Brain
Proteins are huge molecules that often have complex three-dimensional structure and morphology that can include side chains, folds, and twists. This three-dimensional shape is often the determining factor of their function in organisms. It is therefore important to understand the structure of proteins both for fundamental research in biology and for the development of new drugs.
Many natural and synthetic chemical systems react and change their properties in the presence of certain kinds of light. These reactions can occur too quickly for ordinary instruments to see. For the first time, researchers adopted a novel technique to observe the high-speed reactions. A special kind of reaction observed with this method could lead to new optical nanotechnology.
A Northwestern University research team has developed a new method for making highly desirable catalysts from metal nanoparticles that could lead to better fuel cells, among other applications. The researchers also discovered the method can take spent catalysts and recycle them into active catalysts.
Made mainly of precious metals, these coveted catalysts are shaped like gems. Each particle has 24 different faces that present atoms at the surface in ways that make them more catalytically active than those available commercially.
Routine sparring in boxing can cause short-term impairments in brain-to-muscle communication and decreased memory performance, according to new research.
The findings emerged from a University of Stirling study that assessed boxers before and after a nine-minute sparring session - where athletes trade punches without the aim of incapacitating each other.
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- The First-year Research Immersion (FRI) program at Binghamton University, State University of New York has proven that young college students are capable of leading real research. And according to a new study, students in FRI do better when the instructors who oversee their projects are provided extra training.
The study is a collaborative effort of an international team of solar energy experts from Aalto University of Finland, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and SMART (Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology). It analyses the intersection of two dominant trends in the energy sector during the 21st century: the impetus to decarbonise the energy sector to mitigate dangerous anthropogenic climate change and the increased economic prosperity in tropical countries which makes for a higher demand for cooling than heating.
In 1886, female students at Vassar College put on a parody of the opera "The Mikado" by Gilbert and Sullivan. The work reveals notions about who can or cannot do math.
New Haven, Conn. -- Yale Cancer Center (YCC) scientists have uncovered the workings of a metabolic pathway or "gauge" that lets cancer cells detect when they have enough nutrients around them to grow. The researchers hope that drugs designed to turn down the gauge may eventually aid in treating many forms of cancer. Their findings were published in the journal Oncogene.
Scientists have shown for the first time a link between two types of heart problems and one of the most commonly prescribed classes of antibiotics.
Athens, Ga. - A research team from the University of Georgia's Regenerative Bioscience Center has found that a compound molecule used for drug delivery of insulin could be used to treat glioblastoma, an aggressive, usually fatal form of brain cancer.
Glioblastoma, also known as GBM, is a fast-growing, web-like tumor that arises from supportive tissue around the brain and resists surgical treatment. Described by some as "sand in grass," GBM cells are hard to remove and tend to reach out in a tentacle-like fashion through surrounding healthy brain tissue.
ITHACA, N.Y. - Lakes of liquid methane on the surface of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, were likely formed by explosive, pressurized nitrogen just under the moon's surface, according to new research.
"Titan has very distinctive topography. Its lakes show different kinds of shapes and in some cases sharp ridges," said paper co-author Jonathan Lunine, professor of physical sciences at Cornell University.
Older adults are using cannabis at an unprecedented rate, yet research that informs policymakers on the topic is scarce, according to the latest issue of the journal Public Policy & Aging Report (PP&AR) from The Gerontological Society of America.
Titled "There's Something Happening Here: Exploring the Evolving Intersection between Cannabis and Older Persons," the journal highlights existing studies as well as recommended areas for further research.
Children's persistence in the face of challenges is key to learning and academic success. However, we know little about how parents and educators can help foster persistent behavior in children before they begin formal schooling. A new U.S. study looked at the interactions of preschool-age children with adults to determine how they affected the children's persistence. It found that the efforts adults put into their actions, successes and failures, and words affected children's persistent behavior to differing degrees.
BOSTON - A new method for super-cooling human donor livers to subzero centigrade temperatures without freezing can triple the time that a donor organ stays safe and viable during transportation from the donor to the recipient. This development could greatly expand the availability of healthy livers for transplantation, improve organ utilization, and reduce some of the time pressure on procurement and transplantation teams.
Positive childhood experiences, such as supportive family interactions, caring relationships with friends, and connections in the community, are associated with reductions in chances of adult depression and poor mental health, and increases in the chances of having healthy relationships in adulthood, a new study led by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers suggests. This association was true even among those with a history of adverse childhood experiences.