Tech
In biology it is well-known that every living organism is triggered by the hereditary material or DNA that encodes various protein molecules, which in turn perform all the necessary biological functions and it might seem that nothing else is needed to sustain the life of an organism.
It is well known that plants use carbon dioxide obtained from the air in photosynthesis to use as energy and grow bigger. Naoki Makita and Maiko Akatsuki of Shinshu University confirmed that a large amount of this carbon is expelled into the soil through root exudates. It had previously been confirmed that plants exude organic compounds in liquid form from their root systems in hydroponics and seedlings grown under the lab experiments. However, measurements of root systems of trees growing in the wild had been rarely performed due to technical problems.
Despite of impressive successes already achieved on metasurfaces, most fascinating light-manipulation effects were only demonstrated under normal-incidence excitations. The angular dispersions of the devices, that the responses of such metasurfaces can sensitively depend on the impinging angle, were often overlooked. Obviously, angular dispersion is a critical issue that must be carefully addressed in different application scenarios.
Circadian rhythms are driven by a highly autonomous, self-sustaining circadian clock in our cells, telling us when to sleep or wake up in a 24-hour cycle.
This mechanism can also be found in other organisms, including in primitive, photosynthetic bacteria known as cyanobacteria. In cyanobacteria, three types of proteins known as KaiA, KaiB, and KaiC work together like gears of a clock to create the rhythms. According to previous studies, all three Kai proteins are required for the circadian clock of cyanobacteria to function, and lacking KaiA could abolish oscillations.
Spain ranks fifth among European countries for childhood obesity. Sugar-sweetened beverages and soft drinks are consumed by 81% of Spanish children weekly. Mireia Montaña and Mònika Jiménez, researchers of the Open University of Catalonia and the UPF Department of Communication, respectively, have performed a study based on the assumption that advertising is one of the factors that contributes to the obesogenic environment.
Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has attracted considerable attention because of its potential applications in field-effect transistors, optoelectronic devices, and electrocatalysts, among others. For successful application of MoS2 in optoelectronics, it is necessary to understand the electron dynamics, which is known to determine the electronic transport and optical properties of semiconductors. In addition to its importance in optoelectronics applications, the ultrafast electron dynamics also plays a vital role in the laser fabrication of MoS2.
Chinese researchers from Trauma Center, Peking University People's Hospital and National Institute of Health Data Science of Peking University are using big data to help identify trauma patients who could experience potential adverse health events in the emergency department through the aid of a clinical decision support system. It was developed using a novel real-world evidence mining and evidence-based inference method, driven by improved information storage and electronic medical records.
The CRISPR/Cas molecular scissors work like a fine surgical instrument and can be used to modify genetic information in plants. The research teams of Professor Holger Puchta of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Professor Andreas Houben from the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) in Gatersleben have now been the first to not only exchange single genes, but to recombine entire chromosomes with the CRISPR/Cas technology. In this way, desired properties can be combined in crops.
Some memory devices where information from smartphones and computers is stored are based on a very precise control of the magnetic properties, at nanoscopic scale. The more precise this control is, the more storage capacity and speed they can have. In certain cases, the combination of ferromagnetism (where the magnetism of all the atoms in the material points in the same direction) and antiferromagnetism (where the magnetism of the atoms in the material points alternately in opposite directions) is used to store the information.
Interest in space exploration is increasing again. In the past decade, there has been renewed thinking about missions to the moon, perhaps even to Mars. As inevitable fellow travellers on the bodies of astronauts, spaceships, or equipment, terrestrial microorganisms will undoubtedly come into contact with extraterrestrial environments. Researchers from the Radboudumc describe in an article in Astrobiology that bacteria can survive on an 'extraterrestrial diet', which affected their pathogenic potential.
E-learning could be a crucial tool in the biosecurity fight against invasive alien species such as Japanese Knotweed, Zebra Mussels and Signal Crayfish according to a new study published in the academic journal 'Biological Invasions'.
The vagus nerve plays an important role in our body. It consists of various fibres, some of which connect to the internal organs, but the vagus nerve can also be found in the ear. It is of great importance for various body functions, including the perception of pain. Therefore, a lot of research has been focussing on how the vagus nerve can be stimulated effectively and gently with special electrodes.
A newly developed video technique has allowed scientists at Goethe University Frankfurt at the Bee Research Institute of the Polytechnical Society to record the complete development of a honey bee in its hive for the first time. It also led to the discovery that certain pesticides - neonicotinoids - changed the behaviour of the nurse bees: researchers determined that they fed the larvae less often. Larval development took up to 10 hours longer.
A new momentum microscopy experimental station for photoelectron spectroscopy resolved in 3D momentum space with a microscopic field of view has been built at BL6U of UVSOR*, Institute for Molecular Science. The momentum microscope opens the door to direct observation of the Fermi surface and band structure of µm-sized targets such as surface atomic sites, thin films and interfaces, molecular adsorbates, and polycrystals, which was difficult with conventional electron energy analyzers.