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Categories: Biology: Microbiology, Space: Exploration
Published NASA's Webb Space Telescope peers behind bars
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A delicate tracery of dust and bright star clusters threads across this image from the James Webb Space Telescope. The bright tendrils of gas and stars belong to the barred spiral galaxy NGC 5068, whose bright central bar is visible in the upper left of this image -- a composite from two of Webb's instruments.
Published Dying stars' cocoons could be new source of gravitational waves
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Although astrophysicists theoretically should be able to detect gravitational waves from a single, non-binary source, they have yet to uncover these elusive signals. Now researchers suggest looking at a new, unexpected and entirely unexplored place: The turbulent, energetic cocoons of debris that surround dying massive stars.
Published Early universe crackled with bursts of star formation, Webb shows
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Among the most fundamental questions in astronomy is: How did the first stars and galaxies form? NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is already providing new insights into this question. One of the largest programs in Webb's first year of science is the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey, or JADES, which will devote about 32 days of telescope time to uncover and characterize faint, distant galaxies. While the data is still coming in, JADES already has discovered hundreds of galaxies that existed when the universe was less than 600 million years old. The team also has identified galaxies sparkling with a multitude of young, hot stars.
Published Weigh a quasar's galaxy with precision
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have managed to weigh -- more precisely than any other technique -- a galaxy hosting a quasar, thanks to the fact that it acts as a gravitational lens. Detection of strong gravitational lensing quasars is expected to multiply with the launch of Euclid this summer.
Published Genomes of 233 primate species sequenced
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers from 24 countries have analyzed the genomes of 809 individuals from 233 primate species, generating the most complete catalog of genomic information about our closest relatives to date. The project provides new insights into the evolution of primates, including humans, and their diversity. In baboons, for example, hybridization and gene flow between different species occurred in the past and is still ongoing in several regions of their range. This makes baboons a good model for the evolution of early human lineages within and outside Africa. In addition, using a specially designed AI algorithm, the genomic data enable new insights into the genetic causes of human diseases.
Published Mysterious dashes revealed in Milky Way's center
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In the early 1980s, astronomers discovered gigantic, one-dimensional filaments dangling vertically near Sagittarius A*, our galaxy's central supermassive black hole. Now, astronomers have discovered a new population of filaments -- but these threads are much shorter and lie horizontally or radially, spreading out like spokes on a wheel from the black hole.
Published Ancient viruses discovered in coral symbionts' DNA
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The symbiotic organisms that live in corals and provide them with their dramatic colors contain fragments of ancient RNA viruses that are as much as 160 million years old.
Published Researchers cultivate archaea that break down crude oil in novel ways
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The seafloor is home to around one-third of all the microorganisms on the Earth and is inhabited even at a depth of several kilometers. Only when it becomes too hot does the abundance of microorganisms appear to decline. But how, and from what, do microorganisms in the deep seafloor live? How do their metabolic cycles work and how do the individual members of these buried communities interact? Researchers have now been able to demonstrate in laboratory cultures how small, liquid components of crude oil are broken down through a new mechanism by a group of microorganisms called archaea.
Published New class of antibiotics to fight resistant bacteria
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Health professionals are in urgent need of new antibiotics to tackle resistant bacteria. Researchers have now modified the chemical structure of naturally occurring peptides to develop antimicrobial molecules that bind to novel targets in the bacteria's metabolism.
Published Symbiotic and pathogenic fungi may use similar molecular tools to manipulate plants
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Symbiotic and pathogenic fungi that interact with plants are distantly related and don't share many genetic similarities. Comparing plant pathogenic fungi and plant symbiotic fungi, scientists at the Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University (SLCU) have discovered that these remote relatives are using a similar group of proteins to manipulate and live within plants.
Published Engineers report low-cost human biomarker sensor designs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a low-cost, RNA-based technology to detect and measure biomarkers, which can help decode the body's physiology. The presence of protein biomarkers can indicate chronic or acute conditions, from arthritis to cancer to bacterial infections, for which conventional tests can cost anywhere from $100 to upwards of $1,000. The new technology can perform the same measurement for about a dollar.
Published Astrophysicists confirm the faintest galaxy ever seen in the early universe
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source After the Big Bang, the universe expanded and cooled sufficiently for hydrogen atoms to form. In the absence of light from the first stars and galaxies, the universe entered a period known as the cosmic dark ages. The first stars and galaxies appeared several hundred million years later and began burning away the hydrogen fog left over from the Big Bang, rendering the universe transparent, like it is today. Researchers have now confirmed the existence of a distant, faint galaxy typical of those whose light burned through the hydrogen atoms; the finding should help them understand how the cosmic dark ages ended.
Published Researchers show mobile elements monkeying around the genome
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Whole-genomic sequencing has revolutionized the amount and detail of genetic diversity now available to researchers to study. While the researchers previously had looked at a few hundred mobile elements or 'jumping genes,' primarily of the Alu and L1 types, they were now able to analyze over 200,000 elements computationally, confirming and expanding on previous studies. Their findings provide more evidence of the fluidity of species and continuous spread of mobile and transposable genetic elements.
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.
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.
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.
Published NIRISS instrument on Webb maps an ultra-hot Jupiter's atmosphere
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source There's an intriguing exoplanet out there -- 400 light-years out there -- that is so tantalizing that astronomers have been studying it since its discovery in 2009. One orbit for WASP-18 b around its star that is slightly larger than our Sun takes just 23 hours. There is nothing like it in our Solar System. A new study about this exoplanet, an ultra-hot gas giant 10 times more massive than Jupiter.
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.
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.
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.