A new study led by University of California, Irvine researchers developed a high-throughput screen methodology to identify compounds affect a key G protein coupled receptor (GPCR) rhodopsin (Rh). GPCRs mediate many important physiological functions and are considered to be one of the most effective therapeutic targets for a broad spectrum of diseases, ranging from diabetes to immune system...

UT Southwestern and University of Washington researchers led an international team that used artificial intelligence (AI) and evolutionary analysis to produce 3D models of eukaryotic protein interactions. The study, published in Science, identified more than 100 probable protein complexes for the first time and provided structural models for more than 700 previously uncharacterized ones. Insights...

Photosystem II is a protein in plants, algae and cyanobacteria that uses sunlight to break water down into its atomic components, unlocking hydrogen and oxygen. A longstanding question about this process is how water molecules are funneled into the center of Photosystem II, where water is split to produce the oxygen we breathe. A better understanding of this process could inform the next...

The largest annual scientific study on single adults shows that COVID-19 has caused a dramatic shift in people's priorities when it comes to dating, sex and love. Faculty from the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University say some of the changes could last well beyond the pandemic.

While massive open online classes (MOOCs) have been a significant trend in higher education for many years now, they have gained a new level of attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. Open online courses became a critical resource for a wide audience of new learners during the first stages of the pandemic—including students whose academic programs had shifted online, teachers seeking online...

Experiments led by a group of Boston College researchers enabled atomic scale visualization of a temperature-driven spatial change of magnetic patterns in a Mott insulator, the team has reported in Science Advances.

Many believe climate change and environmental degradation caused the Maya civilization to fall—but a new survey shows that some Maya kingdoms had sustainable agricultural practices and high food yields for centuries.

A University of Rhode Island researcher and colleagues who study invasive species have published a series of articles in the journal Biological Invasions aimed at identifying and addressing concerns about diversity, equity and inclusion in the journal, which they believe will lead to a better understanding of invasive species around the world.

The Narragansett Bay, which covers almost 150 square miles along the coast of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, is New England's largest estuary, and it is under threat from both changing patterns of land use in New England and global climate change. Recently, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst published the results of a new study that connects land use, the coast and the...

Russia's destruction of one of its own satellites generated a cloud of debris near the International Space Station (ISS) and its seven-strong crew.

The past two North American pro-sports seasons have been exceptional in many ways: Fewer games played, more regional travel and more same-city "baseball-style" series with consecutive matchups between the same home and visiting teams. It was an unusual experience for everyone involved, but a good one for the environment, writes Concordia researcher Seth Wynes.

More gay, bisexual, and transgender Black men, also known as sexual minority Black men, are victims of policing stop-and-frisk policies than their Hispanic and white counterparts, according to a new Rutgers study.

Researchers at Georgia State University have created lightning-fast computer software that can help nations track and analyze pandemics, like the one caused by COVID-19, before they spread like wildfire around the globe.

New research from The University of Texas at Austin could change the way scientists think about potential damage from earthquakes.

 It's an everyday scene. Pooch wants a tasty-looking piece of cake that's sitting on the table. What does he do? He gazes longingly at the titbit, ogles his master or mistress, and glances back at the cake. This "conversation" with humans gets him what he wants.

Turbulence makes many people uneasy or downright queasy. And it's given researchers a headache, too. Mathematicians have been trying for a century or more to understand the turbulence that arises when a flow interacts with a boundary, but a formulation has proven elusive.

Maternal physiology of dairy cows shifts at the onset of lactation to adapt to the immense nutrient demands by the mammary gland, resulting in altered tissue metabolism. Research over the last decade has focused on understanding the shift in calcium metabolism, with an emphasis on the relationship of serotonin with calcium during the transition period and lactation. In a new review in the December...

Human behavior drives the evolution of biological organisms in ways that can profoundly adversely impact human welfare. Understanding people's incentives when they do so is essential to identify policies and other strategies to improve evolutionary outcomes. In a new study publishing November 16th in the open access journal, PLOS Biology, researchers led by Troy Day at Queens University and David...

A 45-year-old male river hippopotamus named Otis and nicknamed the "smiling hippo" has died at the San Diego Zoo.

Liquid droplets of protein and RNA have traits reminiscent of a childhood joy: Silly Putty.

According to the Healthy China Initiative, the incidence rate of diabetes is 12.8% in China, with about 150 million patients, and the incidence rate of dyslipidemia is 18.6%, with about 160 million patients. Common rice has a relatively high percentage of digestible starch and is therefore considered as a kind of food with a high glycemic index (GI). Breeding new varieties of rice rich in...

Several marine organisms, such as mussels, secrete adhesive proteins that allow them to stick to different surfaces under sea water. This attractive underwater adhesion property has inspired decades of research to create biomimetic glues for underwater repair or biological tissue repair. However, existing glues often do not have the desirable adhesion, are hard to use underwater, or are not...

Experiences of workplace sexual assault and harassment are widespread in the janitorial industry, according to a new report by the ILR School's Worker Institute, with women janitors more likely than men to experience unwanted sexual behavior, to be targeted by supervisors and to switch jobs due to harassing behavior.

The most common pharmaceuticals on the market are made by chaining together rings of molecules to create the drugs that treat conditions including pain, depression and leukemia.