Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Research
Published

Scientists discover new phage resistance mechanism in phage-bacterial arms race      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists describe a new mechanism impacting the phage-bacterial arms race, a nanosized epibiotic parasite, TM7x, which helps its host bacterium (a Schaalia odontolytica strain called XH001) achieve resistance to lytic phages.

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

Scientists grow 'mini kidneys,' revealing new insights into metabolic defects and potential therapy for polycystic kidney disease      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have successfully grown 'mini kidneys' in the lab and grafted them into live mice, revealing new insights into the metabolic defects and a potential therapy for polycystic kidney disease.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
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.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Biochemistry
Published

How mosquito larva guts could help create highly specific insecticides      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Did you know that the world's deadliest animal is the mosquito? And Aedes aegypti is one of the most dangerous. This bug spreads viruses that cause dengue fever, which was recently declared as an epidemic in Puerto Rico. Research reports new molecules that label proteins in the unique, alkaline environment of the Ae. aegypti digestive system that could help scientists develop insecticides to fight back.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Mathematics: Statistics
Published

How scientists are accelerating chemistry discoveries with automation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have developed an automated workflow that could accelerate the discovery of new pharmaceutical drugs and other useful products. The new automated approach could analyze chemical reactions in real time and identify new chemical-reaction products much faster than current laboratory methods.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Trees Environmental: General Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Integrated dataset enables genes-to-ecosystems research      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new dataset bridging molecular information about the poplar tree microbiome to ecosystem-level processes has been released. The project aims to inform research regarding how natural systems function, their vulnerability to a changing climate, and ultimately how plants might be engineered for better performance as sources of bioenergy and natural carbon storage.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

A simple, inexpensive way to make carbon atoms bind together      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The active ingredient in many drugs is what's known as a small molecule: bigger than water, much smaller than an antibody and mainly made of carbon. It's tough, however, to make these molecules if they require a quaternary carbon -- a carbon atom bonded to four other carbon atoms. But now, scientists have uncovered a potential cost-effective way to produce these tricky motifs.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Mathematics: Modeling
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.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

eDNA methods give a real-time look at coral reef health      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The study underscores the crucial role of microbes in maintaining coral reef health, akin to the human gut microbiome. Hurricanes and disease outbreaks affect coral reef water microbial communities, leading to changes that may support further reef decline. Microbial analysis enables prompt assessment of disturbances' impacts on coral reefs, facilitating timely interventions to support reef ecosystems. Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis offers a noninvasive approach to study coral microbial communities and diagnose reef health.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Chemical reactions can scramble quantum information as well as black holes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of researchers has shown that molecules can be as formidable at scrambling quantum information as black holes by combining mathematical tools from black hole physics and chemical physics and testing their theory in chemical reactions.

Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: General
Published

Rapid, simultaneous detection of multiple bacteria achieved with handheld sensor      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team has developed a method for simultaneous detection of multiple disease-causing bacterial species within one hour using a handheld device.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

What four decades of canned salmon reveal about marine food webs      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have shown that levels of anisakid worms -- a common marine parasite -- rose in two salmon species in the Gulf of Alaska and Bristol Bay over a 42-year period. The team discovered this by studying salmon caught, killed and canned from 1979 to 2021. Since anisakid worms have a complex life cycle involving multiple types of hosts, the researchers interpret their rising numbers as a potential sign of ecosystem recovery, possibly driven by rising numbers of marine mammals thanks to the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act.

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

New research offers insight into the future understanding of MS and its treatments      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a new and unique blood test to measure the immune response to the Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) which is the leading risk factor for developing multiple sclerosis (MS). Their findings have implications for future basic research in further understanding the biology of EBV in MS, but also has the potential to be applied in clinical trials that target the virus.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
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.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Microbiology
Published

Microbial signature of colorectal cancer-associated mutations identified in new study      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have connected KRAS mutations in colorectal cancer to microbial signatures in the gut.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry
Published

Physics of complex fluids: Ring polymers show unexpected motion patterns under shear      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international research team is attracting the attention of experts in the field with computational results on the behavior of ring polymers under shear forces: They showed that for the simplest case of connected ring pairs, the type of linkage -- chemically bonded vs. mechanically linked -- has profound effects on the dynamic properties under continuous shear. In these cases novel rheological patterns emerge.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology
Published

'Tug of war' tactic enhances chemical separations for critical materials      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Lanthanide elements are important for clean energy and other applications. To use them, industry must separate mixed lanthanide sources into individual elements using costly, time-consuming, and waste-generating procedures. An efficient new method can be tailored to select specific lanthanides. The technique combines two substances that do not mix and that prefer different types of lanthanides. The process would allow for smaller equipment, less use of chemicals, and less waste production.

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

New tools reveal how genes work and cells organize      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered how certain proteins can attach to special structures in RNA, called G-quadruplexes. Additionally, they have developed computational tools capable of predicting these protein-RNA interactions. The newfound ability to predict these interactions can help future work in understanding molecular pathways in the cell and pave the way for developing drugs targeting these RNA G-quadruplex binding proteins, that are found to be involved in disease such as cancer.