6,535 articles from APRIL 2021

Piecing together the LanCL puzzle

Researchers from the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology in collaboration with scientists at Oxford University have published a paper in Cell reporting the function of LanCL proteins. These proteins are found in eukaryotic cells but their function was previously unknown. The study is the first step towards understanding the importance of these ubiquitous proteins.

Tool to predict recidivism in federal inmates could make more prisoners eligible for early release

Passed in 2018, the First Step Act sought to address re-entry challenges for inmates in the federal prison system. The legislation called for developing an assessment tool to identify inmates for release who had the lowest likelihood of recidivism. A new study assessed how the tool was developed and is used, finding that a greater proportion of inmates could reduce their risk and become eligible...

Newly discovered Miocene biome sheds light on rainforest evolution

An international research group led by Prof. Wang Bo and Prof. Shi Gongle from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS) has collected approximately 25,000 fossil-containing amber samples and about 5,000 fossil plants in Zhangpu County, Fujian Province, southeast China from 2010 to 2019.

Not just for finding planets: Exoplanet-hunter TESS telescope spots bright gamma-ray burst

NASA has a long tradition of unexpected discoveries, and the space program's TESS mission is no different. Astrophysicists have discovered a particularly bright gamma-ray burst using a NASA telescope designed to find exoplanets - those occurring outside our solar system - particularly those that might be able to support life. It's the first time a gamma-ray burst has been found this way.

Climate change: Amazon may be turning from friend to foe

The Brazilian Amazon released nearly 20 percent more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the last decade than it absorbed, according to a stunning report that shows humanity can no longer depend on the world's largest tropical forest to help absorb manmade carbon pollution.

Wildfire smoke trends worsening for Western US

From the Pacific Northwest to the Rocky Mountains, summers in the West are marked by wildfires and smoke. New research from the University of Utah ties the worsening trend of extreme poor air quality events in Western regions to wildfire activity, with growing trends of smoke impacting air quality clear into September. The work is published in Environmental Research Letters.

Holographic histopathology enables fast, precise diagnostics

Histology is the study of biological tissues at a microscopic level. Also called microscopic anatomy, histology is widely used to provide diagnosis of cancer and other diseases. For example, tissue samples obtained during surgery might help to determine whether further surgical action is needed, and further surgery may be avoided if a diagnosis can be rapidly obtained during an operation.

Here’s what China wants from its next space station

At 11:23 a.m. local time Thursday at Wenchang, Hainan Island, China launched Tianhe-1, the first module of a new orbital space station. It’s scheduled to be operational by the end of 2022. The launch, which went flawlessly, sets China up for a very busy next two years as it seeks to build upon the decade’s successes and follow through with one of its most ambitious space projects yet. ...

Engineering T cells to attack cancer broadly

This study builds on decades of work showing that the protein IL-24 attacks cancer broadly, and is the first to deliver the protein using T cells. This approach is in contrast to CAR-T cells, which are built to recognize proteins on the surface of cancer cells and haven't been successful against solid tumors. Mice with prostate cancer experienced shrinkage of the original tumor as well as distant...

Move over CRISPR, the Retrons are coming

Researchers have created a new gene editing tool called Retron Library Recombineering (RLR) that can generate up to millions of mutations simultaneously, and 'barcodes' mutant bacterial cells so that the entire pool can be screened at once. It can be used in contexts where CRISPR is toxic or not feasible, and results in better editing rates.

Novel coronavirus' spike protein plays additional key role in illness

A new study shows that COVID-19 is a vascular disease, demonstrating exactly how the SARS-CoV-2 virus damages and attacks the vascular system on a cellular level. The findings help explain COVID-19's wide variety of seemingly unconnected complications, and could open the door for new research into more effective therapies.