In a Perspective, Stephen Tang and Samuel Sternberg discuss retroelement-based gene editing as a safer alternative to CRISPR-Cas approaches. Precision genome editing technologies have transformed modern biology. Capabilities for programable DNA targeting have improved rapidly, largely due to the development of bacterial RNA-guided CRISPR-Cas systems, which allow precise cleavage of target DNA sequences. However, CRISPR-Cas9 systems generate a DNA double strand break (DSB), which activates cellular DNA repair pathways that can lead to unwanted and complex byproducts, ...

Key takeaways Female chimpanzees in Uganda’s Ngogo community experienced a menopausal transition similar to women. Fertility among chimpanzees studied declined after age 30, and no births were observed after age 50. The data can help researchers better understand why menopause and post-fertile survival occur in nature and how it evolved in the human species.  A team of researchers studying the Ngogo community of wild chimpanzees in western Uganda’s Kibale National Park for two decades has published a report in Science showing that females in this population can ...

The hardness of materials is determined by the strength of the chemical bonds that are formed between the electrons of the neighbouring atoms.  For example, the bonds in diamond are very strong, so it is one of the hardest materials known.  The bonding is rooted in the laws of quantum mechanics, and the complex compounds that are of most interest in forefront research today are known as ‘quantum materials.’  In many quantum materials, layers of strongly bonded atoms separate layers in ...

Extreme conditions prevail in the Würzburg laboratory of experimental physicists Professor Matthias Bode and Dr. Artem Odobesko. Affiliated with the Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat, a collaboration between JMU Würzburg and TU Dresden, these visionaries are setting new milestones in quantum research. Their latest endeavor is unveiling the spinaron effect. They strategically placed individual cobalt atoms onto a copper surface, brought the temperature down to 1.4 Kelvin (–271.75° Celsius), and then subjected them to a powerful external magnetic field. “The magnet we use costs half a million euros. It’s not something that’s widely available,” explains ...

University of Alberta researchers have identified an amino acid that may play a key role in predicting poor clinical outcomes and the treatment of long COVID. In research published today in Cell Reports Medicine, the team says it has developed a predictive test to determine which patients with COVID-19 will go on to develop longer-term symptoms and proposes a clinical trial of an already-approved supplement as a potential treatment.   “This research helps us understand what’s happening in the bodies of people ...

A four-year, $3.4 million grant to investigate molecular mechanisms and therapeutic treatments for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has been awarded to UTHealth Houston researchers by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. The study led by principal investigators Holger Eltzschig, MD, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, and Xiaoyi Yuan, PhD, assistant professor in the department, is built on many years of research in the endogenous ...

Research and technology development for plasma physics and fusion energy at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory just got a boost from a LaserNetUS award.  In total, the DOE’s Office of Science awarded $28.5 million to advance discovery science and inertial fusion energy, including a three-year grant for the development and operations of the Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC) instrument at SLAC’s Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). MEC has been home to high intensity laser experiments since 2012, and joined ...

The basic idea is simple: unlike previous chips, where only calculations were carried out on transistors, they are now the location of data storage as well. That saves time and energy. “As a result, the performance of the chips is also boosted,” says Hussam Amrouch, a professor of AI processor design at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). The transistors on which he performs calculations and stores data measure just 28 nanometers, with millions of them placed on each of the new AI chips. The chips of the future will have to be faster and more efficient than earlier ones. Consequently, ...

SETI Institute Artist-in-Residence Daniela De Paulis to Receive 2023 Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement Daniela de Paulis is honored for her work bringing space and planetary science to international audiences. October 26, 2023, Mountain View, CA -- The SETI Institute is thrilled to announce that Daniela De Paulis, a SETI Artist-in-Residence (SETI AIR), will be honored with the prestigious 2023 Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement. De Paulis’ groundbreaking project, ‘A Sign in Space,’ invited a global audience to participate in decoding a simulated message from an extraterrestrial ...

DANVILLE, Pa. – Genomic screening to identify hemochromatosis—a disorder that causes iron levels in the body to rise to dangerous levels—encourages people with the condition to seek treatment and ongoing management, a Geisinger study found. Hereditary hemochromatosis type 1 (HH1), caused by a change in the HFE gene, is underdiagnosed, often resulting in missed opportunities for early and consistent treatment. Without treatment, hemochromatosis can cause iron overload, a buildup of iron that can damage many parts of the body. Treatment of hemochromatosis includes regular monitoring of iron levels and removing excess iron ...

People with autism less likely to succumb to bystander effect, York U father-son research duo finds Schulich School of Business and Faculty of Health researchers say that while as many as 90 per cent of people with autism are unemployed or underemployed, their study points to the benefits of having neurodivergent people in the workplace   TORONTO, Oct. 26, 2023 — A well-established psychological theory states that most of us are less likely to intervene in a bad situation if other people are present, and this ‘bystander effect’ also applies to workplace settings. However, new research led ...

(San Antonio, October 26, 2023) -- The Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CyManII) at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) has been selected by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to establish an ecosystem that will promote secure manufacturing strategies across South Texas. The Secure Manufacturing in South Texas Strategy Development Consortium, funded by a $500,000 Tech Hubs Strategy Development Grant, will enable CyManII to take initial steps to develop a Secure Manufacturing Tech Hub that will mature technologies, enhance business competitiveness ...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Tian Ma, a distinguished computer engineer in research and development at Sandia National Laboratories, has been honored as a 2023 Asian American Engineer of the Year by the Chinese Institute of Engineers-USA. Each year, CIE recognizes exceptional Asian American engineers who demonstrate strong technical skills, leadership abilities and a commitment to public service. Previous recipients of this award include Nobel laureates and astronauts. Ma’s expertise in data analysis and processing has propelled him to national recognition as an expert in detection algorithms and tracking systems. His journey ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Venus, a scorching wasteland of a planet according to scientists, may have once had tectonic plate movements similar to those believed to have occurred on early Earth, a new study found. The finding sets up tantalizing scenarios regarding the possibility of early life on Venus, its evolutionary past and the history of the solar system. Writing in Nature Astronomy, a team of scientists led by Brown University researchers describes using atmospheric data from Venus and computer modeling to show that the composition of the planet’s current atmosphere and surface pressure would only have been possible as a result of an early form of plate ...

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- A researcher at Binghamton University, State University of New York will lead a $2.5 million project from the National Institutes of Health to develop machine models to identify and predict cardiometabolic risks in adolescents and young adults. Cardiometabolic diseases are the top cause of preventable deaths worldwide, and the number of people who experience one or more of these conditions during their lifetime is increasing. Still, much of the research about these diseases has focused on the adult and senior populations. What if younger people and the healthcare professionals who ...

A groundbreaking clinical trial launched October 16 will explore the promise of new drug treatments for military personnel and veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The multi-site trial is spearheaded by the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity (USAMMDA), part of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command, and supported by a project team that includes representatives from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, and Special Operations Command. Military veterans are more likely to have PTSD than civilians, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and service members who deployed to ...

  Leading researchers have launched a major scientific initiative to investigate - and help protect - the fragile Congo Basin Forest region in central Africa, one of the world’s most important but little understood ecosystems.   They say the Congo Basin Science Initiative will transform the understanding of the Congo Basin, an area of 240 million hectares of contiguous tropical forests that absorb a vast quantity of carbon, which helps to moderate the impact of global climate ...

Developing new-generation numerical methods for the technological challenges of the 21st century, mainly in sustainability. This is the objective underpinning NEMESIS (NEw GEneration MEthods for Numerical SImulationS), an international researchproject involving Politecnico di Milano and Università di Milano-Bicocca, which today has been  awarded one of the 37 Synergy Grants by the European Research Council (ERC). ERC Synergy Grants fund research on topics that are ambitious and complex ...

WOODS HOLE, Mass.— At the surface, salt marshes and their windswept grasses can look deceptively simple. But those marshes are teeming with biodiversity, from the insects and migrating birds in the air all the way down to the microbes that live in the soil. Scientists from the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) have discovered that even among the sulfur-cycling microbes that are responsible for the “rotten egg gas” smell in salt marsh air, diversity extends all the way to genomes and even to individual nucleotides. To ...

Children who are too short for their age can suffer reduced cognitive ability arising from differences in brain function as early as six months of age, according to new research from the University of East Anglia. Researchers compared the ‘visual working memory’ – the memory capacity that holds visual cues for processing – in children who had stunted growth with those having typical growth. Published today in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, the study found that the visual ...

A team of scientists led by KOO Sagang from the Seoul National University and Center for Nanoparticle Research within the Institue for Basic Science Center (IBS), in collaboration with researchers from Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and the Seoul National University, developed a new solution for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA is a chronic disease that, unfortunately, has no cure. The disease triggers a mix of troublesome symptoms like inflamed joints, harmful cytokines, and immune system imbalances, which work together to create a relentless cycle of worsening symptoms. While targeting ...

About The Study: The results of this study of 41 large U.S. children’s hospitals suggest that bronchiolitis hospitalizations decreased transiently and then increased markedly during the COVID-19 pandemic era. Patients admitted during the pandemic era were older and were more likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit. These findings suggest that bronchiolitis seasonality has not yet returned to pre-pandemic patterns, and hospitals should prepare for the possibility of atypical timing again in 2023.  Authors: Jonathan H. Pelletier, ...

About The Study: This survey study of attitudes of 1,005 parents of children and adolescents ages 9 to 15 revealed both perceived benefits (e.g., family connectedness) and concerns (e.g., cyberbullying, addiction) of internet use. Twice as many parents reported specific concerns about internet addiction than substance addiction.  Authors: Michael Peter Milham, M.D., Ph.D., of the Child Mind Institute in New York, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/  (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.39851 Editor’s ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- When babies first begin to talk, their vocabulary is very limited. Often one of the first sounds they generate is “da,” which may refer to dad, a dog, a dot, or nothing at all. How does an adult listener make sense of this limited verbal repertoire? A new study from MIT and Harvard University researchers has found that adults’ understanding of conversational context and knowledge of mispronunciations that children commonly make are critical to the ability to understand children’s early linguistic efforts.  Using ...

Nanoturbines: the heart of advancements Flow-driven turbines lie at the heart of many revolutionary machines that have shaped our societies, from windmills to airplanes. Even life itself depends critically on turbines for fundamental processes, such as the FoF1-ATP synthase that produces fuels for biological cells and the bacterial flagella motor that propels bacteria. “Our nanoturbine has a 25-nanometer diameter rotor made from DNA material with blades configured in a right-handed or left-handed sense to control the direction of rotation. To operate, this structure is ...