Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

New superacid converts harmful compounds into sustainable chemicals      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have succeeded in producing very special catalysts, known as 'Lewis superacids', which can be used to break strong chemical bonds and speed up reactions. The production of these substances has, until now, proven extremely difficult. The chemists' discovery enables non-biodegradable fluorinated hydrocarbons, similar to Teflon, and possibly even climate-damaging greenhouse gases, such as sulphur hexafluoride, to be converted back into sustainable chemicals.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Chaos on the nanometer scale      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Chaotic behavior is typically known from large systems: for example, from weather, from asteroids in space that are simultaneously attracted by several large celestial bodies, or from swinging pendulums that are coupled together. On the atomic scale, however, one does normally not encounter chaos -- other effects predominate. Now scientists have been able to detect clear indications of chaos on the nanometer scale -- in chemical reactions on tiny rhodium crystals.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Developmental Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

Successful cure of HIV infection after stem cell transplantation, study suggests      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation for the treatment of severe blood cancers is the only medical intervention that has cured two people living with HIV in the past. An international group of physicians and researchers has now identified another case in which HIV infection has been shown to be cured in the same way. The successful healing process of this third patient was for the first time characterized in great detail virologically and immunologically over a time span of ten years.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

The achilles heel of the influenza virus: Ubiquitin protein may be an approach for future medicines      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Influenza viruses are becoming increasingly resilient to medicines. For this reason, new active ingredients are needed. Important findings in this regard have been provided: for the virus to proliferate, the polymerase of the influenza A virus has to be modified many times through enzymes in the host cells. The team of researchers was able to produce a comprehensive map of types of modification. Medicines directed against the enzymes woud be resilient to rapid mutations in the virus, thus offering great potential for the future.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Microbiology
Published

Deadly waves: Researchers document evolution of plague over hundreds of years in medieval Denmark      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists who study the origins and evolution of the plague have examined hundreds of ancient human teeth from Denmark, seeking to address longstanding questions about its arrival, persistence and spread within Scandinavia.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Heterostructures support predictions of counterpropagating charged edge modes at the v=2/3 fractional quantum Hall state      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have tested models of edge conduction with a device built on top of the semiconductor heterostructure which consists of gold gates that come close together. Voltage is applied on the gates to direct the edge states through the middle of the point contact, where they are close enough that quantum tunneling can occur between the edge states on opposite sides the sample. Changes in the electrical current flowing through the device are used to test the theorists' predictions.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Fossil Fuels Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Plastic upcycling to close the carbon cycle      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new method to convert waste plastic to fuel and raw materials promises to help close the carbon cycle at mild temperature and with high yield.

Biology: Microbiology Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Researchers create E. coli-based water monitoring technology      (via sciencedaily.com) 

People often associate Escherichia coli with contaminated food, but E. coli has long been a workhorse in biotechnology. Scientists have now demonstrated that the bacterium has further value as part of a system to detect heavy metal contamination in water.

Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Sea Life
Published

3D printing with bacteria-loaded ink produces bone-like composites      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have published a method for 3D-printing an ink that contains calcium carbonate-producing bacteria. The 3D-printed mineralized bio-composite is unprecedentedly strong, light, and environmentally friendly, with a range of applications from art to biomedicine.

Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Animals
Published

Deer protected from deadly disease by newly discovered genetic differences      (via sciencedaily.com) 

It was the height of summer 2022 when the calls started coming in. Scores of dead deer suddenly littered rural properties and park preserves, alarming the public and inconveniencing landowners. According to officials at the Urbana Park District, it was Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD), a midge-borne viral illness that pops up in white-tailed deer populations around the state every few years. And when susceptible deer are infected, they die within days. Now, scientists have found gene variants in deer associated with the animals' susceptibility to EHD.

Biology: Botany Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Fungi that causes pine ghost canker detected in southern California trees      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Fungal pathogens that cause pine ghost canker are infecting conifer trees in urban forests of Southern California, scientists found.

Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

'Electronic nose' built with sustainably sourced microbial nanowires that could revolutionize health monitoring      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists recently announced the invention of a nanowire 10,000 times thinner than a human hair that can be cheaply grown by common bacteria and tuned to 'smell' a vast array of chemical tracers -- including those given off by people afflicted with a wide range of medical conditions, such as asthma and kidney disease. Thousands of these specially tuned wires, each sniffing out a different chemical, can be layered onto tiny, wearable sensors, allowing healthcare providers an unprecedented tool for monitoring potential health complications. Since these wires are grown by bacteria, they are organic, biodegradable and far greener than any inorganic nanowire.

Biology: Microbiology
Published

Restricting antibiotics for livestock could limit spread of antibiotic-resistant infections in people      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study shows that a 2018 California bill banning routine antibiotic use in livestock is linked with reduction in some antibiotic-resistant infections.

Biology: Botany Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

Researchers put plant protein mechanism into bacteria to help move forward 50 years of effort      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have added components of plant chloroplasts to bacteria. This feat, 50 years in the making, allows them to analyze the proteins in greater detail in order to improve Rubisco, and eventually photosynthesis.

Biology: Botany Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Trees
Published

Symbiotic fungi transform terpenes from spruce resin into attractants for bark beetles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international research team demonstrates that the European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) uses volatile fungal metabolites of plant defense substances as important chemical signals in their attack on spruce trees. The researchers also show that the insects have olfactory sensory neurons specialized for detecting these volatile compounds. The fungal metabolites likely provide important clues to the beetles about the presence of beneficial fungi, the defense status of the trees, and the population density of their conspecifics. The study highlights the importance of chemical communication in maintaining symbiosis between bark beetles and their fungal partners.

Biology: Microbiology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Researchers map mosquito cells that may help the insects choose tastiest humans      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In a bid to understand why mosquitoes may be more attracted to one human than another, researchers say they have mapped specialized receptors on the insects' nerve cells that are able to fine-tune their ability to detect particularly 'welcoming' odors in human skin.

Biology: Developmental Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Animals
Published

First stem cells from a bat species known to harbor SARS-CoV-2 could shed light on virus survival and molecular adaptability      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have generated the first induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from bats, gaining valuable insights into the close relationship between bats and viruses.

Biology: Microbiology
Published

Newly discovered virus can kill resistant bacteria      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A Danish creek has surprised researchers by containing previously unknown virus species.