Published

Gut microbiome changes linked to precancerous colon polyps      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study has linked certain types of gut bacteria to the development of precancerous colon polyps.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

A protein mines, sorts rare earths better than humans, paving way for green tech      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Rare earth elements, like neodymium and dysprosium, are a critical component to almost all modern technologies, from smartphones to hard drives, but they are notoriously hard to separate from the Earth's crust and from one another. Scientists have discovered a new mechanism by which bacteria can select between different rare earth elements, using the ability of a bacterial protein to bind to another unit of itself, or 'dimerize,' when it is bound to certain rare earths, but prefer to remain a single unit, or 'monomer,' when bound to others.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

First X-ray of a single atom      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have taken the world's first X-ray SIGNAL (or SIGNATURE) of just one atom. This groundbreaking achievement could revolutionize the way scientists detect the materials.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Nuclear Environmental: General Physics: General Physics: Optics Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Under pressure: Foundations of stellar physics and nuclear fusion investigated      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Research using the world's most energetic laser has shed light on the properties of highly compressed matter -- essential to understanding the structure of giant planets and stars, and to develop controlled nuclear fusion, a process that could harvest carbon-free energy.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

Crossing the ring: New method enables C-H activation across saturated carbocycles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Chemists add another powerful tool to their 'molecular editing' toolkit for crafting pharmaceuticals and other valuable compounds.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Trees Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Study leads to milestone advances in understanding lethal bronzing of palm trees      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have identified a key chemical associated with lethal bronzing (LB) infected palm trees. LB is a bacterial disease that kills more than 20 species of palm trees in the Southern United States and Caribbean and has been devastating the Florida green industries for nearly two decades.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Biological cleanup discovered for certain 'forever chemicals'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Chemical and environmental engineering scientists have identified two species of bacteria found in soil that break down a class of stubborn 'forever chemicals'-- per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, that have contaminated groundwater below industrial and military sites throughout the nation. The discovery gives hope for low-cost biological cleanup of these pollutants.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

How the flu virus hacks our cells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Influenza epidemics, caused by influenza A or B viruses, result in acute respiratory infection. They kill half a million people worldwide every year. These viruses can also wreak havoc on animals, as in the case of avian flu. A team has now identified how the influenza A virus manages to penetrate cells to infect them. By attaching itself to a receptor on the cell surface, it hijacks the iron transport mechanism to start its infection cycle. By blocking the receptor involved, the researchers were also able to significantly reduce its ability to invade cells. These results highlight a vulnerability that could be exploited to combat the virus.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Plants can distinguish when touch starts and stops, study suggests      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Even without nerves, plants can sense when something touches them and when it lets go, a study has found. In a set of experiments, individual plant cells responded to the touch of a very fine glass rod by sending slow waves of calcium signals to other plant cells, and when that pressure was released, they sent much more rapid waves. While scientists have known that plants can respond to touch, this study shows that plant cells send different signals when touch is initiated and ended.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals
Published

Genetic change increased bird flu severity during U.S. spread      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists found the virus strains that arrived in 2021 soon acquired genes from viruses in wild birds in North America. The resulting reassortant viruses have spread across the continent and caused more severe disease.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

Researchers use 'natural' system to identify proteins most useful for developing an effective HIV vaccine      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have spent years trying to develop an effective HIV vaccine, but none have proven successful. Based on findings from a recently published study, a research team may have put science one step closer to that goal.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

Scientists unveil RNA-guided mechanisms driving cell fate      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The early stages of embryonic development contain many of life's mysteries. Unlocking these mysteries can help us better understand early development and birth defects, and help develop new regenerative medicine treatments. Researchers have now characterized a critical time in mammalian embryonic development using powerful and innovative imaging techniques.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Paleontology: Fossils
Published

4,000-year-old plague DNA found -- the oldest cases to date in Britain      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have identified three 4,000-year-old British cases of Yersinia pestis, the bacteria causing the plague -- the oldest evidence of the plague in Britain to date.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Technology Physics: General Physics: Optics
Published

Absolute vs. relative efficiency: How efficient are blue LEDs, actually?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The absolute internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of indium gallium nitride (InGaN) based blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) at low temperatures is often assumed to be 100%. However, a new study has found that the assumption of always perfect IQE is wrong: the IQE of an LED can be as low as 27.5%.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Microbiology
Published

Researchers show that IgA fine tunes the body's interactions with microbes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study has demonstrated that IgA acts as a 'tuner' that regulates the number of microbes the body sees every day, restraining the systemic immune response to these commensal microbes and limiting the development of systemic immune dysregulation.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

'A blessing in disguise!' Physics turning bad into good      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Light is a very delicate and vulnerable property. Light can be absorbed or reflected at the surface of a material depending on the matter's properties or change its form and be converted into thermal energy. Upon reaching a metallic material's surface, light also tends to lose energy to the electrons inside the metal, a broad range of phenomena we call 'optical loss.' Production of ultra-small optical elements that utilize light in various ways is very difficult since the smaller the size of an optical component results in a greater optical loss. However, in recent years, the non-Hermitian theory, which uses optical loss in an entirely different way, has been applied to optics research.