Content

Chemical engineers at EPFL have developed a machine-learning model that can predict a compound's oxidation state, a property that is so essential that many chemists argue it must be included in the periodic table.

A recent study, affiliated with South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has developed a new technique of predefining the crack pattern on a flexible substrate by a sequential deposition of metallic layers which leads to a formation of a zerogap between the adjacent lateral patterns.

The multi-centre study identified a microRNA-like small RNA encoded by SARS-CoV-2 in the serum of COVID-19 patients, which can be developed as a non-invasive biomarker for stratification of severe patients from mild/moderate ones and for identification of high-risk individuals before clinical manifestation of severe symptoms. This biomarker ensures proper allocation of patients to different levels of medical facilities and allows more effective control of the pandemic and relief of social economic burdens.

Three mutations in the Epsilon coronavirus spike protein dampen the neutralizing potency of antibodies induced by current vaccines or past COVID infections. The mutations give this coronavirus variant of concern a means to totally evade specific monoclonal antibodies used in clinics and reduce the effectiveness of antibodies from plasma of vaccinated people. The latest molecular exploration of the mutation-remodeled configuration of the coronavirus infection machinery shows that the Epsilon variant relies on an indirect and unusual neutralization-escape strategy.

It's no secret that women live longer than men. But fellas, if we told you there was one thing that may increase your lifespan, would you do it? New Zealand researchers, in collaboration with Allen Distinguished Investigator Steve Horvath from UCLA, have demonstrated that castration of male sheep delays aging of DNA compared to intact males, and that it also drives feminine characteristics of DNA and the chemical tags it holds, known as DNA methylation.

Researchers have devised a way to multiply by more than ten-fold the accessible details of gene activity in individual cells. It's a big leap in the effort to understand cancer development, brain function, immunity and other biological processes driven by the complex interactions of multitudes of different cell types. Study publishes in Nature Biotechnology.

Researchers have documented 21 generations of Leonardo Da Vinci's family covering 690 years and identified 14 living male family descendants.The family tree is now longer (21 generations vs. 19 in 2016), broader (5 branches vs. 1), larger (14 living male direct descendants vs. 2), far more detailed and fully documented for the first time.The publication opens a scientific door to next steps in NY-based Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project.

A new study shows how urbanisation has influenced anthropogenic CO2 and air pollutant emissions across all world regions, by making use of the latest developments in the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR, https://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/) developed by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. The results show that by 2015 urban centres were the source of a third of global anthropogenic greenhouse gases, and the majority of air pollutant emissions.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden publish new findings in the journal Cancer Discovery showing how pharmacological activation of the protein p53 boosts the immune response against tumours. The results can be of significance to the development of new combination therapies that will give more cancer patients access to immunotherapy.

Many standard economic models assume people make perfectly rational, individual decisions. But new research suggests economic phenomena like inequality and business cycles are better explained by models which recognize that people's decisions are affected by the decisions and the behaviors of people around them.

A new molecular method reveals how different species of toothed whales compete for prey and which food they choose in each other's company. According to previous research, the rough-toothed dolphin Steno bredanensis was supposed to be the absolute top predator of a particular area. Amino acid isotope research shows its trophic level is indeed significantly lower than previously determined.

An international study has elucidated the structure of a protein that is required for the assembly and stability of photosynthetic membranes.

A collaborative research project between the five First Nations of the Nanwakolas Council of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University is contributing to conservation efforts of the iconic western redcedar tree. New research in the Journal of Ethnobiology highlights concerns about the long-term sustainability of this culturally significant resource. Researchers found that western redcedar trees suitable for traditional carving are generally rare.

York University scientists used next-generation sequencing to look inside bumblebees for evidence of pesticide exposure, including neonicotinoids, as well as pathogens, and found both. Using a conservation genomic approach - an emerging field of study that could radically change the way bee health is assessed - the researchers studied Bombus terricola or the yellow-banded bumblebee, a native to North America, in agricultural and non-agricultural areas. This new technique allows scientists to probe for invisible stressors affecting bees.

A diagnostic tool called the MasSpec Pen has been tested for the first time in pancreatic cancer patients during surgery. The device is shown to accurately identify tissues and surgical margins directly in patients and differentiate healthy and cancerous tissue from banked pancreas samples. At about 15 seconds per analysis, the method is more than 100 times as fast as the current gold standard diagnostic.

Cells play a precise game of telephone, sending messages to each other that trigger actions further on. With clear signaling, the cells achieve their goals. In disease, however, the signals break up and result in confused messaging and unintended consequences. To help parse out these signals and how they function in health -- and go awry in disease -- scientists tag proteins with labels they can follow as the proteins interact with the molecular world around them.

The Glasgow Face Matching Test has been updated to find super-recognisers who can help prevent errors caused by face recognition software.

A retrospective cohort study found that surges in hospital COVID-19 caseload significantly increased mortality in the hardest hit U.S. hospitals. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has unveiled introduced an innovative way to quantify proton kinetic properties of TCOs.

The neocortex is a layered structure of the brain in which neurons are arranged parallel to each other. This organization is critical for healthy brain function. A team of researchers from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin have uncovered two key processes that direct this organization. Reporting in Science Advances*, the researchers identify one crucial factor which ensures the timely movement of neurons into their destined layer and, subsequently, their final parallel orientation within this space.