Culture
Researchers at the Center for Cognition and Sociality, within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) in South Korea, have engineered an improved biological tool that controls calcium (Ca2+) levels in the brain via blue light. Published in Nature Communications, this optogenetic construct, called monster-OptoSTIM1 or monSTIM1 for short, causes a change in mice's fear learning behavior without the need of optic fiber implants in the brain.
The international team works on a computational model able to predict the properties of new molecules based on the analysis of fundamental chemical laws. The project was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (title "Using AI methods for the planning of chemical synthesis").
In 2009, 105 single-family homes in the city of Cordoba were demolished in order to expand the airport. At first, the debris from the demolition was going to be sent to a landfill, as is common procedure. But, the University of Cordoba came up with the idea to recycle all the debris in situ and use it to build an experimental stretch of road on the CH-2 highway that goes around the runway at the airport and also connects Cordoba with the town of Almodóvar. This stretch of road is used by over 9,000 vehicles on a daily basis. After ten years of research, the complete study was published.
Each year, an average of 120 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) worldwide is released through soil and vegetation respiration. Plants are capable of taking in nearly 123 gigatonnes through photosynthesis in the same period. But as humans release another ten gigatonnes of carbon dioxide into this cycle, mainly by burning fossil fuels such as crude oil and natural gas, there are seven gigatonnes of excess CO2. "And these seven gigatonnes are our big problem," says Thomas Dandekar who holds the Chair of Bioinformatics at the University of Würzburg.
New research from the Prevention Research Center of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation suggests that legalization and greater retail availability of recreational marijuana is positively associated with marijuana use among adolescents.
The researchers investigated whether legalization of recreational marijuana sales in 2015 and retail availability of marijuana in Oregon counties were associated with higher levels of adolescent marijuana use and related beliefs.
Improved ship utilization rates and investments in environmentally sustainable technologies for enhanced energy efficiency would significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions within navigation. A recent study carried out in the Laboratory of Industrial Management at Åbo Akademi University also indicates that such measures would contribute to lowering of freight costs.
The results were obtained by combining emission abatement analysis and investment calculation.
Japan -- Findings from a 700,000-year-old fossil bone indicate that a close relative of the most abundant seabird species in the North Atlantic, the modern dovekie, or 'little auk', used to thrive in the Pacific Ocean and Japan.
Seabirds are top predators in the marine ecosystem, and their distributions are shaped by numerous environmental factors in the ocean. As such, extensive scientific inquiries have been conducted on how seabirds respond to fluctuating oceanic environments in the ecologic and geologic timescales.
A new analysis of the clinical trials of HPV vaccines to prevent cervical cancer raises doubts about the vaccines' effectiveness. The analysis, published by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, assessed 12 published Phase 2 and 3 randomised controlled efficacy trials of the HPV vaccines Cervarix and Gardasil.
About 800,000 years ago, the giant straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon migrated out of Africa and became widespread across Europe and Asia.
It divided into many species, with distinct types in Japan, Central Asia and Europe -- even some dwarf forms as large as a small donkey on some Mediterranean islands.
In a new study by scientists in Spain, Italy and the UK, including University of Bristol PhD student Hanwen Zhang, published in the journal, Quaternary Science Reviews, some order has been brought into our understanding of all these species.
Researchers from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences have shown a possible link between a genetic variation and the widespread type of cardiac arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation.
The scientists conducted the study in zebrafish, which is a recognised scientific animal model within cardiac research.
Here, researchers from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and the Max Planck Institute in Germany put special focus on the gene pitx2c. The result came as a surprise to them, says Assistant Professor Pia Lundegaard from the Department of Biomedical Sciences.
IKBFU scientists developed the composition of the capsule shell for the enzyme needed in the treatment of a hereditary disease called "phenylketonuria". Phenylpyrovirogradnaya oligophrenia is a disease that results in degradation of the amino acid called phenylalanine. This amino acid presents in protein-containing food. High levels of phenylalanine can cause problems of mental development throughout life. If diet therapy is not used among children under two, then such violations lead to irreversible deviations in the development of the brain.
Scientists of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich have developed a tool to eliminate essential proteins from cells with a flash of light. The new method makes it possible to study the function of essential proteins.
Viruses are probably the most peculiar "life forms" known to us, with each species having unique characteristics. One thing common to all viruses is that they attack a "host" cell and hijack its machinery, using it for its own replication. A type of large virus, called "giant virus," has interesting ways of attacking its host organism--an amoeba. Virologists have been trying to understand what makes these viruses so unique for some time now, but to observe them, complex techniques are required.
Creating sustainable markets poses particular obstacles: a sustainable market must be continuously shaped and reshaped. This is the conclusion of three researchers in business administration and innovation at Linkoping University, who have used the Swedish biogas market as a case.
A novel composite film -- created by the bonding of an antimicrobial layer to conventional, clear polyethylene plastic typically used to vacuum-package foods such as meat and fish -- could help to decrease foodborne illness outbreaks, according to researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.