Eurekalert

What is already established for inorganic semiconductors stays a challenge for their organic counterparts: Tuning the energy gap by blending different semiconducting molecules to optimize device performance. Now, scientists from TU Dresden, in cooperation with researchers at TU Munich, as well as University of Würzburg, HU Berlin, and Ulm University demonstrated how to reach this goal.

A study published in the June 10, 2021 issue of Cell describes a remarkable new mechanism by which the body's own immune system can eliminate cancer cells without damaging host cells. The findings have the potential to develop first-in-class medicines that are designed to be selective for cancer cells and non-toxic to normal cells and tissues.

A new technique uses high-throughput sequencing, instead of a microscope, to obtain ultra-high-resolution images of gene expression from a tissue slide.

A combination of ibrutinib and venetoclax was found to provide lasting disease remission in patients with newly diagnosed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Findings from the single-institution Phase II study were published today in JAMA Oncology and provide the longest follow-up data on patients treated with this drug regimen.

Children with documented child protection concerns are four times as likely to die before they reach their 16th birthday, according to confronting new research from the University of South Australia.

The incidence of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) among people with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the United States was estimated in this study.

This survey study among women with breast cancer in Mexico evaluates their specific concerns about and high hesitancy rate toward COVID-19 vaccination.

If the trend of declining coral growth continues at the current rate, the world's coral reefs may cease calcifying around 2054, a new Southern Cross University study has found.Drawing on research from the late 1960s until now, the paper published in Communications & Environment reveals the global spatiotemporal trends and drivers of coral reef ecosystem growth (known as calcification). 116 studies from 53 published papers were analyzed.

The team studied blood samples from children from two ethnic groups in remote rural areas of Burkina Faso, Gouin and Fulani, to see how they responded to the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. The team discovered an elevation of immune-dampening steroid molecules and a strong immunosuppressive signature in Gouin children. Studying the enigmatic less malaria-susceptible Fulani ethnic group revealed opposing steroid profiles and stronger immune reactivity to infection.

MIT biological engineers have demonstrated a way to easily retrieve data files stored as DNA. This could be a step toward using DNA archives to store enormous quantities of photos, images, and other digital content.

New research led by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History shows that disruptions to Indigenous land management following Iberian colonization did not always result in widespread forest regrowth in the Americas and Asia-Pacific, as has been recently argued.

A new device that fits over a person's ears and enables non-invasive measurement of real-time changes in blood alcohol levels through the skin is presented in a proof-of-principle study in Scientific Reports.

Earlier this year, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) acknowledged the impact of structural racism on biomedical science and committed to doing more to dismantle it. Now, in a commentary appearing June 10 in the journal Cell, NIH Director Francis Collins and colleagues describe the NIH's UNITE initiative and how it differs from the agency's previous diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

Using a new 3D printing process, University of Nottingham researchers have discovered how to tailor-make artificial body parts and other medical devices with built-in functionality that offers better shape and durability, while cutting the risk of bacterial infection at the same time.

Researchers from Aarhus University and University of Copenhagen have developed a new method, which makes CRISPR gene editing more precise than conventional methods. The method selects the molecules best suited for helping the CRISPR-Cas9 protein with high-precision editing at the correct location in our DNA, the researchers explain.

In a new study, an international team of plant researchers including the Institute of Botany at TU Dresden has discovered an unusual and previously unknown reproductive strategy in plants: the Greek pipevine species 'Aristolochia microstoma' produces a unique mixture of volatiles that resembles the smell of dead and decaying insects to attract the pollinating fly genus 'Megaselia' (also known as 'coffin flies') to its trap-flowers. The study was recently published in the open-access journal 'Frontiers'.

The Exeter team's review summarizes and critically appraises the current approaches that study the concentrations of antimicrobials that increase AMR. By collating and assessing available data, they have recommended what these safe thresholds could be, to enable governments to act to reduce them.

The annual number of new HIV infections among men who have sex with men in England is likely to have fallen dramatically, from 2,770 in 2013 to 854 in 2018, showing elimination of HIV transmission by 2030 to be within reach -- suggests work by researchers from the MRC Biostatistics Unit at the University of Cambridge and Public Health England, published in The Lancet HIV.

Prof. HUANG Qing's group from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) developed a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) gas sensor to detect aldehyde with high sensitivity and selectivity, which provided a new detection method for studying the adsorption of gas molecules on porous materials. The relevant research results have been published in Analytical Chemistry.

Lack of water, floods, or crop losses: As a result of climate change, pronounced periods of drought and rainfall are causing human suffering and major economic damage. Precise seasonal forecasts can help to mitigate these consequences. A research team from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has now been able to improve global forecasts using statistical methods so that they can be used on the regional level. Publication in Earth System Science Data and Scientific Reports.