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Categories: Biology: Genetics, Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound

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Scientists are developing intelligent materials that are opening up new avenues in sound reproduction technology: lightweight loudspeakers that use far less energy than their conventional counterparts, novel shapes for sound and signal generators and applications involving noise cancelling textiles. The basis for these smart materials are ultrathin silicone films that can act as artificial muscles with their own built-in sensors.

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Wastewater is a more potent environment for antibiotic resistance to evolve than previously known. A study shows that wastewaters have unique characteristics, allowing resistance genes to start their journey from harmless bacteria to those that cause disease.

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Shigella bacteria can infect humans but not mice. A team can now explain why. Their findings may explain the multifariousness of a key weapon of our immune system.

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New research has discovered a cold 'coping' mechanism that is under the control of the plant biological clock and could offer solutions to breeding more resilience into crops less suited to cold climates.

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The fruit of the cocklebur plant, which grows worldwide and is often considered a noxious weed, has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory components that could make it useful as a skin protectant, according to new research.

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A group of researchers discovered that the rhodopsin -- a protein in the eye that detects light -- of whale sharks has changed to efficiently detect blue light, which penetrates deep-sea water easily. The amino acid substitutions -- one of which is counterintuitively associated with congenital stationary night blindness in humans -- aid in detecting the low levels of light in the deep-sea. Although these changes make the whale shark rhodopsin less thermally stable the deep-sea temperature, allows their rhodopsin to keep working. This suggests that the unique adaptation evolved to function in the low-light low-temperature environment where whale sharks live.

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Colorful particles of plastic drift along under the surface of most waterways. These barely visible microplastics -- less than 5 mm wide -- are potentially harmful to aquatic animals and plants, as well as humans. Now, a team reports a two-stage device made with steel tubes and pulsing sound waves that removes most of the plastic particles from real water samples.

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Researchers discover that actin acts in the cell nucleus and is partly responsible for the expression of male sexual characteristics.

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With CRISPR-Cas9 technology, humans can now rapidly change the evolutionary course of animals or plants by inserting genes that can easily spread through entire populations. An evolutionary geneticist proposes that we call this evolutionary meddling 'genetic welding.' He argues that we must scientifically and ethically scrutinize the potential consequences of genetic welding before we put it into practice.

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Researchers identify the most promising advancements and greatest challenges of artificial mitochondria and chloroplasts. The team describes the components required to construct synthetic mitochondria and chloroplasts and identifies proteins as the most important aspects for molecular rotary machinery, proton transport, and ATP production. The authors believe it is important to create artificial cells with biologically realistic energy-generation methods that mimic natural processes; replicating the entire cell could lead to future biomaterials.

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A team of scientists designed a molecule that disrupts the infection mechanism of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and could be used to develop new treatments for COVID-19 and other viral diseases.

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To develop treatments that may one day entirely rid the body of HIV infection, scientists have long sought to identify all of the places that the virus can hide its genetic code. Now, in a study using blood samples from men and women with HIV on long-term suppressive therapy, a team of scientists reports new evidence that one such stable reservoir of HIV genomes can be found in circulating white blood cells called monocytes.

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In chemistry, we have He, Fe and Ca -- but what about do, re and mi? Using a technique called data sonification, a recent college graduate has converted the visible light given off by each of the elements into soundwaves. The notes produced for each element are unique, complex mixtures and are the first step toward an interactive, musical periodic table.

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A parasite which has devastating impacts on agriculture and human health is the first pathogen to have its proteins located and mapped within its cells -- providing clues to their function and helping to identify potential drug targets.

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The medicinal secrets of the Chilean soapbark tree have been laid bare, unlocking a future of more potent, affordable, and sustainably sought vaccines. Researchers have taken a major step forward in addressing this problem, by using a combination of genome mining and bioengineering techniques to produce saponin-based vaccine adjuvants in the laboratory without harvesting material directly from trees.

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Researchers have found that the body's process of removing old and damaged cell parts, is also an essential part of tackling infections that take hold within our cells, like TB. If this natural process can be harnessed with new treatments, it could present an alternative to, or improve use of antibiotics, especially where bacteria have become resistant to existing drugs.

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Damage in the human genome can be repaired. But this works better in germ cells, sperm and eggs, than in normal body cells. Responsible for this is the DREAM protein complex, which prevents the activation of all available repair mechanisms. A research team has now shown that normal body cells can also be repaired better once this complex has been deactivated. In the long run, the scientists hope to develop better therapies to prevent cancer and aging-associated diseases.

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Scientists have significantly advanced the race to control plant responses to temperature on a rapidly warming planet. Key to this breakthrough is miRNA, a molecule nearly 200,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.

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Some plants can survive months without water, only to turn green again after a brief downpour. A recent study shows that this is not due to a 'miracle gene.' Rather, this ability is a consequence of a whole network of genes, almost all of which are also present in more vulnerable varieties.

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If you live near a busy road you might feel like the constant sound of roaring engines, honking horns and wailing sirens makes your blood pressure rise. Now a new study confirms it can do exactly that.