Culture
Researchers at UPF, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Mainz (Germany), the Center for Genomic Regulation, Instituto Cajal, Johannes Gutenberg University (Germany), the Autonomous University Barcelona and Hospital del Mar have identified for the first time the involvement of certain cortical areas in the brain in the loss of control over food intake.
Understanding the interactions between proteins and soap molecules (surfactants) has long been important for the industry, particularly within detergents and cosmetics. The anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) is known to unfold globular proteins, while the nonionic surfactant octaethylene glycol monododecyl ether (C12E8) does the opposite, i.e. it helps proteins fold into shape again.
A study undertaken by an international team led by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich molecular biologist Axel Imhof sheds new light on the mechanisms that control the establishment of epigenetic modifications on newly synthesized histones following cell division.
The cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China was first reported on December 30, 2019 by the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) later determined and announced a novel coronavirus (CoV), denoted as Wuhan CoV (2019-nCoV), had caused the outbreak of the pneumonia. The current public health emergency partially resembles the emergence of the SARS outbreak in southern China in 2002, which led to more than 8,000 human infections and 774 deaths.
Many farmers associate grassland biodiversity with lower yields and financial losses. "Biodiversity is often considered unprofitable, but we show that it can, in fact, pay off," says Nina Buchmann, Professor of Grassland Sciences at ETH Zurich. In an interdisciplinary study at the interface of agricultural sciences, ecology and economics, Buchmann and her colleagues were able to quantify the economic added value of biodiversity based on a grassland experiment that examined different intensities of cultivation.
Researchers from North Carolina State University have found elevated levels of 11 per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals in the blood of Cape Fear River striped bass. Two of those compounds - perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and Nafion byproduct 2 - are associated with altered immune and liver functions in those fish.
Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer in women worldwide, but most American women can prevent it by being screened with tests that detect human papillomaviruses (HPV).
A new study led by University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center scientists shows that screening every three years instead of annually prevents most cervical cancers. And of the cancers that are found during routine screenings, most are caught before they've had a chance to spread, making them far easier to treat.
A new study in Genome Biology and Evolution, published by Oxford University Press, resurrected the mutated genes of the last herd of woolly mammoths and found that their small population had developed a number of genetic defects that may have proved fatal for the species.
Visual acuity--the ability to discern letters, numbers, and objects from a distance--is essential for many tasks, from recognizing a friend across a room to driving a car.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The global gene therapy market is expected to reach $13 billion by 2024 as new treatment options target cancers and other diseases.
A new synthetic biology toolkit developed at Northwestern University will help researchers design mammalian cells with new functionalities.
The toolkit, called the Composable Mammalian Elements of Transcription (COMET), includes an ensemble of synthetic transcription factors and promoters that enable the design and tuning of gene expression programs in a way not previously possible. The result could be new therapies for difficult-to-treat diseases, like cancer.
Sildenafil is commonly used to treat erectile dysfunction and is generally regarded as safe with limited side effects. However, a recent study in Frontiers in Neurology has highlighted the risk of persistent visual side-effects, such as light sensitivity and color vision impairment, in men who have taken the highest recommended dose of Viagra.
One is missing - in short, this summarizes the mystery. It is about nitrification, the oxidation of ammonia via nitrite to nitrate, a key process in marine nitrogen cycling. In the sea, both steps of this process are balanced and most available nitrogen exists in the form of nitrate, the final product of nitrification. The organisms which are largely responsible for the first step of nitrification in the ocean - the ammonia oxidizing archaea - were discovered around a decade ago, and it turns out that they are amongst the most abundant microorganisms on the planet.
Researchers have identified a new protein linked to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) that could offer new hope for the diagnosis and treatment of the disease, which affects over 1.5 million people in the UK alone.
The research team, made up of scientists from Queen Mary University of London, the University of Manchester, Cardiff University, and Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, found significantly higher levels of a protein called factor H-related protein 4 (FHR-4) in the blood of AMD patients.
An international team of scientists has identified a protein which is strongly linked to the commonest cause of blindness in developed countries when its levels are raised in the blood.
The discovery is a major step forward in the understanding of age-related macular degeneration, which affects 1.5 million people in the UK alone.
The study, carried out by the team from Universities of Manchester, Cardiff, London and Nijmegen, and Manchester Foundation NHS Trust is published in Nature Communications.
The major funder was the Medical Research Council.