176 articles from THURSDAY 9.6.2022
Bioarchaeological evidence of very early Islamic burials in the Levant
A new study combining archaeological, historical and bioarchaeological data provides new insights into the early Islamic period in modern-day Syria. The research team was planning to focus on a much older time period but came across what they believe to be remains of early Muslims in the Syrian countryside. Their results were published in Communications Biology.
Researchers use CRISPR technology to create map tying every human gene to its function
The Human Genome Project was an ambitious initiative to sequence every piece of human DNA. The project drew together collaborators from research institutions around the world, including Whitehead Institute, and was finally completed in 2003. Now, over two decades later, Whitehead Institute Member Jonathan Weissman and colleagues have gone beyond the sequence to present the first comprehensive...
'Fantastic giant tortoise,' believed extinct, confirmed alive in the Galápagos
A tortoise from a Galápagos species long believed extinct has been found alive. The tortoise, named Fernanda after her Fernandina Island home, is the first of her species identified in more than a century.
Photosynthesis-inspired process makes commodity chemicals
Northwestern University chemists have taken inspiration from plants to revolutionize the way an important industrial chemical is made.
Chromatin found to have originated in ancient microbes one to two billion years ago
In almost every human cell, 2 meters of DNA has to fit within a nucleus that is just 8 millionths of a meter wide. Like wool around a spool, the extreme space challenge requires DNA to wrap around structural proteins called histones. This coiled genetic architecture, known as chromatin, protects DNA from damage and has a key role in gene regulation.
What happened before, during and after solar system formation? Asteroid Ryugu study holds the answers
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Hayabusa2 mission returned uncontaminated primitive asteroid samples to Earth. A comprehensive analysis of 16 particles from the asteroid Ryugu revealed many insights into the processes that operated before, during and after the formation of the solar system, with some still shaping the surface of the present-day asteroid.
Pre-historic Wallacea: A melting pot of human genetic ancestries
The Wallacean islands have always been separated from Asia and Oceania by deep-sea waters. Yet, these tropical islands were a corridor for modern humans migrating into the Pleistocene Australia-New Guinea landmass (Sahul) and have been home to modern human groups for at least 47,000 years. The archaeological record attests a major cultural transition across Wallacea that started around 3,500 years...
Are we born with a moral compass?
For millennia, philosophers have pondered the question of whether humans are inherently good. But now, researchers from Japan have found that young infants can make and act on moral judgments, shedding light on the origin of morality.
Genetic clues to how dogs became man's best friends
Two mutations in the melanocortin 2 receptor gene—which is involved in the production of the stress hormone cortisol—may have played a role in the domestication of dogs by allowing them to develop social cognitive skills in order to interact and communicate with humans. The findings are published in Scientific Reports.
NASA to Launch 6 Small Satellites to Monitor, Study Tropical Cyclones
Portal origin URL: NASA to Launch 6 Small Satellites to Monitor, Study Tropical CyclonesPortal origin nid: 480437Published: Thursday, June 9, 2022 - 11:00Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: This month, NASA is launching the first two of six small satellites to study the formation and development of tropical cyclones almost every hour – about four to...
NASA’s NuSTAR Mission Celebrates 10 Years Studying the X-Ray Universe
Portal origin URL: NASA’s NuSTAR Mission Celebrates 10 Years Studying the X-Ray UniversePortal origin nid: 480593Published: Thursday, June 9, 2022 - 10:57Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: After a decade of observing some of the hottest, densest, and most energetic regions in our universe, this small but powerful space telescope still has more to...
Europe's largest land predator unearthed on the Isle of Wight
Research led by paleontologists at the University of Southampton has identified the remains of one of Europe's largest ever land-based hunters: a dinosaur that measured over 10m long and lived around 125 million years ago.
New species of alga named for poet Amanda Gorman
In 2020, a group of researchers in Fay-Wei Li's lab at the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) had done what many scientists dream of doing: They discovered a new species. But as they discussed what to name this green alga from Central New York State, nothing seemed quite right.
Multi-scale imaging confirms protein's role in neuronal structure, dynamics
Protein structures are typically determined by studying them in their purified form, outside the busy inner workings of the cell, and because of this, their biological relevance is often called into question. In a new study by Penn State College of Medicine researchers, the long-observed protein structure cofilactin, a form of the filamentous protein actin that contains numerous connections to...
Light-induced changes in shape power a pump in a marine bacterium
RIKEN biochemists have discovered how a miniscule pump in a marine microbe shuttles negative ions into the cell by changing shape when activated by light. As well as providing insights into how these ion pumps work, the findings will be useful for improving light-based tools for brain research.
How cells navigate in messy environments
Your cells need to get around. For example, immune cells must roam around your body to locate sites of infection, and neurons must migrate to specific positions in the brain during development. But cells do not have eyes to see where they are going. Instead, like a dog sniffing out the source of some delicious smells, a cell figures out how to get to some target by detecting chemicals in its...
Maintaining the right niche for blood cell development
In your home, storing books on a bookshelf, tools in a tool box, and a broom in a broom cupboard makes it easy to access these items whenever you need them. Within the body, hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) reside in their own specialized "spots" in the bone marrow known as HSC niches. Recently, researchers in Japan have identified genes that play a key role within these niches.
Scientists uncover clues about the generation of nanomachines in Salmonella
Researchers at the University of Liverpool have captured a clear view of the generation process of "protein machinery" that plays a key role in the colonization of pathogenic Salmonella bacteria.
Air lasing: A new tool for atmospheric detection
Ultrafast laser technologies provide new strategies for remote sensing of atmospheric pollutants and hazardous biochemical agents due to their unique advantages of high peak power, short pulse duration and broad spectral coverage.
Conservation science still rests on how animals can benefit humans
The accelerating loss of other species around the globe is so extensive that many experts now refer to it as the sixth mass extinction. It's driven in large part by an unprecedented loss of vital ecosystems such as forests and wetlands, the result of social and economic systems that are focused on constant growth.
Drought-exposure history improves recovery of grassland communities from subsequent drought
When a plant community is exposed to drought, the different species undergo evolutionary changes. An international study with UZH participation now shows that this leads to improved resilience to future drought stress over time.
Small space rock hits $10B James Webb Space Telescope
A tiny meteoroid struck the newly deployed James Webb Space Telescope in May, knocking one of its gold-plated mirrors out of alignment but not changing the orbiting observatory's schedule to become fully operational shortly, NASA said on...
How to avoid great white sharks and what to do if you encounter one
Like it or not, great white sharks are wending their way north to begin their annual visit in Atlantic Canada and feast on their favorite snack—the region's abundant seal population.
New research gives insights into how organelles divide in cells
A pioneering study has shed new light on how subcellular organelles divide and multiply. The study, led by Professor Michael Schrader from the University of Exeter, has explored on peroxisome dynamics and revealed alternative pathways for their division.