Culture
A paper published in Science in 2017 described hundreds of massive, kilometer -wide, craters on the ocean floor in the Barents Sea. Today more than 600 gas flares are identified in and around these craters, releasing the greenhouse gas steadily into the water column. Another study, published the same year in PNAS, mapped several methane mounds, some 500m wide, in the Barents Sea. The mounds were considered to be signs of soon-to-happen methane expulsions that have created the said craters.
In the last two decades, the life sciences have seen a growing partnership with information technology. The main drive behind this is the need to process and integrate enormous volumes of data from different fields including genetics, biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, and physiology in order to gain a deeper understanding of biological systems, processes, and even entire organisms.
At a glance:
Two studies from Harvard Medical School provide new insights into normal and abnormal DNA recombination during sperm and egg cell formation
Using new technology for analyzing human sperm genomes, researchers report variable rates of chromosome abnormalities and find evidence that a single biological process regulates the number, location and spacing of crossovers where parents' DNA recombines
Separate study in developing worm eggs suggests crossovers are suppressed in certain regions of the chromosome to reduce errors
HOUSTON - (June 4, 2020) - Eggs that would otherwise be wasted can be used as the base of an inexpensive coating to protect fruits and vegetables, according to Rice University researchers.
The Brown School of Engineering lab of materials scientist Pulickel Ajayan and colleagues have developed a micron-thick coating that solves problems both for the produce and its consumers, as well as for the environment.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Highly energetic, "hot" electrons have the potential to help solar panels more efficiently harvest light energy.
But scientists haven't been able to measure the energies of those electrons, limiting their use. Researchers at Purdue University and the University of Michigan built a way to analyze those energies.
Ludwig-Maximilian-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich researchers have discovered a hitherto unknown molecular function of a specific microRNA that preserves integrity of the endothelium and reduces the risk of atherosclerosis.
Researchers from the Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta" of the Politecnico di Milano and the Pediatric Research Center, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences "L. Sacco ", University of Milan have recently published an article in the scientific journal Theranostics, which will help the international scientific community to understand the mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 infection and to develop vaccines and therapeutic agents against COVID-19.
The Gerontological Society of America's highly cited, peer-reviewed journals are now publishing scientific articles on COVID-19. The following were published between May 26 and June 3; all are free to access:
Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University at Buffalo have developed a technology called "Artificial Chemist," which incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) and an automated system for performing chemical reactions to accelerate R&D and manufacturing of commercially desirable materials.
LEBANON, NH - A research team at Dartmouth's and Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Norris Cotton Cancer Center has found that the same vaccination programs that target human papillomavirus (hrHPV) strains in the United States may not be as effective in protecting other populations of women from the disease. Years of work in Honduras, led by Gregory J. Tsongalis, PhD, has shown a very different prevalence of hrHPV there compared to the U.S. The majority of cervical cancers are caused by persistent infection with hrHPV with different vaccines available to protect against HPV infection.
Infants born prematurely may require parenteral or intravenous nutrition to provide the necessary nourishment, as their digestive system is immature and cannot digest nutrients. However, prolonged parenteral nutrition is associated with complications, including cholestasis, or lack of bile flow from the liver into the small intestine, which leads to accumulation of bile acids and injury in the liver. Emerging clinical studies have shown that cholestasis can be prevented in preterm infants with parenteral administration of oil emulsions ? mixtures made of multiple oil components ?
Study Highlights
The Nurr1 protein maintains the health of neurons that produce dopamine and die off during the progression of Parkinson's disease.
Hormone-like compounds called prostaglandin A1 and E1 bind to and activate Nurr1.
Prostaglandin A1 or E1 treatment lessened symptoms in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease.
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (June 4, 2020) -- As the U.S. Army revamps its small arms training and raises rifle qualification standards, researchers are studying alternative training and tools to help improve Soldier performance.
The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command's Army Research Laboratory, Army Medical Department Field Element, located at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, recently conducted a series of examinations of neurocognitive temporal training and Soldier performance.
The liver filters blood, detoxifies chemicals and metabolizes drugs. Hepatitis, alcohol and primary liver diseases are common sources of damage in the liver and can result in scarring, known as fibrosis. Long-term fibrosis can lead to thicker liver tissue which in turn leads to other issues like increased blood pressure in the liver. Known as portal hypertension, high blood pressure in the liver is often unrecognized, and can be lethal.
New images of an enzyme in action as it interacts with the chromosome could provide important insight into how cells--including cancer cells--regulate their genes.
The enzyme, LSD1, can "turn off" gene expression by removing chemical flags (methyl groups) from the nucleosome--tightly packed units of DNA and protein in chromosomes. This LSD1 histone demethylase is over-expressed in multiple cancer types, resulting in disruption to normal cell development, and the new structure could inform therapeutic interventions that target the enzyme.