Showing 20 articles starting at article 2081

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Biology: Biochemistry, Energy: Batteries

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered 16 new species of strange-looking parasitoid wasps from the Loboscelidia group. The study also revealed for the first time the unique parasitic behavior of a captive female from one species, who after parasitizing her host egg, buried the egg in a hole in the soil.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have found a plant gene that drives the growth of root hairs, the tiny structures that help plants find water and nutrients in the soil. The gene, dubbed 'BUZZ,' causes faster-growing, denser webs of roots and may also determine how plants find and use nitrates, a prime source of nitrogen essential to plant growth. Nitrates are also used in fertilizers that can pollute the environment as runoff, and this genetic discovery could ultimately help plant scientists find ways to grow crops more sustainably.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Aqueous potassium-ion batteries are a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries owing to their safety and low cost. However, not much is known about the properties of the solid-electrolyte interphases (SEI) that form between the electrode and the aqueous electrolyte. To address this knowledge gap, researchers from Japan have now conducted a study using advanced scanning electrochemical microscopy and operando electrochemical mass spectrometry. Their findings provide a deeper understanding of SEI in next-generation batteries.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study conducted in a lab -- with follow-up human breath tests being planned -- showed that whole milk plain yogurt prevented almost all of the volatile compounds responsible for garlic's pungent scent from escaping into the air.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed a way of detecting the early onset of deadly infectious diseases using a test so ultrasensitive that it could someday revolutionize medical approaches to epidemics. The test is an electronic sensor contained within a computer chip. It employs nanoballs -- microscopic spherical clumps made of tinier particles of genetic material -- and combines that technology with advanced electronics.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study sheds new light on the origins of modern brain cells. Researchers find evidence that specialized secretory cells found in placozoans, tiny sea creatures the size of a grain of sand, have many similarities to the neuron, such as the genes required to create a partial synapse. From an evolutionary point of view, early neurons might have started as something like these cells, eventually gaining the ability to create a complete synapse, form axons and dendrites and create ion channels that generate fast electrical signals -- innovations which gave rise to the neuron in more complex animals such as jellyfish. Though the complete story of how the first neuron appeared remains to be told, the study demonstrates that the basic building blocks for our brain cells were forming in the ancestors of placozoans grazing inconspicuously in the shallow seas of Earth around 800 million years ago.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study shows the isolation and sequencing of more than a century-old RNA molecules from a Tasmanian tiger specimen preserved at room temperature in a museum collection. This resulted in the reconstruction of skin and skeletal muscle transcriptomes from an extinct species for the first time. The researchers note that their findings have relevant implications for international efforts to resurrect extinct species, including both the Tasmanian tiger and the woolly mammoth, as well as for studying pandemic RNA viruses.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Studying a lizard species in Arizona mountains, researchers found 70 years' worth of climate-related extinction occurred in only seven years.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists are investigating the previously largely unknown biosynthetic pathway that leads to the formation of cardenolides in plants. In a new study, they present two enzymes from the CYP87A family as key enzymes that catalyze the formation of pregnenolone, the precursor for the biosynthesis of plant steroids, in two different plant families. The discovery of such enzymes should help to develop platforms for the cheap and sustainable production of high quality steroid compounds for medical use.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Many pathogens, including the virus that causes COVID-19, are thought to have originated in wild animals before spilling into human populations.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Microbiologists have discovered a new intestinal microbe that feeds exclusively on taurine and produces the foul-smelling gas hydrogen sulfide. The researchers have thus provided another building block in the understanding of those microbial processes that have fascinating effects on health. This is also true of Taurinivorans muris: the bacterium shows a protective function against Klebsiella and Salmonella, two important pathogens.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Tweaks to the mitochondrial genome hold the potential for better hybrid seed production or to introduce seedless fruits.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

• Twenty-year experiment finds that active replanting beats natural recovery for restoring logged tropical forests. • The higher the diversity of replanted tree species, the more quickly canopy area and biomass recovered. • Results emphasize the importance of preserving biodiversity in pristine forests and restoring it in recovering logged forest.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study finds poor quality of available foods, increased intake of calories from foods high in trans-fatty acids, and environments that do not foster physical activity, all prevalent in disadvantaged neighborhoods, disrupt the flexibility of information processing in the brain that is involved in reward, emotion regulation, and cognition.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a novel genome editing technique known as NICER, which results in significantly fewer off-target mutations than CRISPR/Cas9 editing. The technique uses a different type of enzyme that makes single-stranded 'nicks' in the DNA. Repair of these nicks is more efficient and accurate than repair of double-strand breaks caused by the current CRISPR/Cas9 editing. This technique represents a novel approach for the treatment of genetic diseases caused by heterozygous mutations.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Neurotypical humans readily optimize performance in 'reversal learning' games, but while mice learn the winning strategy, they refuse to commit to it, a new study shows. The research provides a mathematical way to track the rodents' more mixed tactics.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have genetically engineered a marine microorganism to break down plastic in salt water. Specifically, the modified organism can break down polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a plastic used in everything from water bottles to clothing that is a significant contributor to microplastic pollution in oceans.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

By mining X-ray images, researchers have made significant new discoveries about the reactivity of lithium iron phosphate, a material used in batteries for electric cars and in other rechargeable batteries.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers are taking fast charging for electric vehicles, or EVs, to new extremes.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have devised an efficient method of recovering high-purity silicon from expired solar panels to produce lithium-ion batteries that could help meet the increasing global demand to power electric vehicles.