Earth

Water ice is one of the most abundant solid substances in nature and hydrated protons on the ice surfaces critically influence physical and chemical properties of ices. Hydrated protons are easily doped into the hydrogen-bond (HB) networks when acidic impurities are present. In contrast, in pure water molecular systems, they are generated solely by the thermal ionization of water molecules (H2O⇆H+hyd + OH-hyd). Therefore, the proton activity inherent to water ice is determined by the amount and mobility of hydrated protons derived from the autoionization (Figure 1).

Researchers from North Carolina State University have found that a commonly used drug made from secondary bile acids can affect the life cycle of Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) in vitro and reduce the inflammatory response to C. diff in mice. The findings aid understanding of how this drug may be used in future treatment of C. diff infections in humans.

DALLAS, March 30, 2020 -- When temperatures reach extremes of an average daily temperature of 109 degrees Fahrenheit, the number of deaths from cardiovascular disease may double or triple. Researchers note that these findings raise concerns that traditionally hot regions may be especially vulnerable to heat-related cardiovascular deaths, according to new research published today in Circulation, the flagship journal of the American Heart Association.

The scientists have discovered that magnetoreception in birds is unlikely to be associated with the light-sensitive protein cryptochrome in the retina of their eyes, though photochemical reactions in cryptochrome have been so far considered to be the primary biophysical mechanism behind the magnetic sense of birds.

Oncotarget Volume 11, Issue 12 reported outside its natural niche, the cultured prostate cancer stem cells lost their tumor-inducing capability and stem cell marker expression after approximately 8 transfers at a 1:3 split ratio.

Scientists have developed a way of extracting a richer palette of colours from the available spectrum by harnessing disordered patterns inspired by nature that would typically be seen as black.

Colours that we see in nature often come from nanoscale patterns that reflect light back in particular ways. A butterfly's wing, for example, might appear blue because tiny grooves in the surface of the wing cause only blue light to be reflected.

NEW YORK -- Columbia scientists have provided new insights into how mutations in a gene called TBK1 cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurodegenerative disease that robs patients of movement, speech and ultimately, their lives. The researchers found that ALS-associated mutations in TBK1 can have both positive and negative effects on the progression of disease in mice genetically modified to have ALS-like symptoms.