A new software tool developed by Earlham Institute researchers will help bioinformaticians improve the quality and accuracy of their biological data, and avoid mis-assemblies. The fast, lightweight, user-friendly tool visualises genome assemblies and gene alignments from the latest next generation sequencing technologies. Called Alvis, the new visualisation tool examines mappings between DNA sequence data and reference genome databases. This allows bioinformaticians to more easily analyse their data generated from common genomics tasks and formats by producing efficient, ready-made vector images. First author and post-doctoral scientist at the Earlham Institute Dr Samuel Martin in the Leggett Group, said: "Typically, alignment tools output plain ...

One day in the near future dyes in electric motors might indicate when cable insulation is becoming brittle and the motor needs replacing. Scientists at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), together with ELANTAS, a division of the specialty chemicals group ALTANA, have developed a new process that enables the dyes to be directly integrated into the insulation. By changing colour, they reveal how much the insulating resin layer around the copper wires in the motor has degraded. The results were published in the journal "Advanced Materials". Modern combustion engines have long had detectors that recognise, for example, when an oil change is needed, saving unnecessary inspections. Electric motors also show signs of wear. Inside, ...

Combining natural salt marsh habitats with conventional dikes may provide a more sustainable and cost-effective alternative for fully engineered flood protection. Researchers of the University of Groningen (UG) and the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) studied how salt marsh nature management can be optimized for coastal defence purposes. They found that grazing by both cattle and small herbivores such as geese and hare and artificial mowing can reduce salt marsh erosion, therefore contributing to nature-based coastal defence. People around the world live in coastal areas that are ...

Recently, Prof. WANG Junfeng from the High Magnetic Field Laboratory of the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS), together with international scholars, developed a novel circular permutated light-oxygen-voltage 2 (LOV2) to expand the repertoire of genetically encoded photoswitches, which will accelerate the design of novel optogenetic devices. The result was published in Nature Chemical Biology. LOV2 domain is a blue light-sensitive photoswitch. In a typical LOV2-based optogenetic device, an effector domain is fused after the C-terminal Jα helix of LOV2, intending to cage the effector via steric hindrance in the dark. On photostimulation, light-triggered unfolding of the Jα helix exposes the effector domain to restore its function. Crafting a LOV2-based ...

With the rise of the digital age, the amount of WiFi sources to transmit information wirelessly between devices has grown exponentially. This results in the widespread use of the 2.4GHz radio frequency that WiFi uses, with excess signals available to be tapped for alternative uses. To harness this under-utilised source of energy, a research team from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Japan's Tohoku University (TU) has developed a technology that uses tiny smart devices known as spin-torque oscillators (STOs) to harvest and convert wireless radio frequencies into energy ...

A new study may have uncovered why wall lizards have become the most successful reptile in the Mediterranean region. The results reveal how drastic changes in sea levels and climate 6 million years ago affected species formation in the area. The researchers believe they can now explain why the lizards became so diverse and widespread, something that has puzzled biologists since the 19th century. The study is published in Nature Communications. The evolution of wall lizards offers clues on how major events in the Mediterranean climate and geology millions of years ago affected how species formed or became extinct, and also paved the way for biodiversity. Wall lizards date back around 20 million years. However, ...

A University of Surrey project has revealed innovative methods that could dramatically improve the performance of future electrical vehicles (e-vehicles). As part of the European Union's STEVE* project, Surrey has developed several pioneering approaches to torque vectoring in electric vehicles. In e-vehicles with multiple motors, it is possible to deliver different amounts of drive power to each wheel. This benefits the vehicles' power consumption, safety and driveability. The process of calculating and optimising the precise amount of power needed while the vehicle ...

To support growing human and animal life, freshwater sources must continuously supply water. Freshwater from lakes, rivers, and underground is mainly recharged by rainfall. Ground reservoirs can store rainwater over time, depending on that location's storage capability. However, estimating freshwater storage capability (FSC) is still a challenge due to few observation opportunities and methods to measure and quantify FSC. Prof. Xing Yuan and his Ph.D. student Enda Zhu, from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, developed and applied a new metric that characterizes the "inertia" of water after rainfall. This method allows better ...

A research group at the University of Córdoba studied the molecular properties of the holm oak (Quercus ilex) in search of trees that are more resistant to drought and root rot. One of the biggest problems affecting holm oaks is drought. The holm oak (Quercus ilex) boasts a high natural adaptability and resistance to inclement weather conditions in dry environments with high temperatures. However, drought is one of the main causes of mortality in holm oak plantations, with "drought stress" also an important factor contributing to root rot. This is a multifactorial syndrome that causes the decay and death of holm oaks, consisting of a combination ...

Scientists have developed a mathematical model that predicts how the number and effects of bacterial mutations leading to drug resistance will influence the success of antibiotic treatments. Their model, described today in the journal eLife, provides new insights on the emergence of drug resistance in clinical settings and hints at how to design novel treatment strategies that help avoid this resistance occurring. Antibiotic resistance is a significant public health challenge, caused by changes in bacterial cells that allow them to survive drugs that ...

Researchers of Peter the Great St.Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) developed a new approach to determine the best electrode materials composition for Solid-state lithium-ion batteries. The results of the study were published in the first quartile journal Nanomaterials, MDPI. The Russian Science Foundation supports the project. The development of miniature devices such as sensors and Internet of things (IoT) devices requires establishing small and complex power supplies with a high energy density. According to experts, traditional technologies for lithium-ion battery production reach their limits. It is difficult to reduce the size and control the shape of the power ...

Analysing the forces at work behind the obstructions that cause heart attacks is crucial for identifying patients at risk of these events, says a study published today in eLife. The findings suggest that bringing such biomechanical analyses into clinical practice could allow cardiologists to predict a future heart attack in patients by simulating the distribution of stress within diseased heart vessels. A myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when the supply of blood to the heart is blocked by a blood clot or similar obstruction. A build-up of fatty deposits (lipids) over time forms plaques in the heart's arteries. If the plaque ruptures, it can form a blood clot that blocks the arteries and causes a heart attack. Previous ...

A research group led by Prof. LUO Tianzhi from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, collaborating with Prof. WANG Zhengzhi's team from Wuhan University, explored the natural defenses in the tail spike of mantis shrimps and left chela of hermit crabs. They revealed the chemical gradients from nanometer to centimeter and the correlation between micro-structure and mechanical properties. Also, they confirmed toughening mechanism and optimized structure principles through a 3D printing technique and finite-element analysis. The results were published in ACS Applied Materials ...

HERSHEY, Pa. -- According to the World Health Organization, cervical cancer is the fourth most common form of cancer affecting women worldwide, and those in developing countries face a higher risk of dying from it. If detected early, cervical cancer responds well to treatment, however not everyone receives cancer screenings. A team of researchers, including those from Penn State College of Medicine, took a closer look at cervical cancer in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to determine the prevalence and key factors that influence cancer screenings. The group found that despite high mortality rates, cancer screenings are substantially low, and there are multiple reasons why. In a new study, published in Cancer ...

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition involving impaired social abilities, and this makes it a fascinating subject for neuroscientists like Prof. Teiichi Furuichi of the Tokyo University of Science who study the neuroscience of social behavior. Prof. Furuichi and his colleagues have previously worked on developing mouse models of autism to unravel the condition's neurochemical mechanisms, and in a paper recently published in the prestigious Journal of Neuroscience, they provide evidence that a genetic mutation associated with autism can impair the release of a peptide called oxytocin that plays an important role in regulating social behavior. This finding promises to broaden our understanding of the neurobiology of social behavior. The gene that Prof. ...

In the field of international business research, lobbying is considered a legitimate and legal political action conducted in a developed economy. Bribery, on the other hand, is seen as an outright corrupt practice in an emerging economy. In a study published in the March issue of the journal Business & Society, a researcher from The University of Texas at Dallas examined the gray area between lobbying and bribery among multinational companies, especially in countries where lobbying is not regulated strongly or institutional development is insufficient. The analysis found that firms based in developed countries, as opposed to developing countries or transition economies, are more likely to influence the institutional ...

Counselling sessions improve long term mental health in primary-school aged children, according to a new study. The research has implications for reversing declining mental health in young people in a COVID-19 era. A team from the University of Exeter and the University of Cambridge worked in partnership with Place2Be to assess the longer-term impact of its school-based service. The study assessed the impact of Place2Be's programme, in which trained counsellors operated in 171 schools nationwide in the academic year 2015/16. Under the scheme, children could ...

The researchers found that the variants have a similar surface stability as the wild type virus under laboratory conditions, but can be effectively eliminated by disinfection and thorough hand washing, heat or alcohol treatment. They report their results in the Journal of Infectious Diseases from 16 May 2021. For this study, the team from the Department for Molecular and Medical Virology and the Chair of Materials Discovery and Interfaces at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) cooperated with the European Virus Bioinformatics Center Jena, the University Hospital Duisburg-Essen and Paracelsus Medical University Nuremberg. The ...

May 18, 2021 - Offering interventions to young people in the general community can prevent the emergence of certain mental health disorders, according to the first comprehensive systematic review to address this question. The results appear in the May/June issue of Harvard Review of Psychiatry, which is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer. "Preventive interventions for poor mental health outcomes in young people are feasible and appear to be effective," according to the review by Gonzalo Salazar de Pablo, MD, and Andrea De Micheli, MD, of King's College London, and colleagues. Evidence suggests that young people respond well to early interventions. Universal ...

Writing in the May 14, 2021 issue of The American Journal of Psychiatry, a multi-institution team of scientists led by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine report that medications commonly prescribed to reduce the severity of physical and mental health symptoms associated with schizophrenia may have a cumulative effect of worsening cognitive function in patients. Psychotropic medications are often necessary and beneficial, but they possess other secondary properties that are not directly related to reducing symptoms, including anticholinergic properties. That ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State University researchers say "topographic templates" can help forest conservation managers develop strategies for protecting and restoring the most fire-resistant parts of vulnerable forests across a range of ecosystems. That's important because changing wildfire regimes are affecting forests around the globe, the scientists note, and areas that burn over and over in relatively quick succession may not be able to recover between fires. "Fire refugia" - areas that burn less frequently and/or less severely than the landscape around them - are crucial for supporting post-blaze ecosystem ...

The research teams at the University of Hong Kong led by Professor Xuechen LI from the Research Division for Chemistry and Department of Chemistry, and Professor Yu WANG from the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, reported a synthetic biotherapeutics with promising anti-tumour, insulin sensitising and hepatoprotective activities in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Obesity is a global pandemic associated with a significantly reduced life expectancy, it also increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, chronic kidney disease and cancer. Adiponectin, as a protein hormone and adipokine, regulates glucose levels and improve lipid metabolism, and is a major player in the ...

A team including Northwestern University astrophysicists has developed the most realistic, highest-resolution 3D simulation of star formation to date. The result is a visually stunning, mathematically-driven marvel that allows viewers to float around a colorful gas cloud in 3D space while watching twinkling stars emerge. Called STARFORGE (Star Formation in Gaseous Environments), the computational framework is the first to simulate an entire gas cloud -- 100 times more massive than previously possible and full of vibrant colors -- where stars are born. It also is the first simulation to simultaneously model star formation, evolution and dynamics while accounting for stellar feedback, including jets, radiation, wind and nearby supernovae activity. ...

The challenges that many women face in today's labour market are well documented, from lower employment rates than men to lower rates of pay. Previous studies have considered how the burden of family care, which often falls largely on women's shoulders, has contributed to this imbalance. However, few of these studies have considered why women are the ones to bear that care burden. A new study, published in the KeAi journal China Economic Quarterly International, has used data from China to investigate the impact of the concept of gender roles on women's employment and earnings. Study author, Chuanchuan Zhang, of China's Zhejiang University, explains: "Traditionally, studies on women's labour supply ...

Tsukuba, Japan - Aggression is common in many neuropsychiatric diseases, such as dementia, autism spectrum disorder, and schizophrenia. It causes many problems for patients and their families, but can be difficult to treat because little is known about what causes it. In a study published last month in Molecular Psychiatry, researchers from the University of Tsukuba revealed that variation in levels of interleukin 1β (IL-1β), a protein that mediates the inflammatory response, is associated with individual differences in aggressive behaviors in male mice. In humans, levels ...