139 articles from TUESDAY 9.11.2021

Research finds key advances towards reducing the cost of plant improvement

Crop improvement often involves the transfer of genetic material from one organism to another to produce a valuable trait. Some major examples of crops with these so-called 'transgenes' include disease-resistant cotton and beta-carotene-enhanced golden rice. However, when foreign DNA is introduced into a host organism, a natural defensive response in plants is to repress or silence the expression...

Research finds key advances towards reducing the cost of plant improvement

Crop improvement often involves the transfer of genetic material from one organism to another to produce a valuable trait. Some major examples of crops with these so-called "transgenes" include disease-resistant cotton and beta-carotene-enhanced golden rice. However, when foreign DNA is introduced into a host organism, a natural defensive response in plants is to repress or silence the expression...

3D printing nanoresonators: Towards miniaturized and multifunctional sensors

Micro-electro-mechanical devices (MEMS) are based on the integration of mechanical and electrical components on a micrometer scale. We all use them continuously in our everyday life: For example, in our mobile phones there are at least a dozen MEMS that regulate different activities ranging from motion, position, and inclination monitoring of the phone; active filters for the different...

Can't find your keys? You need a chickadee brain

Researchers have shown that there is a genetic component underlying the amazing spatial memories of Mountain Chickadees. Although the genetic basis for spatial memory has been shown for humans and other mammals, direct evidence of that connection has never before been identified in birds.

How a novel radio frequency control system enhances quantum computers

A team of physicists and engineers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) successfully demonstrated the feasibility of low-cost and high-performance radio frequency modules for qubit controls at room temperature. They built a series of compact radio frequency (RF) modules that mix signals to improve the reliability of control systems for superconducting quantum processors. Their...

Genetic component of mountain chickadees' spatial memories identified

For the first time, researchers have shown that there is a genetic component underlying the amazing spatial memories of Mountain Chickadees. These energetic half-ounce birds hide thousands of food items every fall and rely on these hidden stores to get through harsh winters in the mountains of the West. To find these caches, chickadees use highly specialized spatial memory abilities. Although the...

Retinoid therapy may improve vision in people with rare genetic disorder

Using data generated from patients and mice with genetic mutation for the disorder Usher syndrome, researchers documented the natural history of vision impairment in patients and identified the cell mechanism behind progressive vision loss. Based on these findings, the team was able to test a retinoid therapy that improved vision in mice with Usher syndrome. The researchers said assessing a...