Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology
Published

Drug-like inhibitor shows promise in preventing flu      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Currently available flu medications only target the virus after it has already established an infection, but what if a drug could prevent infection in the first place? Now, scientists have designed drug-like molecules to do just that, by thwarting the first stage of influenza infection.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Mathematics: Modeling
Published

How AI helps programming a quantum computer      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have unveiled a novel method to prepare quantum operations on a given quantum computer, using a machine learning generative model to find the appropriate sequence of quantum gates to execute a quantum operation. The study marks a significant step forward in unleashing the full extent of quantum computing.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

Studies reveal cell-by-cell changes caused when pig hearts and kidneys are transplanted into humans      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Two new studies detail the changes seen at the single-cell level in pig organs and recipient human bodies before, during, and just after the xenotransplantation surgeries in the decedents.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

Clarifying the cellular mechanisms underlying periodontitis with an improved animal model      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Although periodontitis is an extremely prevalent disorder, it is challenging to conduct detailed and comprehensive analyses of its progression at the cellular level. Recently, researchers developed an improved periodontitis mouse model that simplifies the collection and analysis of multiple periodontal tissue types. Using this model, they clarified the role of an important signaling pathway in the inflammatory response of periodontal tissue, paving the way for better diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for periodontitis.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction
Published

Genes provide hope for the survival of Arabia's last big cat      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The release of captive bred animals carefully selected for their genes can make a significant contribution to the successful recovery of the dwindling wild population and avert the prospect of extinction. Despite revealing extremely low levels of genetic diversity in the wild leopard population in Oman, the research team discovered higher levels of genetic diversity in captive leopards across the region. This important genetic resource has the potential for a major role in successful recovery of the Arabian leopard.

Anthropology: Cultures Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Geoscience: Geography Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Evolutionary history of extinct duck revealed      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The study's findings show mergansers arrived in the New Zealand region at least seven million years ago from the Northern Hemisphere, in a separate colonisation event to that which led to the Brazilian merganser.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

2D materials: A catalyst for future quantum technologies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered that a 'single atomic defect' in a layered 2D material can hold onto quantum information for microseconds at room temperature. This underscores the broader potential of 2D materials in advancing quantum technologies.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: General
Published

Modern plant enzyme partners with surprisingly ancient protein      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered that a protein responsible for the synthesis of a key plant material evolved much earlier than suspected. This new research explored the origin and evolution of the biochemical machinery that builds lignin, a structural component of plant cell walls with significant impacts on the clean energy industry.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

World's smallest quantum light detector on a silicon chip      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have made an important breakthrough in scaling quantum technology by integrating the world's tiniest quantum light detector onto a silicon chip.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Zombie cells in the sea: Viruses keep the most common marine bacteria in check      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Marine microbes control the flux of matter and energy essential for life in the oceans. Among them, the bacterial group SAR11 accounts for about a third of all the bacteria found in surface ocean waters. A study now reveals that at times nearly 20% of SAR11 cells are infected by viruses, significantly reducing total cell numbers. The viruses can also transform these once thriving bacteria into zombies, a phenomenon observed for the first time and widespread in the oceans.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular
Published

Plants restrict use of 'Tipp-Ex proteins'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Plants have special corrective molecules at their disposal that can make retrospective modifications to copies of genes. However, it would appear that these 'Tipp-Ex proteins' do not have permission to work in all areas of the cell, only being used in chloroplasts and mitochondria. A study has now explained why this is the case. It suggests that the correction mechanism would otherwise modify copies that have nothing wrong with them, with fatal consequences for the cell.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

Fruit fly wing research offers window into birth defects      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

If fruit fly wings do not develop into the right shape, the flies will die. Researchers have learned how fly embryo cells develop as they need to, opening a window into human development and possible treatments for birth defects.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Environmental: General
Published

A new 'rule of biology' may have come to light, expanding insight into evolution and aging      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A molecular biologist may have found a new 'rule of biology.' The rule challenges long-held notions that most living organisms prefer stability over instability because stability requires less energy and fewer resources.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular
Published

New sensor gives unprecedented look at changes in cell's energy 'currency'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new sensor is giving researchers the best look yet at ATP levels inside living cells, enabling scientists to study in greater detail than ever before how fluctuations in this cellular currency affect the cell and contribute to disease.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

Bioengineered enzyme creates natural vanillin from plants in one step      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Vanilla, the most widely used flavoring compound in confectionaries and cosmetics, gets its sweet flavor and aroma from the chemical compound -- 'vanillin'. However, the large-scale production of natural vanillin is impeded by the lack of microbial processes and enzymes which can commercially generate vanillin. Now, researchers have genetically engineered a novel enzyme which can convert ferulic acid from plant waste into vanillin in a one-step sustainable process.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Mathematics: Modeling Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Wavefunction matching for solving quantum many-body problems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Strongly interacting systems play an important role in quantum physics and quantum chemistry. Stochastic methods such as Monte Carlo simulations are a proven method for investigating such systems. However, these methods reach their limits when so-called sign oscillations occur. This problem has now been solved using the new method of wavefunction matching.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular
Published

Heating proteins to body temperature reveals new drug targets      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Some proteins shift their shape when exposed to different temperatures, revealing previously unknown binding sites for medications. The findings could revolutionize wide swathes of biology by fundamentally changing how protein structure is studied and leveraged for drug design.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular
Published

Exploring the mechanism behind drug eruptions in the skin      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Although drug eruptions are often linked to the human leukocyte antigen (HLA), the mechanism of its involvement in presenting symptoms of the skin remains unclear. In a recent study, researchers used genetically engineered mice to demonstrate the role of HLA in mediating intracellular reactions in keratinocytes, leading to drug eruptions in the skin. Their findings could lead to improved preventive and treatment measures for drug eruptions.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

Drug compounds to combat neurodegenerative diseases      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Prions are the abnormal, pathogenic agents that are transmissible and are able to induce abnormal folding of specific normal cellular proteins. Prion disease is an umbrella term for a group of fatal and currently untreatable neurodegenerative diseases that not only affect humans, but also wild and captive animals. These diseases include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or 'mad cow disease'), and chronic wasting disease (CWD) affecting deer, elk and moose.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

A simple quantum internet with significant possibilities      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

It's one thing to dream up a quantum internet that could send hacker-proof information around the world via photons superimposed in different quantum states. It's quite another to physically show it's possible. That's exactly what physicists have done, using existing Boston-area telecommunication fiber, in a demonstration of the world's longest fiber distance between two quantum memory nodes to date.