161 articles from WEDNESDAY 6.7.2022

'Supergene' wreaks havoc in a genome

Biologists have used population genomics to shed light on the evolution and consequences of a selfish genetic element known as Segregation Distorter (SD). The researchers report that SD has caused dramatic changes in chromosome organization and genetic diversity.

New method for studying functionality of microbiota

A research group has developed a new method for studying the functionality of microbiota through metaproteomics. The new method poses broad potential for the study of microbiota on a new, functional level. The characterization of the functionality of gut microbiota is central in the study of human health and disease as well as disease prediction, prevention, and treatment. Previous studies have...

Scientists demonstrate machine learning tool to efficiently process complex solar data

Big data has become a big challenge for space scientists analyzing vast datasets from increasingly powerful space instrumentation. To address this, a team has developed a machine learning tool to efficiently label large, complex datasets to allow deep learning models to sift through and identify potentially hazardous solar events. The new labeling tool can be applied or adapted to address other...

Psoriasis: Study lays foundation for new treatment strategy

About one third of those who suffer from psoriasis develop inflammation in their joints (psoriatic arthritis) as a result of the chronic skin condition. A research team has now discovered a key starting point for inhibiting inflammation in both psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. The researchers' findings may form the basis for developing new treatment, diagnostic and prevention strategies.

Shedding new light on dark matter

A team of physicists has developed a method for predicting the composition of dark matter -- invisible matter detected only by its gravitational pull on ordinary matter and whose discovery has been long sought by scientists.

Case solved: The biosynthesis of strychnine elucidated

A research team has disclosed the complete biosynthetic pathway for the formation of strychnine in the plant species Strychnos nux-vomica (poison nut). The researchers identified all genes involved in the biosynthesis of strychnine and other metabolites and expressed them in the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana. This enabled them to show that these extremely complex and pharmacologically...

Medicinal knowledge vanishes as Indigenous languages die

DAVOS, SWITZERLAND— Uldarico Matapí Yucuna, 63, is often called the last shaman of the Matapi, an Indigenous group of fewer than 70 people living along the Mirití-Paraná River in the Colombian Amazon rainforest. His father was a shaman and taught him ancestral knowledge, including how to use plants to treat all kinds of maladies. But Uldarico rejects the title because...

The key materials and devices for intrinsically flexible displays

This review is conceived by academician Yunqi Liu and professor Yunlong Guo (Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences). Dr. Zhiyuan Zhao, Dr. Kai Liu, and Yanwei Liu are the co-first authors. This research attaches significant attention to the key materials for intrinsically flexible organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) and electroluminescent devices. Specifically, we focus on the...

30-minute class can improve teenagers’ stress response, study finds

Approach focusing on positives of stress is linked to academic improvement and lower anxietyStress in teenagers can be reduced by a single 30-minute online training session aimed at encouraging a growth mindset and seeing the body’s reaction to stress as a positive, according to scientists.A study involving more than 4,000 secondary school pupils and university undergraduates suggests the...

Multi-layered strategies needed to protect public health from oil and gas drilling impacts

Efforts to mitigate the potentially harmful effects of oil and gas drilling are often focused on single measures, such as increasing setbacks, the minimum allowable distance between drilling and homes, schools, and other sensitive locations. However, in a July 6 commentary in Environmental Research Letters, a group of public health experts from several universities and organizations urges adoption...

Spintronics: Giant Rashba semiconductors show unconventional dynamics with potential applications

Germanium telluride is a strong candidate for use in functional spintronic devices due to its giant Rashba-effect. Now, scientists at HZB have discovered another intriguing phenomenon in GeTe by studying the electronic response to thermal excitation of the samples. To their surprise, the subsequent relaxation proceeded fundamentally different to that of conventional semimetals. By delicately...

Climate evolution in the Southeast Indian Ocean during the Miocene

The Miocene, 23 to 5 million years ago, was an important period for the formation of the Antarctic ice sheets (AIS). The mid-latitudes in the southern hemisphere are the area where the westerlies prevailed and the climate there is sensitive to the volume changes of the AIS. Recently, the research team led by Prof. Li Tiegang from the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences...

Stronger integration of international negotiations needed to protect the ocean

International solutions are needed to protect the ocean. Two sets of regulations currently under development offer an opportunity to expand protections, but a greater degree of alignment between the two must be achieved. In a new article published in Frontiers in Marine Science, researchers from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies in Potsdam, Germany, outline how this could be...