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41 articles from ScienceDaily

The sweet spot of flagellar assembly

To build the machinery that enables bacteria to swim the flagellum is assembled piece by piece, ending with the helix called flagellar filament, composed of six different subunits called flagellins. Microbiologists have demonstrated that adding sugar to the flagellins is crucial for the flagellum's assembly and functionality. Among the six flagellins, one is the special one serving a signalling...

Post-wildfire hazards: Toward an understanding of when and how slope failure may occur

Across the western US, severe wildfires fueled by tinder-dry vegetation have already burned more than 3.2 million hectares (8 million acres) -- an area the size of Maryland -- as of the end of October, 2020, and nearly six times that area burned this year in Australia. And even though neither country's worst-ever fire year is not yet over, concerns are already mounting regarding the next hazard...

Scientists use clues in the human genome to discover new inflammatory syndrome

Researchers have discovered a new inflammatory disorder called vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory and somatic syndrome (VEXAS), which is caused by mutations in the UBA1 gene. VEXAS causes symptoms that included blood clots in veins, recurrent fevers, pulmonary abnormalities and vacuoles (unusual cavity-like structures) in myeloid cells.

How to design organic solar cell materials

Scientists have recently scrutinized organic solar cells and derived design rules for light-absorbing dyes that can help to make these cells more efficient, while tailoring the absorption spectrum of the cells to the needs of the chosen application.

Empathy may be in the eye of the beholder

Do we always want people to show empathy? Not so, said researchers. A recently published article suggests that although empathy is often portrayed as a virtue, people who express empathy are not necessarily viewed favorably.

Antarctica yields oldest fossils of giant birds with 21-foot wingspans

Some of the largest birds in history, called pelagornithids, arose a few million years after the mass extinction that killed off the dinosaurs and patrolled the oceans with giant wingspans for some 60 million years. A team of paleontologists has found two fossils -- each from individual pelagornithids with wingspans of 20 feet or more -- that show this gigantism arose at least 50 million years ago...

Photovoltaics industry can help meet Paris agreement targets

To meet the Paris Agreement's goal of preventing Earth's average temperature from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial level, one of the best options for the energy economy will involve a shift to 100% renewable energy using solar energy and other clean energy sources. Researchers describe a model developed to predict what is necessary for the solar industry to meet Paris...

Promising strategies for durable perovskite solar cells

Perovskite materials are increasingly popular as the active layer in solar cells, but internal forces in these materials cause distortions in their crystal structures, reducing symmetry and contributing to their intrinsic instability. Researchers examined the mechanisms at play, as well as several degradation factors that influence the performance of perovskite photovoltaics. They clarified the...

What do breast cancer cells feel inside the tumor?

Using a new technique, a team of researchers has found tiny and previously undetectable 'hot spots' of extremely high stiffness inside aggressive and invasive breast cancer tumors. Their findings suggest, for the first time, that only very tiny regions of a tumor need to stiffen for metastasis to take place. Though still in its infancy, the researchers believe that their technique may prove useful...

Aerosol microdroplets inefficient carriers of COVID-19 virus

Aerosol microdroplets do not appear to be extremely efficient at spreading the virus that leads to COVID-19. While the lingering microdroplets are certainly not risk-free, due to their small size they contain less virus than the larger droplets that are produced when someone coughs, speaks, or sneezes directly on us, said researchers.

Proton regulator of essential cancer microRNA

New findings unveil that a 'hidden' layer of regulation by which the intrinsic dynamic ensemble of miRNA processing intermediates can direct the outcome of important biological processes in response to environmental and cellular stimuli in the absence of protein factors. If these processes go awry, then disease could result. Understanding the roles of miRNAs in disease is a needed step in finding...