Tech
Transforming a fertilized egg into a fully functional adult is a complicated task. Cells must divide, move, and mature at specific times. Developmental genes control that process, turning on and off in a choreographed way. However, the environment influences development. A team of researchers led by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Associate Professor Christopher Hammell reported December 22, 2020 in the journal Current Biology how gene activity matches nutrient levels. They found a master switch developing worms use to pause growth when nutrients are scarce.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- An unusual study that involved bar coding and tracking the behavior of thousands of individual honey bees in six queenless bee hives and analyzing gene expression in their brains offers new insights into how gene regulation contributes to social behavior.
The study, reported in the journal eLife, reveals that the activity profile of regulator genes known as transcription factors in the brain strongly correlates with the behavior of honey bees, the researchers said. A single transcription factor can induce - or reduce - the expression of dozens of other genes.
WASHINGTON -- Researchers have developed a new bio-inspired medical endoscope that can acquire 3D visible light and near-infrared fluorescence images at the same time. It features an optical design that combines the high-resolution 3D imaging of human vision with the mantis shrimp's capability to simultaneously detect multiple wavelengths of light.
Substances present in cooked meats are associated with increased wheezing in children, Mount Sinai researchers report. Their study, published in Thorax, highlights pro-inflammatory compounds called advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) as an example of early dietary risk factors that may have broad clinical and public health implications for the prevention of inflammatory airway disease.
Paper snowflakes, pop-up children's books and elaborate paper cards are of interest to more than just crafters. A team of Northwestern University engineers is using ideas taken from paper-folding practices to create a sophisticated alternative to 3D printing.
Damien D'Amours and his team at the Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology needed three years to discover the molecular defects associated with the LIC Syndrome, a serious genetic disorder that affects young children and result in acute respiratory distress, immune deficiency and abnormal chromosomes.
BEER-SHEVA, Israel, December 22, 2020 - Online users are more likely to reveal private information based on how website forms are structured to elicit data, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers have determined.
The intriguing study, "Online Disclosure Depends on How You Ask for Information," was presented at the 41st International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS 2020), held virtually this year, December 12-16. The BGU researchers' findings convey significant implications for user privacy as well as online data capture.
A team of scientists from RUDN University and the Dokuchyaev Soil Science Institute developed a method for identifying the color of soil at different depths and the structure of soil profile using ground-penetrating radar. With this methodology, scientists can identify the chemical composition of the soil and classify it for potential use in construction, agriculture, or mining without digging soil sections. The results of the study were published in the Eurasian Soil Science journal.
A joint research team co-led by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has developed a novel computational tool that can reconstruct and visualise three-dimensional (3D) shapes and temporal changes of cells, speeding up the analysing process from hundreds of hours by hand to a few hours by the computer. Revolutionising the way biologists analyse image data, this tool can advance further studies in developmental and cell biology, such as the growth of cancer cells.
Northwestern researchers have developed a new microscopy method that allows scientists to see the building blocks of "smart" materials being formed at the nanoscale.
The chemical process is set to transform the future of clean water and medicines and for the first time people will be able to watch the process in action.
We know that the brain can direct thoughts, but how this is achieved is difficult to determine. Researchers at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre have devised a brain machine interface (BMI) that allows mice to learn to guide a cursor using only their brain activity. By monitoring this mouse-controlled mouse moving to a target location to receive a reward, the researchers were able to study how the brain represents intentional control.
Scientists from the United States, China, and Russia have described the structure and properties of a novel hydrogen clathrate hydrate that forms at room temperature and relatively low pressure. Hydrogen hydrates are a potential solution for hydrogen storage and transportation, the most environmentally friendly fuel. The research was published in the journal Physical Review Letters.
Fuel cells based on methanol oxidation have a huge potential in the motor and technical industries. To increase their energy performance, scientists suggest using electrodes made of thin palladium-based metallic glass films. A group of researchers from Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU), Austria, Turkey, Switzerland, and the UK has developed a new metallic glass for this application. The results were reported in the Nanoscale journal.
An international effort called Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) aims to transform crops' ability to turn sunlight and carbon dioxide into higher yields. To achieve this, scientists are analyzing thousands of plants to find out what tweaks to the plant's structure or its cellular machinery could increase production.
In the far north, the swelling Arctic Ocean inundated vast swaths of coastal tundra and steppe ecosystems. Though the ocean water was only a few degrees above freezing, it started to thaw the permafrost beneath it, exposing billions of tons of organic matter to microbial breakdown. The decomposing organic matter began producing CO2 and CH4, two of the most important greenhouse gases.