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Categories: Biology: Microbiology, Engineering: Graphene

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The repair of damage to genetic material (DNA) in the human body is carried out by highly efficient mechanisms that have not yet been fully researched. A scientific team has now discovered a previously unrecognized control point for these processes. This could lead to a new approach for the development of cancer therapies aimed at inhibiting the repair of damaged cancer cells.

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Researchers have developed a neural implant that provides information about activity deep inside the brain while sitting on its surface. The implant is made up of a thin, transparent and flexible polymer strip that is packed with a dense array of graphene electrodes. The technology, tested in transgenic mice, brings the researchers a step closer to building a minimally invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) that provides high-resolution data about deep neural activity by using recordings from the brain surface.

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Recent findings have identified a potential new link to signs of skin aging -- the skin microbiome, the collection of microorganisms that inhabits our skin.

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Scientists have long known that some viruses and bacteria begin infections by latching first onto sugar molecules on the surfaces of cells lining the sinuses and throat of mammals, including humans. Viral particles, for instance, can attach to these molecules, called sialic acids, or SAs, like keys fitting into locks.

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Scientists have succeeded in the stabilization and direct imaging of small clusters of noble gas atoms at room temperature. This achievement opens up exciting possibilities for fundamental research in condensed matter physics and applications in quantum information technology. The key to this breakthrough was the confinement of noble gas atoms between two layers of graphene.

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Phosphorus is essential for undisturbed plant growth and development. However, in many soils, phosphorus is only poorly available. One mechanism used by plants to increase phosphorus availability is the release of malate, an organic acid, which can form complexes with iron or aluminium in the soil, thereby liberating sorbed phosphate. However, this response can also result in iron overaccumulation, which can inhibit root growth.

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Researchers discovered that plants manage iron deficiency without helping 'bad' bacteria thrive by eliminating the molecular signal for iron deficiency, and that the iron deficiency signaling pathway and the plant immune system are deeply intertwined. Their findings provide a new target for boosting plant resilience in the face of climate change, and offer new insight into plant and animal microbiomes.

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The genomic analysis of 52 Psilocybe specimens includes 39 species that have never been sequenced. Psilocybe arose much earlier than previously thought -- about 65 million years ago -- and the authors found that psilocybin was first synthesized in mushrooms in the genus Psilocybe. Their analysis revealed two distinct gene orders within the gene cluster that produces psilocybin. The two gene patterns correspond to an ancient split in the genus, suggesting two independent acquisitions of psilocybin in its evolutionary history. The study is the first to reveal such a strong evolutionary pattern within the gene sequences underpinning the psychoactive proteins synthesis.

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With DNA recovered from animal tracks, scientists revealed information about the ancestry and microbial community of bobcats without having to sample the animal directly.

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An experimental study has shown that a type of skin bacterium can efficiently be engineered to produce a protein to regulate sebum production. This application could treat acne without compromising the homeostasis of the entire skin microbiome.

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Researchers have carried out complex genetic analyses of hundreds of pigs and humans to identify differences and similarities. This new knowledge can be used to ensure healthier pigs for farmers and can help the pharmaceutical industry breed better laboratory pigs for testing new medicines.

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From a wartime spread of antimicrobial resistant disease in Ukraine, to superbugs in China causing 'white lung' pneumonia in children, 2023 brought no shortage of new evidence that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continues to be a pressing problem globally, and this pattern shows no sign of abating in 2024 unless a radical shift occurs. To truly tackle the issue of AMR, researchers with the Global Strategy Lab (GSL) argue it needs to be understood as a socio-ecological challenge that accepts AMR as a phenomenon stemming from natural evolutionary processes. In other words, the war on bugs can't be won; what's needed is a major change in how people live with it.

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Researchers have discovered a molecular 'barcode' system used by disease-causing bacteria to distinguish between beneficial and toxic molecules.

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Scientists have found naturally occurring pathogenic fungi infecting the Eucalyptus snout beetle in Eucalyptus forest plantations, and characterized them to develop a bio-pesticide for controlling the beetle.

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Researchers have developed a new AI-powered algorithm to help understand how different cells organize themselves into particular tissues and communicate with one another.

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Some bacterial membrane transporters work almost like freight elevators to transport substances through the cell membrane into the interior of the cell. The transporter itself spans the bacterial membrane. Like a forklift, a soluble protein outside the bacterium transports the substance to the 'elevator' and unloads its cargo there. The freight elevator transports it to the inside of the cell, in other words to another floor.

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A groundbreaking study has found that evolution is not as unpredictable as previously thought, which could allow scientists to explore which genes could be useful to tackle real-world issues such as antibiotic resistance, disease and climate change. The study challenges the long-standing belief about the unpredictability of evolution, and has found that the evolutionary trajectory of a genome may be influenced by its evolutionary history, rather than determined by numerous factors and historical accidents.

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Scientists have created analogs of the antibiotic spectinomycin that are significantly more effective against these highly resistant bacteria.

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The dynamic lifecycle of the malaria parasite means that the density of the Plasmodium can suddenly drop below the level of detection in asymptomatic people -- especially when older, less sensitive tests are used. Such fluctuations can make it difficult, when testing only at a single point in time, to determine if an apparently healthy person is in fact infected.

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Scientists have engineered the microbiome of plants for the first time, boosting the prevalence of 'good' bacteria that protect the plant from disease. The findings could substantially reduce the need for environmentally destructive pesticides.