241 articles from TUESDAY 22.12.2020

Putting on the pressure improves glass for fiber optics

Rapid, accurate communication worldwide is possible via fiber optic cables, but as good as they are, they are not perfect. Now, researchers from Penn State and AGC Inc. in Japan suggest that the silica glass used for these cables would have less signal loss if it were manufactured under high pressure.

A powerful computational tool for efficient analysis of cell division 4-D image data

A joint research team co-led by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has developed a novel computational tool that can reconstruct and visualize three-dimensional (3-D) shapes and temporal changes of cells, speeding up the analyzing process from hundreds of hours by hand to a few hours by the computer. Revolutionizing the way biologists analyze image data, this tool can advance further studies in...

Detailed structure of ribosomes in nerve cells revealed

Protein synthesis is a finely tuned process in the cell by macromolecules known as ribosomes. Which regulators are responsible for controlling protein synthesis in the brain, and how do they exert their control on the ribosome? To address this question, a team of researchers from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin studied the structure of the brain's ribosomal complexes in great detail. The...

Consequences of seafood mislabeling for marine populations and fisheries management

Perhaps that sauteed snapper you enjoyed last evening at your neighborhood restaurant was not snapper at all. Perhaps it was Pacific Ocean perch, cloaked in a wine sauce to disguise its true identity. The same goes for that grouper you paid a handsome price for at your local fishmonger's and cooked up at home. Instead, you may have been feasting on a plateful of whitefin weakfish and been none the...

Fluvial mapping of Mars

It took fifteen years of imaging and nearly three years of stitching the pieces together to create the largest image ever made, the 8-trillion-pixel mosaic of Mars' surface. Now, the first study to utilize the image in its entirety provides unprecedented insight into the ancient river systems that once covered the expansive plains in the planet's southern hemisphere. These three billion-year-old...

Chemists synthesize 'flat' silicon compounds

Chemists at the University of Bonn (Germany) have synthesized extremely unusual compounds. Their central building block is a silicon atom. Different from usual, however, is the arrangement of the four bonding partners of the atom, which are not in the form of a tetrahedron around it, but flat like a trapezoid. This arrangement is usually energetically extremely unfavorable, yet the molecules are...

“Vaccine passports could further erode trust”

Experts are debating the pros and cons of covid-19 vaccine passports or other types of certification as they attempt to begin reopening public spaces. The idea seems simple on its face: those who can prove they’ve been vaccinated for covid-19 would be able to go places and do things that unvaccinated people would not. There’s early evidence that the vaccines authorized by the Food and Drug...

U.S. Marines use sensor buoys to better understand ocean battlespace

Flying several thousand feet above the Pacific Ocean, an air crew and a scientist from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution tossed cylindrical floats from a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey aircraft. Packed with data-gathering sensors to measure underwater conditions, the floats fell fast before orange parachutes opened to ease splashdown.

New drug inhibits the growth of cancer cells

A newly developed compound starves cancer cells by attacking their "power plants"—the so-called mitochondria. The new compound prevents the genetic information within mitochondria from being read. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne, the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and the University of Gothenburg report in their study that this compound could be used...

The brain's protein factories at work

Protein synthesis is a finely tuned process in the cell by macromolecules known as ribosomes. Which regulators are responsible for controlling protein synthesis in the brain? To address this question, researchers studied the structure of the brain's ribosomal complexes in great detail. The team was able to identify a new factor which is also involved in controlling brain development.

Chemists synthesize 'flat' silicon compounds

Chemists have synthesized extremely unusual compounds. Their central building block is a silicon atom. Different from usual, however, is the arrangement of the four bonding partners of the atom, which are not in the form of a tetrahedron around it, but flat like a trapezoid. This arrangement is usually energetically extremely unfavorable, yet the molecules are very stable.

In shaky times, focus on past successes, if overly anxious, depressed

The more chaotic things get, the harder it is for people with clinical anxiety and/or depression to make sound decisions and to learn from their mistakes. On a positive note, overly anxious and depressed people's judgment can improve if they focus on what they get right, instead of what they get wrong, suggests a new study.

Fluvial mapping of Mars

It took fifteen years of imaging and nearly three years of stitching the pieces together to create the largest image ever made, the 8-trillion-pixel mosaic of Mars' surface. Now, the first study to utilize the image in its entirety provides unprecedented insight into the ancient river systems that once covered the expansive plains in the planet's southern hemisphere.

Environmental effects of purchasing, consuming mislabeled fish

Seafood is the world's most highly traded food commodity, and reports of seafood mislabeling have increased over the past decade. However, proof of the environmental effects of mislabeled seafood has been scant as has research. So, researchers analyzed the impact of seafood mislabeling on marine population health, fishery management effectiveness, and habitats and ecosystems in the United States,...