320 articles from MONDAY 1.3.2021

Swapping alpha cells for beta cells to treat diabetes

Blocking cell receptors for glucagon, the counter-hormone to insulin, cured mouse models of diabetes by converting glucagon-producing cells into insulin producers instead, a team reports in a new study. The findings could offer a new way to treat both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in people.

UK meteor: 'huge flash' as fireball lights up skies

Pieces may have landed just north of Cheltenham, computer modelling suggestsThe yellow-green fireball that pierced Earth’s atmosphere on Sunday night, delighting observers from the UK to the Netherlands, is thought to have partially survived the journey in the form of meteorites most likely landing just north of Cheltenham.Fireballs are particularly bright meteors – space matter that burns up...

A research group proposes six guidelines for managing the impacts of invasive species

Invasive alien species, defined as animals and plants that breed and disperse in a landscape beyond their native range, have negative environmental, social, and economic impacts. One example among many is the forage grass genus Brachiaria, originally African and introduced to Brazil to form cattle pasture. It has become a major threat to the survival of native species and biodiversity at several...

4-D bioengineering materials bend, curve like natural tissue

Tissue engineering has long-depended on geometrically static scaffolds seeded with cells in the lab to create new tissues and even organs. The scaffolding material—usually a biodegradable polymer structure—is supplied with cells and the cells, if supplied with the right nutrients, then develop into tissue as the underlying scaffold biodegrades. But this model ignores the extraordinarily...

COVID-19 lockdown highlights ozone chemistry in China

Recently, the ozone season in China has been getting longer, spreading from summer into early spring and late winter. The COVID-19 lockdown can help explain why. Researchers found that decreases in NOx emissions are driving increased ozone pollution in late winter in China.