Researchers find how cells move while avoiding adhesion
Cell velocity, or how fast a cell moves, is known to depend on how sticky the surface is beneath it, but the precise mechanisms of this relationship have remained elusive for decades. Now, researchers from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC) and Ludwig Maximilians Universität München (LMU) have figured out the precise mechanics and developed a...
Latch, load and release: Elastic motion makes click beetles click, study finds
Click beetles can propel themselves more than 20 body lengths into the air, and they do so without using their legs. While the jump's motion has been studied in depth, the physical mechanisms that enable the beetles' signature clicking maneuver have not. A new study examines the forces behind this super-fast energy release and provides guidelines for studying extreme motion, energy storage and...
Lasers and molecular tethers create perfectly patterned platforms for tissue engineering
Imagine going to a surgeon to have a diseased or injured organ switched out for a fully functional, laboratory-grown replacement. This remains science fiction and not reality because researchers today struggle to organize cells into the complex 3-D arrangements that our bodies can master on their own.
Zebra stripes, leopard spots and other patterns on the skin of frozen metal alloys that defy conventional metallurgy
While it is fascinating that living creatures develop distinct patterns on their skin, what may be even more mysterious is their striking similarity to the skin of frozen liquid metals.
New management approach can help avoid species vulnerability or extinction
More than 3,000 animal species in the world today are considered endangered, with hundreds more categorized as vulnerable. Currently, ecologists don't have reliable tools to predict when a species may become at risk.
Researchers: Climate change will alter the position of the Earth's tropical rain belt
Future climate change will cause a regionally uneven shifting of the tropical rain belt—a narrow band of heavy precipitation near the equator—according to researchers at the University of California, Irvine and other institutions. This development may threaten food security for billions of people.
Synthesis of potent antibiotic follows unusual chemical pathway
Images of a protein involved in creating a potent antibiotic reveal the unusual first steps of the antibiotic's synthesis. The improved understanding of the chemistry behind this process, detailed in a new study led by Penn State chemists, could allow researchers to adapt this and similar compounds for use in human medicine.
A 'super-puff' planet like no other
The core mass of the giant exoplanet WASP-107b is much lower than what was thought necessary to build up the immense gas envelope surrounding giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn, astronomers at Université de Montréal have found.
A new archaeology for the Anthropocene era
Indiana Jones and Lara Croft have a lot to answer for. Public perceptions of archaeology are often thoroughly outdated, and these characterisations do little to help. Archaeology as practiced today bears virtually no resemblance to the tomb raiding portrayed in movies and video games. Indeed, it bears little resemblance to even more scholarly depictions of the discipline in the entertainment...
New computational tool reliably differentiates between cancer and normal cells from single-cell RNA-sequencing data
In an effort to address a major challenge when analyzing large single-cell RNA-sequencing datasets, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have developed a new computational technique to accurately differentiate between data from cancer cells and the variety of normal cells found within tumor samples. The work was published today in Nature Biotechnology.
Low-carbon policies can be 'balanced' to benefit small firms and average households: study
Some of the low-carbon policy options currently used by governments may be detrimental to the households and small businesses less able to manage added short-term costs from energy price hikes, according to a new study.
Environmentalists sue to stop Florida's takeover of federal wetland permits
A coalition of environmental groups sued Thursday to stop the federal government turning over its control of wetlands construction permitting to Florida's Department of Environmental Protection.
US approves copper mine land swap on Native American land
The U.S. government published a report Friday that triggers a land swap involving U.S. Native American land for an area that could become the largest copper mine in North America, pushing the project into the next phase in the permitting process.
Female resident orcas especially disturbed by vessels, new research shows
Female orcas are most thrown off from foraging when boats and vessels intrude closer than 400 yards, according to new research—troubling findings for the endangered population of southern resident orcas that desperately needs every mother and calf to survive.
New mathematical model: How dangerous bacteria form colonies
It can be observed every time you take a shower: Small droplets of water join together to form larger and larger drops—until they are so heavy that they run down the wall. Scientists call this daily-life phenomenon coalescence—which surprisingly also provides the key to understanding how bacteria form colonies. Researchers at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), the...
Hepatitis D: How the virus made the jump from animals to humans
Pandemics past and present have been caused when pathogens – germs that cause disease—move between animals and humans, as SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) did when it made its way from bats to people. But not all emerging pathogens have it so easy.
How governments' tough COVID restrictions can help limit economic damage
The UK Government's hesitancy to bring in tougher COVID restrictions exacerbated investor herding, market volatility and greater harm to its economy compared to countries with swifter and more decisive pandemic responses, new research indicates.
Watchdog: Fossil fuel firms need to curb climate gas leaks
The International Energy Agency says oil and gas companies aren't doing enough to reduce the release of methane, a potent source of planet-heating emissions, that is seeping out of pipelines and production plants.
Majority of managers reluctant to hire applicants with mental health problems
A new Tranzo survey of 670 executives in all Dutch sectors shows that a majority (64%) is reluctant to hire applicants with mental health problems (MHP). In addition, one in three managers would not quickly hire an employee who has ever had MHP, even if those problems are no longer an issue. The publication by Kim Janssens et al. will soon be published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine...
New research could lead to more treatment options for diabetes patients
For the first time, scientists have come up with a precise atomic level explanation for why glulisine- a commonly used medication to treat diabetes- is faster acting than insulin.
Small, single-stranded genetic material may account for zoonotic COVID transmission
A study led by researchers at University of Westminster shows that small single stranded genetic material may play a role in how COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) passes from animals to humans and why some animal carriers of the virus may show no symptoms while it can be deadly in humans.
The long-range transport of deconfined magnetic hedgehogs
Spintronics is an emerging area of research that aims to develop devices that transmit, process and store information leveraging the intrinsic angular momentum of electrons, known as spin. A key objective of spintronics studies is to identify strategies to use magnetic insulators to achieve the transport of signals over long distances.
Scientists produce the first in-vitro embryos from vitrified African lion oocytes
A team of scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) inGermany, Givskud Zoo–Zootopia in Denmark and the University of Milan in Italy succeeded in producing the very first African lionin-vitroembryos after the vitrification of immature oocytes. For this specific method of cryopreservation, oocytes are collected directly after an animal is castrated or...
Swamp eel: Blood-red subterranean dweller is newest fish genus discovered
Together with a group of international colleagues, Senckenberg scientist Ralf Britz described a new fish genus. The blind fishes, which are members of the swamp eel family, live in subterranean waters in Southern India and show a red coloration. Moreover, the team assigned three additional species to the new genus. The study was recently published in the scientific journal Ichthyological...
Researchers find inhibitors effective against a coronavirus enzyme
While the first vaccines have been developed against the pathogen SARS-CoV-2, studies are still underway to identify effective drugs for treating coronavirus infections. Scientists in Gießen, Mainz, and Würzburg in Germany involved in a fundamental research project have now identified potential starting points that could contribute to the development of drugs able to combat the pathogen...