A mineral found on the surface of Mars offers potential to create sustainable energy  Uses ‘waste’ product from recent NASA research to create transformative nanomaterials Findings could play role in shaping sustainable habitation on the red planet – and clean energy production back home Researchers at the University of Sussex have discovered the transformative potential of Martian nanomaterials, potentially opening the door to sustainable habitation on the red planet.  Using resources and techniques currently applied on the International Space Station and by NASA, Dr Conor Boland, a Lecturer in Materials Physics at the University of Sussex, led a ...

  Three winners have been selected in the 2023 Faces of Biology Photo Contest, sponsored by the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) and the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB).  “Photography is an effective tool to help communicate the process of scientific research,” said Scott Glisson, CEO of AIBS. “This contest provides a visual forum for expression, inspiration, and technical skill that can have a positive impact on how the public views research and science. The competition showcases, in a personal way, biological research in its many forms and settings. With the images, we ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA – Using a type of artificial intelligence known as deep learning, MIT researchers have discovered a class of compounds that can kill a drug-resistant bacterium that causes more than 10,000 deaths in the United States every year. In a study appearing today in Nature, the researchers showed that these compounds could kill methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) grown in a lab dish and in two mouse models of MRSA infection. The compounds also show very low toxicity against human cells, making them particularly good drug candidates. A key innovation of the new study is that the researchers were also able to figure out ...

The mammalian nose is a work of evolutionary art. Its millions of nerve cells, each tailored with just one of thousands of specific odor-chemical receptors encoded in the genome, can collectively distinguish a trillion distinct scents. Those sensations, in turn, inform many behaviors, from assessing food options to discerning friends from foes to sparking memories.  Today, in the journal Nature, a research team led by scientists at Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute describes a previously undetected mechanism in mice—starring the genetic molecule RNA—that could explain how each sensory cell, or neuron, in mammalian noses becomes tailored to detect a specific ...

About The Study: Compared with prior decades, the number of new dermatologic drug approvals by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) increased between 2012 and 2022. Nearly half of these drugs were considered first in class or first in indication, and several were deemed clinically useful or to have high added therapeutic benefit by health technology assessment organizations in Germany, Canada, or France. Authors: Ravi Gupta, M.D., M.S.H.P., of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine ...

Taking inspiration from the human brain, researchers have developed a new synaptic transistor capable of higher-level thinking. Designed by researchers at Northwestern University, Boston College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the device simultaneously processes and stores information just like the human brain. In new experiments, the researchers demonstrated that the transistor goes beyond simple machine-learning tasks to categorize data and is capable of performing associative learning. Although previous studies have leveraged similar strategies to develop brain-like computing devices, those transistors cannot function outside cryogenic temperatures. The new ...

About The Study: This pilot pragmatic clinical trial included 243 homebound older adults with self- or proxy-reported dementia found a lower although nonsignificant likelihood of nursing home placement among those receiving daily-delivered meals compared with those receiving drop-shipped frozen meals. While this study was not powered to detect meaningful, statistically significant differences in nursing home placement, its feasibility and initial results warrant exploration in an adequately powered trial.  Authors: Kali S. Thomas, Ph.D., of the Brown University School of Public Health in Providence, Rhode Island, is the corresponding author.   To access the embargoed ...

The human brain continues to be built after we are born for far longer than previously recognized, suggests research by Shawn Sorrells, assistant professor of neuroscience in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. Sorrells’s research on postnatal brain development, published today inthe journal Nature, shines light on fundamental processes that contribute to the development of important brain functions, such as learning, memory and spatial navigation. The new research suggests that a subset of inhibitory neurons within the entorhinal cortex, or EC -- an area of the brain essential for forming memories -- continue ...

In less time than it will take you to read this article, an artificial intelligence-driven system was able to autonomously learn about certain Nobel Prize-winning chemical reactions and design a successful laboratory procedure to make them. The AI did all that in just a few minutes — and nailed it on the first try. "This is the first time that a non-organic intelligence planned, designed and executed this complex reaction that was invented by humans," says Carnegie Mellon University chemist and ...

Alloys, which are materials such as steel that are made by combining two or more metallic elements, are among the underpinnings of contemporary life. They are essential for buildings, transportation, appliances and tools — including, very likely, the device you are using to read this story. In applying alloys, engineers have faced an age-old trade-off common in most materials: Alloys that are hard tend to be brittle and break under strain, while those that are flexible under strain tend to dent easily. Possibilities for sidestepping that trade-off arose about 20 years ago, when researchers first developed medium- and high-entropy alloys, stable materials that combine ...

Scientists have discovered one of the first new classes of antibiotics identified in the past 60 years, and the first discovered leveraging an AI-powered platform built around explainable deep learning. Published in Nature today, the peer-reviewed paper, entitled “Discovery of a structural class of antibiotics with explainable deep learning,” was co-authored by a team of 21 researchers, led by Felix Wong, Ph.D., co-founder of Integrated Biosciences, and James J. Collins, Ph.D., Termeer Professor of Medical Engineering ...

The maintenance of a balanced lipid homeostasis is critical for our health. While consumption of excessive amounts of fatty foods contributes to metabolic diseases such as obesity and atherosclerosis, fat is an indispensable component of our diet. Digested lipids supply the body with essential building blocks and facilitate the absorption of important vitamins. In a new study published in the journal Nature, a team of researchers led by Professor Manolis Pasparakis and their collaborators Professor Aleksandra Trifunovic and Professor Christian Frezza at the Excellence Cluster CECAD of the University of Cologne, and Professor Jörg Heeren ...

Researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) have developed a new technique allowing the binding interfaces on two interacting proteins to be characterized, and validated it by describing the homophilic interaction between LAMP2A molecules Tokyo, Japan – Proteins are building blocks of our bodies, but they do not work solo. They form partners to facilitate in different biological processes that keep us going. However, analyzing how proteins interact at a molecular level can be challenging. Now, a research team from Japan reveals the secrets behind these “protein partnerships”.  In a study published recently in Protein Science, researchers ...

University of Virginia Alzheimer’s researchers have discovered how harmful tau proteins damage the essential operating instructions for our brain cells, a finding which could lead to new treatments.  The toxic protein, the researchers found, warps the shape of the nuclei of nerve cells, or neurons. This alters the function of genes contained inside and reprograms the cells to make more tau. While the protein has long been a prime suspect in Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative “tauopathies,” the new research from UVA’s ...

Fraunhofer USA, a leading nonprofit research organization dedicated to applied research and development services, is proud to announce the release of its Annual Report, Focus 2023. The report underscores Fraunhofer USA's commitment to fostering transatlantic collaboration, strengthening university-government partnerships, and driving impactful technology transfer. Transatlantic Collaboration: A Pillar of Innovation In the pursuit of global innovation, Fraunhofer USA continues to play a pivotal role in fostering transatlantic collaboration. The annual report highlights the organization's successful partnerships with Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft research institutes, resulting in groundbreaking ...

PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA [December 20, 2023] — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®)—an alliance of leading academic cancer centers in the United States—is celebrating six years of working alongside the African Cancer Coalition (ACC), the American Cancer Society (ACS), and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), as part of Allied Against Cancer. The collaboration was formed to support and empower the Sub-Saharan African oncology community to advance health system capacity, ...

 A new study from Lawson Health Research Institute and Western University published in the journal Microbiome has found changes in the microbiome in multiple locations in the body are linked to the formation of kidney stones. The human microbiome comprises trillions of microorganisms, including healthy bacteria. In recent years, research has begun to uncover its role in health and numerous diseases. The research team examined the gut, urinary and salivary microbiomes in 83 patients who had kidney stones ...

Brine shrimp of the genus Artemia are small crustaceans that can thrive in environments where sodium concentrations are as high as 25% (more than eight times typical ocean sea water). Also known by the household pet trademark ‘sea monkeys,’ these animals are abundant in inland salt lakes where brine-fly larvae are the only other animals known to exist. The mechanisms which permit brine shrimp to tolerate some of the harshest environments are only partially understood. Previously known adaptive features include a tight protective layer (integument) to avoid water loss and the increased extrusion of sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl-) ions ...

Quality of life for people with dementia living in residential and nursing home care substantially improved after staff took part in a digital training programme that was specially adapted to Covid-19 restrictions. The training also led to a significant drop in the prescription of potentially harmful sedative medications to residents. The iWHELD programme supported care home staff in delivering personalised care and encouraging meaningful social interactions. Through a digital platform featuring live coaching sessions led by trained coaches, the programme supported ...

UC Riverside scientists have discovered a stealth molecular weapon that plants use to attack the cells of invading gray mold.  If you’ve ever seen a fuzzy piece of fruit in your fridge, you’ve seen gray mold. It is an aggressive fungus that infects more than 1,400 different plant species: almost all fruits, vegetables, and many flowers. It is the second most damaging fungus for food crops in the world, causing billions in annual crop losses. A new paper in the journal Cell Host & Microbe describes how plants send tiny, innocuous-seeming lipid “bubbles” filled with RNA across enemy lines, into the cells of the aggressive mold. Once ...

People who received gentle electric currents on the back of their heads learned to maneuver a robotic surgery tool in virtual reality and then in a real setting much more easily than people who didn’t receive those nudges, a new study shows. The findings offer the first glimpse of how stimulating a specific part of the brain called the cerebellum could help health care professionals take what they learn in virtual reality to real operating rooms, a much-needed transition in a field that increasingly relies on digital simulation training, said author and Johns Hopkins University roboticist Jeremy ...

A team of scientists from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has developed a groundbreaking statistical technique, “BridgePRS,” to enhance disease prediction in people of non-European ancestry, particularly those of African descent. This development represents a substantial step towards reducing health care inequities and a future of more personalized and precise medical interventions based on genetic information. Details of their work were published in Nature Genetics on Wednesday, December 20. Current polygenic risk scores (PRS), essential tools for predicting disease risk encoded in our ...

A groundbreaking new technique invented by researchers at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Science may revolutionize the field of synthetic biology. Known as CReATiNG (Cloning Reprogramming and Assembling Tiled Natural Genomic DNA), the method offers a simpler and more cost-effective approach to constructing synthetic chromosomes. It could significantly advance genetic engineering and enable a wide range of advances in medicine, biotechnology, biofuel production and even space exploration. CReATiNG works by cloning and reassembling natural DNA segments from yeast, allowing scientists to create synthetic chromosomes that can replace their native counterparts in cells. ...

IOP Publishing (IOPP) has secured its first ‘Read and Publish’ transformative agreement in Taiwan, demonstrating its dedication to expanding open access (OA) to research in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region and at scale globally.  The three-year transformative agreement with the Physics Research Promotion Centre, which is part of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), will enable 20 Taiwanese universities to offer their researchers unlimited OA publishing at no cost to them. The agreement will also allow authors to retain copyright ...

Adjuvant therapies to help infertile women conceive by IVF - especially those whose treatments have been unsuccessful in the past - are now a common feature both before and during the treatment cycle. Now, a new analysis of the evidence for many nutritional supplements and diets thought to improve outcome in IVF has concluded that adopting a Mediterranean diet during treatment would offer a single ‘straightforward approach’ with good evidence of benefit in contrast to that of a Western diet. Evidence from studies of nine commonly used nutritional supplements was found to be inconsistent and not always of good quality. The analysis, by Professor Roger ...