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Scientists from the iMolecule group at Skoltech Center for Computational and Data-Intensive Science and Engineering (CDISE) developed BiteNet, a machine learning (ML) algorithm that helps find drug binding sites, i.e. potential drug targets, in proteins. BiteNet can analyze 1,000 protein structures in 1.5 minutes and find optimal spots for drug molecules to attach. The research was published in the Communications Biology journal.
Okazaki, Japan - It is common that neurons transmit information to another group of neurons by increasing or decreasing their activity, i.e. "firing rate changes". In addition to firing rate changes, synchronized activity of a certain group of neurons, i.e. "correlated activity", has been suggested to play an important role in conveying information. This study revealed that, in the basal ganglia, information for the movement control is conveyed primarily by firing rate changes and correlated activity play only minor role in healthy conditions (Figure).
Blue mussels in the Baltic Sea are getting smaller with time but bigger in numbers, according to a new study from Stockholm University. Analyzing data from the last 24 years, the main reason for this appears to be changes in food quality. The type of phytoplankton that is available for blue mussels to eat can in turn be linked to our changing climate.
Which is more important in the initial phase of a pandemic: taking precautionary actions or responding to its severity? That is the question that researchers from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) set out to address in an article published in BioEssays.
Kyoto, Japan -- Publishing in PNAS, biologists at Kyoto University report on a previously unknown mechanism in the retina that will perhaps lead to a better understanding of how our eyes see at night. The finding was made possible thanks to mice engineered to change fluorescence when a specific molecule -- protein kinase A, or PKA -- is activated.
These 'PKAchu' mice were developed to provide researchers with a way of visualizing the activation of one of the body's most essential and widely studied proteins.
Tsukuba, Japan - Blood stem cell transplants are an important part of treatment for a variety of serious conditions. However, adverse reactions of the host to donor cells present a significant risk. Now, researchers from the University of Tsukuba have pinpointed cell level behavior that could be used to help the host fight back, their findings are published in Journal of Investigative Dermatology.
Soil has the capacity to bind large quantities of carbon in the long term. An international team of researchers, including from the University of Bonn, is now advocating effective use of this potential. Experts estimate that this could reduce the increase of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by a third. At the same time, agricultural yields in many regions would also increase significantly. In a recent publication they present a strategy to achieve these goals. The study is published in the journal Nature Communications.
The sequencing of the genome of the cauliflower coral, Pocillopora verrucosa, by an international team, provides a resource that scientists can use to study how corals have adapted to different environmental conditions.
An interdisciplinary research team has investigated whether there are quantitative differences that can be used to identify individual potters who make traditional, fixed-shape vessels that have been made in the same way for generations. Consequently, they discovered that there are clear variations between individuals in the formation process and hand movements used.
HOUSTON - (Oct. 26, 2020) - A horrifying insect soap opera with vampires, mummies and infant-eating parasites is playing out on the stems and leaves of live oak trees every day, and evolutionary biologist Scott Egan found the latest character -- a new wasp species that may be a parasite of a parasite -- within walking distance of his Rice University lab.
Researchers have developed a novel control architecture that defends complex, interconnected systems previously vulnerable to cyberattacks. Details were published in IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica.
Distributed systems are becoming more and more essential in everyday life. From power plants to autonomous vehicles, modular, interconnected systems, colloquially referred to as Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), provide crucial services and capabilities while being technologically cost effective.
Air pollution, green space and built environment characteristics may influence body mass index durin
Exposure to higher air pollution levels and greater population density during the early months of life may be associated with an increase in children's body mass index (BMI). By contrast, living in areas with greater exposure to green space and a more favourable land use mix (a measure of the variety of building types and services in an area) could be associated with the opposite effect.
Researchers from Kumamoto University, Japan have proposed that cellular senescence variations during the aging process could lead to control of health and onset of age-related diseases. Based on the characteristics of the secretion of inflammatory cytokines released by aged cells, they hypothesize that there are at least four distinct states of cellular senescence, and that these four states arise from coordinated metabolic and epigenomic changes.
Researchers have revealed the key factors that can improve outcomes in children with ADHD, a disorder that costs Australia US$13 billion a year in social and economic losses.
Research, led by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) and published in Pediatrics, highlighted the importance of identifying academic, behavioural and social functioning difficulties in the first years of school and empowering teachers and parents to intervene early.
Scientists establish NanDeSyn Database to support international cooperation on industrial microalgae
Industrial oil-producing microalgae can use light energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into oils on a large scale. Therefore, it is a potential solution for the sustainable supply of food, nutrition and fuel for human society.