Feed aggregator

In 2016, researchers from the University of Liège (Belgium) proposed a new definition of the geological boundary between the Devonian and Carboniferous periods (359 million years). This new definition has been tested by hundreds of researchers around the world and the results are now compiled in a special issue of the journal Palaeodiversity & Palaeoenvironments.

Researchers from the Centre for Sleep and Cognition at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine found mindfulness-based therapy to be more effective than an active sleep hygiene programme in improving sleep quality. This study is the first preregistered and adequately powered trial to test sleep-targeted mindfulness-based therapy as a treatment for insomnia.

The Mid-infrared lasers (MIR) with high peak power and high repetition rate operating in the range of 2.7~3 μm have important application in laser surgery and optical parametric oscillator (OPO).

Toyohashi University of Technology developed a chlorine (Cl) substituted Na3SbS4 solid electrolyte for use in all-solid-state sodium (Na) ion batteries. The ionic conductivity of the Na3SbS4 solid electrolyte where sulfur (S) was partially substituted with Cl improved by up to three times. The team also demonstrated that the Cl-substituted Na3SbS4 has a crystal structure framework that allows Na ions to move easier in three dimensions, and they discovered that the Cl substitution showed superior stability.

Muscles and the resident stem cells (satellite cells) responsible for muscle regeneration retain memory of their location in the body. This positional memory was found to be based on the expression pattern of the homeobox (Hox) gene cluster, which is responsible for shaping the body during fetal life. These findings are expected to provide clues to elucidate the pathogenesis of muscle diseases like muscular dystrophy, and help develop regenerative treatments based on positional memory.

The fungi studied by a team of biologists at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) for their sexual reproduction strategies are commonly known as Sword-belt Mushrooms. In addition to the European Sword-belt Mushroom (Cyclocybe aegerita), its Pacific relative, the so-called Tawaka (Cyclocybe parasitica), also possesses the unusual ability for agarics to single-handedly form complex multicellular structures for sexual reproduction. These fruiting bodies are normally produced as a collaborative effort between two sexual partners.

Tantalising evidence has been uncovered for a mysterious population of "free-floating" planets, planets that may be alone in deep space, unbound to any host star. The results include four new discoveries that are consistent with planets of similar masses to Earth, published today in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

The change from early years services into formal educational settings has long been considered an integral transition point for young people. New research from Flinders University now asks, "Is service integration actually important to the children?"

Chang'e-5 (CE-5), the first sample return satellite of China, is expected to land and sample in the Rümker region, north of the Oceanus Procellarum. To select optimal sampling points, researchers analyzed the microwave radiation features in this mare unit, and retrieved the dielectric constant and thickness of lunar regolith based on Chang'e lunar microwave sounder (CELMS) data.

Researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) identified proteins that bind to Toc-HDOs, double-stranded molecules combining RNA and DNA linked to a form of vitamin E, tocopherol, that have applications in gene silencing therapies. The team showed that Toc-HDOs work through a different mechanism to other DNA/RNA-based gene silencing approaches and identified four proteins involved in regulating their function. A greater understanding of Toc-HDO function could help with development of more effective gene silencing therapies.

Loss-of-mutations in NGLY1, an enzyme that removes sugar chains, cause a multisystem developmental disorder called NGLY1 deficiency. Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science (TMiMS), Kyoto University, RIKEN, and T-CiRA in Japan have elucidated the pathogenesis of NGLY1 deficiency. They found that when NGLY1 is deficient, an overwhelming amount of glycoproteins, ubiquitinated by a sugar-recognizing ubiquitin ligase, causes proteasome dysfunction that leads to cytotoxicity. The report is being published in PNAS.

To quickly express genes needed for learning and memory, brain cells snap both strands of DNA in many more places and cell types than previously realized, a new study shows

Attention training in young people with autism can lead to significant improvements in academic performance, according to a new study.

Vertical greenery 'planted' on the exterior of buildings may help to buffer people against stress, a Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) study has found.

A 15-year reciprocal transplant study on Guam's native cycad tree, Cycas micronesica, by the Plant Physiology Laboratory at the University of Guam's Western Pacific Tropical Research Center has revealed that acute adaptation to local soil conditions occurs among the tree population and is important in the survival rate of transplanted cycads.

Scientists at UC San Francisco have shown that gene-edited cellular therapeutics can be used to successfully treat cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, potentially paving the way for developing less expensive cellular therapies to treat diseases for which there are currently few viable options.

New research has shown myelosuppressive chemotherapy destabilises gut microbiome in patients with solid organ cancers. The study from SAHMRI and Flinders University assessed the gut health of men and women who underwent conventional chemotherapy on cancers, such as breast and lung cancer, without exposure to antibiotics.

POSTECH research team discovers new zeolite catalysts for catalytic cracking applications.

At the end of life, people may have to rely on others for help with showering, dressing and going to the toilet. This loss of privacy and independence can be confronting and difficult. Now Australian occupational therapy (OT) researchers have interviewed 18 people receiving palliative care about how they feel about losing independence with self-care, specifically their intimate hygiene, as function declines with disease progression.

An international team of scientists has used high-powered X-rays at the European Synchrotron, the ESRF, to show how an extinct South African 200-million-year-old dinosaur, Heterodontosaurus tucki, breathed. The study is published in elife on 6 July 2021.