127 articles from MONDAY 25.10.2021

‘Nanozyme’ therapy prevents harmful dental plaque build-up

FDA-approved iron oxide nanoparticles, delivered in a mouth rinse, can suppress the growth of dental plaque and kill bacteria responsible for tooth decay, according to a new study. The nanoparticles act as enzymes to activate hydrogen peroxide in a way that precisely targets harmful microbes and spares normal tissue.

Urban areas across the US are undercounting greenhouse gas emissions

Methane emissions from the distribution and use of natural gas across U.S. cities are 2 to 10 times higher than recent estimates from the Environmental Protect Agency, according to a new study. In Boston, methane emissions from the natural gas system are six times higher than recent estimates by the Massachusetts DEP and have not significantly changed in eight years, despite legislation aimed at...

Call-and-response circuit tells neurons when to grow synapses

Brain cells called astrocytes play a key role in helping neurons develop and function properly, but there's still a lot scientists don't understand about how astrocytes perform these important jobs. Now, a team of scientists has found one way that neurons and astrocytes work together to form healthy connections called synapses. This insight into normal astrocyte function could help scientists...

Tiny microscopic hunters could be a crystal ball for climate change

Tiny unicellular creatures called protists could keep greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere by gobbling up bacteria that emit CO2, researchers say. Now, a study finds that a few simple measures of a protist's size and shape can be powerful predictors of how they might respond to global warming themselves.

Topological valley Hall edge solitons in photonics

A research team recently discovered a novel kind of topological edge soliton that is independent of magnetic field. The valley Hall edge soliton inherits its topological protection from its linear counterpart and does not require any external magnetic field. The result is a light beam that is robust, localized, and maintains its shape during propagation over distance.

Nearly 500 ancient ceremonial sites found in southern Mexico

A team of international researchers reported last year that they had uncovered the largest and oldest Maya monument -- Aguada Fénix. That same team has now uncovered nearly 500 smaller ceremonial complexes that are similar in shape and features to Aguada Fénix. The find transforms previous understanding of Mesoamerican civilization origins and the relationship between the Olmec and the Maya...

Study finds nearly 500 ancient ceremonial sites in southern Mexico

A team of international researchers led by the University of Arizona reported last year that they had uncovered the largest and oldest Maya monument—Aguada Fénix. That same team has now uncovered nearly 500 smaller ceremonial complexes that are similar in shape and features to Aguada Fénix. The find transforms previous understanding of Mesoamerican civilization origins and the relationship...

Study explores how climate change may affect rain in U.S. Corn Belt

Air humidity is more important than soil moisture in influencing whether it rains in the United States Corn Belt, an agricultural area in the Midwest, stretching from Indiana to Nebraska and responsible for more than 35% of the world's most important grain crop, according to a new study by Penn State researchers.

The human GID complex engages two independent modules for substrate recruitment

A new paper by the Peter group of the ETH Zurich's Institute of Biochemistry (IBC) finds that the human GID E3 ubiquitin ligase forms a tetrameric complex with two distinct substrate-recruitment modules, namely WDR26-RanBP9 and GID4-ARMC8a. Although the shorter ARMC8b isoform stably assembles into the hGID complex, it lacks the ability to recruit the GID4 substrate-receptor.

Biophysics analysis made easy with an online tool

EMBL Hamburg's García Alai Team has released eSPC, a freely available online platform for analyzing molecular biophysics data from a range of experimental techniques. The tool enables scientists around the world to easily analyze their data without the need to travel to the laboratory where the data was generated.

One plus one does not equal two: Research team investigates receptors that form pairs on the surface of cells

There are a number of G protein-coupled receptors in human cells. As an important component of the cell membrane, these proteins are responsible for detecting different stimuli in the surroundings of a cell within the body and transferring this information to the cell interior. They may act individually or in pairs, and this can have a crucial effect on their function. Together with colleagues...

Sloshing electrons in a charge density wave

In the latest edition of Physical Review B, UvA Ph.D. candidate Xuanbo Feng (QuSoft and IoP) and colleagues write about their recent experiments on a material that can go from a normal metal state to a more exotic state known as a "charge density wave state."

New study finds black spruce trees struggling to regenerate amid more frequent arctic fires

A new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), finds that black spruce trees—a key species on the boreal landscape for millennia—are losing their resilience and capacity to regenerate in the face of warming temperatures and increasingly frequent Arctic wildfires. A continuation of this trend could result in a landscape-wide ecological shift that would...