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Categories: Biology: Molecular, Space: The Solar System
Published Innovative antiviral defense with new CRISPR tool
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The rise of RNA viruses like SARS-CoV-2 highlights the need for new ways to fight them. RNA-targeting tools like CRISPR/Cas13 are powerful but inefficient in the cytoplasm of cells, where many RNA viruses replicate. Scientists have devised a solution: Cas13d-NCS. This new molecular tool allows CRISPR RNA molecules that are located within the nucleus of a cell to move to the cytoplasm, making it highly effective at neutralizing RNA viruses. This advancement opens doors for precision medicine and proactive viral defense strategies.
Published Exoplanets true to size
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A star's magnetic field must be considered in order to correctly determine the characteristics of exoplanets from observations by space telescopes such as Kepler, James Webb, or PLATO. Researchers show that the distribution of the star's brightness over its disk depends on the star's level of magnetic activity. This, in turn, affects the signature of an exoplanet in observational data. The new model must be used in order to properly interpret the data from the latest generation of space telescopes pointed at distant worlds outside our Solar System.
Published First step to untangle DNA: Supercoiled DNA captures gyrase like a lasso ropes cattle
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers reveal how DNA gyrase resolves DNA entanglements. The findings not only provide novel insights into this fundamental biological mechanism but also have potential practical applications. Gyrases are biomedical targets for the treatment of bacterial infections and the similar human versions of the enzymes are targets for many anti-cancer drugs. Better understanding of how gyrases work at the molecular level can potentially improve clinical treatments.
Published Brainless memory makes the spinal cord smarter than previously thought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered the neural circuitry in the spinal cord that allows brain-independent motor learning. The study found two critical groups of spinal cord neurons, one necessary for new adaptive learning, and another for recalling adaptations once they have been learned. The findings could help scientists develop ways to assist motor recovery after spinal cord injury.
Published Genetic underpinnings of environmental stress identified in model plant
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have identified 14 genes that thale cress -- a plant commonly used in genetic investigations since its genome is well documented -- express more when responding to five specific stressors, as well as eight genes that the plant suppresses.
Published The hidden role of the Milky Way in ancient Egyptian mythology
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astrophysicists shed light on the relationship between the Milky Way and the Egyptian sky-goddess Nut. The paper draws on ancient Egyptian texts and simulations to argue that the Milky Way might have shone a spotlight, as it were, on Nut's role as the sky. It proposes that in winter, the Milky Way highlighted Nut's outstretched arms, while in summer, it traced her backbone across the heavens.
Published The genesis of our cellular skeleton, image by image
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Cells contain various specialized structures -- such as the nucleus, mitochondria or peroxisomes -- known as 'organelles'. Tracing their genesis and determining their structure is fundamental to understanding cell function and the pathologies linked to their dysfunction.
Published Researchers discover how we perceive bitter taste
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study reveals the detailed protein structure of the TAS2R14, a bitter taste receptor that allows us to perceive bitter taste. In addition to solving the structure of this taste receptor, the researchers were also able to determine where bitter-tasting substances bind to TAS2R14 and how they activate them. The findings may lead to the development of drugs that targeting taste receptors.
Published A new coating method in mRNA engineering points the way to advanced therapies
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a novel method of adding polyethylene glycol molecules to engineered groups of messenger RNAs called 'mRNA polyplexes', which enable the cells that receive them to produce specific proteins. This technique allows greater control of the site in the body to which the polyplexes are delivered, significantly advancing the field of therapeutic mRNA technologies, with applications in vaccine development and the treatment of cancer and other diseases.
Published Study shedding new light on Earth's global carbon cycle could help assess liveability of other planets
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Research has uncovered important new insights into the evolution of oxygen, carbon, and other vital elements over the entire history of Earth -- and it could help assess which other planets can develop life, ranging from plants to animals and humans.
Published Cockayne syndrome: New insights into cellular DNA repair mechanism
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers decode repair mechanism during transcription of genetic information.
Published Machine learning method reveals chromosome locations in individual cell nucleus
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have made a significant advancement toward understanding how the human genome is organized inside a single cell. This knowledge is crucial for analyzing how DNA structure influences gene expression and disease processes.
Published Different means to the same end: How a worm protects its chromosomes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered that a worm commonly used in the study of biology uses a set of proteins unlike those seen in other studied organisms to protect the ends of its DNA.
Published Bringing multidrug-resistant pathogens to their knees
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Multidrug-resistant bacterial infections that cannot be treated by any known antibiotics pose a serious global threat. A research team has now introduced a method for the development of novel antibiotics to fight resistant pathogens. The drugs are based on protein building blocks with fluorous lipid chains.
Published How the moon turned itself inside out
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Linking analyses of the moon's gravity field with models of its earliest evolution, scientists tell a story of the moon turning itself inside out after it solidified from a primordial magma ocean. The process left behind a vestige of dense, titanium-rich material beneath its Earth-facing side that makes its presence known by gravity anomalies.
Published Climate change threatens Antarctic meteorites
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Antarctica harbors a large concentration of meteorites imbuing the icy continent with an unparalleled wealth of information on our solar system. However, these precious meteorites are rapidly disappearing from the ice sheet surface due to global warming, according to a new study.
Published Can language models read the genome? This one decoded mRNA to make better vaccines
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers developed a foundational language model to decode mRNA sequences and optimize those sequences for vaccine development. The tool shows broader promise as a means for studying molecular biology.
Published Neutron stars are key to understanding elusive dark matter
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists may be one step closer to unlocking one of the great mysteries of the universe after calculating that neutron stars might hold a key to helping us understand elusive dark matter.
Published CHEOPS detects a 'rainbow' on an exoplanet
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The CHEOPS space telescope is providing new information on the mysterious exoplanet WASP-76b. This ultra-hot giant is characterized by an asymmetry between the amount of light observed on its eastern terminator -- the fictitious line that separates its night side from its day side -- and that observed on its western terminator. This peculiarity is thought to be due to a 'glory', a luminous phenomenon similar to a rainbow, which occurs if the light from the star -- the 'sun' around which the exoplanet orbits -- is reflected by clouds made up of a perfectly uniform substance. If this hypothesis is confirmed, this would be the first detection of this phenomenon outside our solar system.
Published Heat flows the secret to order in prebiotic molecular kitchen
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Biophysicists have demonstrated how heat flows through rock fissures could have created the conditions for the emergence of life.