95 articles from FRIDAY 21.10.2022

Why late-night eating leads to weight gain, diabetes

Scientists have uncovered the mechanism behind why eating late at night is linked to weight gain and diabetes. The connection between eating time, sleep and obesity is well-known but poorly understood, with research showing that over-nutrition can disrupt circadian rhythms and change fat tissue.

Tentacle robot can gently grasp fragile objects

Taking inspiration from nature, researchers designed a new type of soft, robotic gripper that uses a collection of thin tentacles to entangle and ensnare objects, similar to how jellyfish collect stunned prey. Alone, individual tentacles, or filaments, are weak. But together, the collection of filaments can grasp and securely hold heavy and oddly shaped objects. The gripper relies on simple...

Hubble views a turbulent stellar nursery

The lives of newborn stars are tempestuous, as this image of the Herbig-Haro objects HH 1 and HH 2 from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope depicts. Both objects are in the constellation Orion and lie around 1,250 light-years from Earth. HH 1 is the luminous cloud above the bright star in the upper right of this image, and HH 2 is the cloud in the bottom left. While both Herbig-Haro objects are...

Scientist sues U.S. National Academy of Sciences after being ousted

Luis Jaime Castillo Butters, a prominent Peruvian archaeologist who was among the first members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences to be removed after a 2019 bylaws update allowed expulsion for documented misconduct violations, filed a $5 million defamation lawsuit against the academy and NAS President Marcia McNutt this month. The suit alleges that “NAS and McNutt made false...

Fully mature hair follicles grown in cultures

A team of researchers from Japan studying the processes of hair follicle growth and hair pigmentation has successfully generated hair follicles in cultures. Their in vitro hair follicle model adds to the understanding of hair follicle development which could contribute to development of useful applications in treating hair loss disorders, animal testing, and drug screenings.

Advance brings quantum computing one step closer to implementation

Researchers identified possible solutions to some of the limitations of qubits for quantum computing. They looked at two different hybrid quantum systems: an electron-superconducting circuit and an electron-ion coupled system. Both systems were able to control the temperature and the movement of the electron.

TBX20 enhances reprogramming of heart fibroblasts into heart muscle cells

One promising strategy to remuscularize the injured heart is the direct cardiac reprogramming of heart fibroblast cells into cardiomyocytes. Researchers have identified TBX20 as the key missing transcription factor in existing cocktails for direct cardiac reprogramming of human fibroblasts. Adding TBX20 to the reprogramming cocktail MGT 133, they report, promoted cardiac reprogramming and...

Evidence that marine conservation mitigates climate change

Marine protected areas act as a safeguard for oceans, seas, and estuaries. These zones help to preserve the plants and animals that call these waters home, but the benefits of protected areas extend far beyond their boundaries. Researchers explain how marine protected areas help to sequester carbon and foster ecological and social adaption to climate change.

A broader definition of learning could help stimulate interdisciplinary research

We often conceive of learning through the lens of cramming for an exam or teaching a dog to sit, but humans and other mammals aren't the only entities capable of adapting to their environment—schools of fish, robots, and even our genes can learn new behaviors, explain Jan De Houwer and Sean Hughes (Ghent University) in a new Perspectives on Psychological Science article.

Research links local news, civic health of communities

A new report from the University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communication's Agora Journalism Center found that Oregonians are unequally served by local news media and that some communities have few places to turn for local news. The report also describes how journalists and civic leaders are deeply worried about the state's ability to confront its challenges at a time when the number of...

Modern archaeology reveals the secrets of an Iron Age power center

New excavations in Uppåkra are at the forefront of cutting edge archaeological techniques. By combining big data, data modeling and DNA sequencing, researchers are currently solving significant parts of a historical puzzle. Perhaps we will learn whether the Justinianic Plague, the forerunner of the Black Death, reached Uppåkra. Until now, this has been uncertain.

Prions induce toxic huntingtin oligomers

Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or Huntington's disease are characterized by the deposition of protein clumps, so-called protein aggregates, in the brains of patients. Even though disease-relevant proteins—such as the huntingtin protein in Huntington's disease—are present in all cells of the human brain, aggregates of huntingtin form in a specific region of the brain...

Anomalous magnetic moment of the muon—a new conundrum comes to light

The anomalous magnetic moment of the muon is a crucial parameter in particle physics as it allows for precision tests of the established Standard Model. A new measurement of this quantity last year caused something of a furor as it reaffirmed a significant deviation from the theoretical prediction—in other words, the anomalous magnetic moment is greater than anticipated.

New covalent organic framework material accelerates solar fuel generation

Two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks (2D COFs) are a new class of organic semiconductors, and have recently demonstrated great potential for solar fuel production. They are generally formed from the ordered π-π stacking of molecular layers, and usually possess periodic columnar π-arrays that can facilitate the interlayer charge transfer.