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Categories: Biology: Genetics, Chemistry: Biochemistry

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A team of researchers has discovered a set of methods that enabled the first successful CRISPR-based genome editing in Nile grass rats.

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A new study has used a series of innovative field experiments to show how plants combine circadian clock signals with environmental cues under naturally fluctuating conditions.

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A 3D quantum spin liquid has been discovered in the vicinity of a member of the langbeinite family. The material's specific crystalline structure and the resulting magnetic interactions induce an unusual behavior that can be traced back to an island of liquidity. An international team has made this discovery with experiments at the ISIS neutron source and theoretical modelling on a nickel-langbeinite sample.

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New research using neural networks, a form of brain-inspired AI, proposes a solution to the tough challenge of modelling the states of molecules.

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Studying how single DNA molecules behave helps us to better understand genetic disorders and design better drugs. Until now however, examining DNA molecules one-by-one was a slow process. Biophysicists have developed a technique that speeds up screening of individual DNA molecules at least a thousand times. With this technology, they can measure millions of DNA molecules within a week instead of years to decades.

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Scientists report incredibly small time delays in a molecule's electron activity when the particles are exposed to X-rays. To measure these tiny high-speed events, known as attoseconds, researchers used a laser to generate intense X-ray flashes that allowed them to map the inner workings of an atom.

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Managing hard-to-treat respiratory illnesses like asthma and pulmonary fibrosis just got easier if a new drug-carrying molecule is as sneaky as its inventors think.

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Researchers have demonstrated a technology capable of a suite of data storage and computing functions -- repeatedly storing, retrieving, computing, erasing or rewriting data -- that uses DNA rather than conventional electronics. Previous DNA data storage and computing technologies could complete some but not all of these tasks.

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One hundred years after the human brain's electrical activity was first recorded, experts are celebrating the legacy of its discovery and sharing their predictions and priorities for its future. A survey saw respondents -- with 6,685 years of collective experience -- presented with possible future developments for EEG, ranging from those deemed 'critical to progress' to the 'highly improbable,' and asked to estimate how long it might be before they were achieved.

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Scientists have engineered a highly selective catalyst that can convert methane, a major component of natural gas, into methanol, an easily transportable liquid fuel, in a single, one-step reaction. This direct process for methane-to-methanol conversion runs at a temperature lower than required to make tea and exclusively produces methanol without additional byproducts.

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Non-living hydrogels can play the video game Pong and improve their gameplay with more experience, researchers report. The researchers hooked hydrogels up to a virtual game environment and then applied a feedback loop between the hydrogel's paddle -- encoded by the distribution of charged particles within the hydrogel -- and the ball's position -- encoded by electrical stimulation. With practice, the hydrogel's accuracy improved by up to 10%, resulting in longer rallies. The researchers say that this demonstrates the ability of non-living materials to use 'memory' to update their understanding of the environment, though more research is needed before it could be said that hydrogels can 'learn.'

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In a struggle that probably sounds familiar to dieters everywhere, the less a Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) worm eats, the more slowly it loses fat. Now, scientists have discovered why: a small molecule produced by the worms' intestines during fasting travels to the brain to block a fat-burning signal during this time.

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When you get infected with a virus, some of the first weapons your body deploys to fight it were passed down to us from our microbial ancestors billions of years ago. According to new research, two key elements of our innate immune system came from a group of microbes called Asgard archaea.

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New research shows that rainwater could have helped create a meshy wall around protocells 3.8 billion years ago, a critical step in the transition from tiny beads of RNA to every bacterium, plant, animal, and human that ever lived.

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Who are we? Why are we here? We are stardust, the result of chemistry occurring throughout vast clouds of interstellar gas and dust. To better understand how that chemistry could create prebiotic molecules, researchers investigated the role of low-energy electrons created as cosmic radiation traverses through ice particles. Their findings may also inform medical and environmental applications on our home planet.

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The distribution of outermost shell electrons, known as valence electrons, of organic molecules was observed for the first time. As the interactions between atoms are governed by the valence electrons, the findings shine light on the fundamental nature of chemical bonds, with implications for pharmacy and chemical engineering.

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Researchers have succeeded in forming metal-organic framework thin films on a substrate while controlling the growth direction of crystals so that they are arranged neatly without gaps. The resulting thin films of unprecedented high quality can be expected for use as optical sensors, optical elements, and transparent gas adsorption sheets.

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Epigenetics confers a survival advantage in plants to endure harsh weather by inducing bud dormancy. Environmental factors or intrinsic signals trigger the transition between growth and dormancy. Researchers explore the role of chromatin and transcriptional changes in the bud and further analyze data using artificial intelligence models. The findings of this study highlight epigenetic strategies to overcome the effects of short winters during global warming for plant survival.

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For nearly a century, scientists have waged war on antibiotic-resistant microbes. Researchers say they've found a new way to prevent it -- by unleashing 'DNA scavengers' in wastewater treatment plants.

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Bioengineers around the world have been working to create plastic-producing microbes that could replace the petroleum-based plastics industry. Now, researchers have overcome a major hurdle: getting bacteria to produce polymers that contain ring-like structures, which make the plastics more rigid and thermally stable. Because these molecules are usually toxic to microorganisms, the researchers had to construct a novel metabolic pathway that would enable the E. coli bacteria to both produce and tolerate the accumulation of the polymer and the building blocks it is composed of. The resulting polymer is biodegradable and has physical properties that could lend it to biomedical applications such as drug delivery, though more research is needed.