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In a new study published in the journal Genes & Development, Shihoko Kojima and her team has identified a novel gene, Per2AS, that controls the sleep/wake cycle in mice. Per2AS appears to be a new type of gene, known as a non-coding gene. Unlike most other genes, Per2AS is not translated from RNA into a subsequent protein, thus making its function unclear until now.

"The manuscript offers a unique and timely perspective on plant diseases, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic," said David Schmale, a co-author on the paper and a professor in the Virginia Tech School of Plant and Environmental Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Despite increases in gender equality and the normalization of casual sex in many cultures, the belief that women who engage in casual sex have low self-esteem remains widespread. New research examines this entrenched stereotype and finds no significant correlation between a woman's sexual behavior and her self-esteem.

Researchers from the Ruđer Bošković Institute (RBI), in collaboration with colleagues from Xellia Pharmaceuticals, have shown that solid-state mechanochemical activation of glycine and alanine in combination with mineral surfaces leads to the formation of peptides.

Scientists from the University of Bristol have pioneered a new approach to help biological engineers both harness and design the evolutionary potential of new biosystems. Their concept of the 'evotype' lays a foundation for the next generation of stable, safe and self-improving biotechnologies.

Three of the most common chronic eye conditions require regular medical check-ups and injections into the eye by ophthalmology specialists to keep looming blindness at bar. A study by the University of Bern and the Inselspital in collaboration with an AI in eyecare startup now demonstrates that patients' individual ideal frequency for these visits can quite accurately be predicted by machine learning - yielding a threefold benefit.

With a new method that combines high-powered scanning force microscopes and machine learning, IBEC researchers have drastically reduced the processing time required to achieve nanoscale biochemical compositions map from electric images of eukaryotic cells in just seconds. Using earlier computation methods, processing one image could take even months. This study can provide an invaluable tool to biologists conducting basic research and it also has the potential to be used in a host of biomedical applications.

University of Guelph researchers found monarchs raised in captivity can successfully migrate if given time to orient themselves. They discovered this by equipping the butterflies with tiny radio transmitters and monitoring them for 200 km, debunking previous research that found the butterflies couldn't orient themselves. Monarchs released into the wild flew in the proper direction because they were exposed to natural sunlight cues allowing them to calibrate their internal compasses after being released.

Due to strict lockdowns, many of us have seen and heard our family and neighbors much more than ever before. During the 180th ASA Meeting, Ayca Sentop Dümen and Konca Saher from the Turkish Acoustical Society will discuss the effects of pandemic-related noise on people's satisfaction with their homes and how this may inform future design choices. Their presentation, 'Noise annoyance in dwellings during the first wave of Covid-19,' will take place Tuesday, June 8.

The COVID-19 pandemic created numerous changes and challenges for many people. During the 180th ASA Meeting, Andrew Morrison from Joliet Junior College will reveal lessons learned by educators during remote teaching caused by the pandemic and what techniques they can use in the return to classroom instruction. The session, "Lessons learned teaching through a pandemic and looking forward to a post-COVID-19 classroom," will take place Tuesday, June 8, 2021.

Financing a sustainable global ocean economy may require a Paris Agreement type effort, according to a new report from an international team of researchers led by the University of British Columbia.

Sanaria and its collaborators have had to take a step by step empirical approach to optimizing immunization with PfSPZ vaccines to achieve a safe, effective, durable, and broadly protective malaria vaccine. Two recent landmark malaria vaccine studies have moved the optimization process forward and highlighted the strong protective efficacy of Sanaria® PfSPZ-CVac in malaria-naïve adults.

A simple chemical process developed at Rice University creates light and highly absorbent aerogels for environmental remediation or as membranes for batteries and other applications.

Medics training to become general practitioners reported a significant positive improvement in their mental wellbeing after participating in a specially-designed mindfulness programme, a study from University of Warwick researchers shows.

After looking for just one-twentieth of a second, experts in camouflage breaking can accurately detect not only that something is hidden in a scene, but precisely identify the camouflaged target, a skill set that can mean the difference between life and death in warfare and the wild, investigators report.

Stereotypes are knowledge structures integrated in our world representation which are hard to change. A team from the University of Barcelona and the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute, in collaboration with the Èpica Foundation - La Fura dels Baus analysed how a performing experience could have a positive impact in reducing the population's bias against physical illnesses. This performing experience is a pioneer one for it combines scientific training and theatre performance.

A new global analysis says that greenhouse-gas emissions from food systems have long been systematically underestimated--and points to major opportunities to cut them. The authors estimate that activities connected to food production and consumption produced the equivalent of 16 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2018--one third of the human-produced total, and an 8 percent increase since 1990.

Researchers have developed a 'library of properties' to help identify the environmental impact of nanomaterials faster and more cost effectively.

Researchers from the University of Arizona have detected organic molecules in planetary nebulae, the aftermaths of dying stars, and in the far reaches of the Milky Way, which have been deemed too cold and too removed from the galactic center to support such chemistries. They present their findings at the 238th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, or AAS, held virtually from June 7-9.

Astronomers have taken a big step forward in understanding the dark and violent places where stars are born.Over the past five years, an international team of researchers has conducted the first systematic survey of 'stellar nurseries' across our part of the universe, charting the more than 100,000 of these nurseries across more than 90 nearby galaxies and providing new insights into the origins of stars.