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

How does HIV get into the cell's cenetr to kickstart infection?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

UNSW Sydney medical scientists have cracked a mystery whose solution has long eluded researchers. UNSW Sydney medical scientists have cracked a mystery whose solution has long eluded researchers.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Shining a light on the hidden properties of quantum materials      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Certain materials have desirable properties that are hidden and scientists can use light to uncover these properties. Researchers have used an advanced optical technique, based on terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, to learn more about a quantum material called Ta2NiSe5 (TNS).

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

Study in mice uncovers new protective benefit of breast milk      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An immune component of breast milk known as the complement system shapes the gut environment of infant mice in ways that make them less susceptible to certain disease-causing bacteria, according to a new study.

Biology: Microbiology
Published

Foodborne-pathogen Listeria may hide from sanitizers in biofilms      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An estimated 1,600 people in the U.S. contract a serious infection from Listeria bacteria in food each year and, of those individuals, about 260 people die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers may now better understand how the bacteria, called Listeria monocytogenes, survive and persist in fruit-packing plants by evading and surviving sanitizers.

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

Innovative microscopy technique reveals secrets of lipid synthesis inside cells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have made a pivotal discovery in the field of cellular microscopy. The team has successfully developed Two-Color Infrared Photothermal Microscopy (2C-IPM), a novel technology designed to investigate neutral lipids within lipid droplets of living cells. This new microscopy can be used with isotope labeling, which allows for the detailed monitoring of neutral lipid synthesis within individual lipid droplets.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Computer Science: Quantum Computers Engineering: Graphene Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Researchers add a 'twist' to classical material design      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers grew a twisted multilayer crystal structure for the first time and measured the structure's key properties. The twisted structure could help researchers develop next-generation materials for solar cells, quantum computers, lasers and other devices.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers
Published

Misinformation and irresponsible AI -- experts forecast how technology may shape our near future      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

From misinformation and invisible cyber attacks, to irresponsible AI that could cause events involving multiple deaths, expert futurists have forecast how rapid technology changes may shape our world by 2040.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Mathematics: General Mathematics: Modeling Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

What coffee with cream can teach us about quantum physics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new advancement in theoretical physics could, one day, help engineers develop new kinds of computer chips that might store information for longer in very small objects.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

'Talking' tomatoes: How their communication is influenced by enemies and friends      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Plants produce a range of chemicals known as volatile organic compounds that influence their interactions with the world around them. In a new study, researchers investigated how the type and amount of these VOCs change based on different features of tomato plants.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology
Published

Syphilis-like diseases were widespread in Americas before arrival of Columbus, researchers find      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered the genetic material of the pathogen Treponema pallidum in the bones of people who died in Brazil 2,000 years ago. This is the oldest verified discovery of this pathogen thus far, and it proves that humans were suffering from diseases akin to syphilis -- known as treponematoses -- long before Columbus's discovery of America. The new findings call into question previous theories concerning the spread of syphilis by the Spanish conquistadors.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Microbiology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils
Published

New pieces in the puzzle of first life on Earth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Microorganisms were the first forms of life on our planet. The clues are written in 3.5 billion-year-old rocks by geochemical and morphological traces, such as chemical compounds or structures that these organisms left behind. However, it is still not clear when and where life originated on Earth and when a diversity of species developed in these early microbial communities. Evidence is scarce and often disputed. Now, researchers have uncovered key findings about the earliest forms of life. In rock samples from South Africa, they found evidence dating to around 3.42 billion years ago of an unprecedentedly diverse carbon cycle involving various microorganisms. This research shows that complex microbial communities already existed in the ecosystems during the Palaeoarchaean period.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Ecology: Endangered Species Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

New study unveils how plants control the production of reactive oxygen species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Reactive oxygen species (ROS), though generally regarded as toxic byproducts of biological processes, serve many important functions in plants. However, the precise mechanism that plants use to regulate the production of ROS remains elusive. In a recent study, researchers clarified how an important ROS-generating enzyme is activated, revealing mechanisms likely conserved across all land plants. Their findings could pave the way for breakthroughs in agricultural and environmental remediation tools.

Biology: Botany Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General
Published

Study offers rare long-term analysis of techniques for creating standing dead trees for wildlife habitat      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ecologists have long known that standing dead trees, commonly referred to as snags, are an important habitat element for forest dwellers and act as a driver of biodiversity. They're so important that in some managed forests, snag creation is part of the conservation tool kit -- i.e., crews sometimes convert a percentage of live trees into dead ones through techniques ranging from sawing off their tops to wounding their trunks to injecting them with disease-causing fungi.

Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature
Published

When conditions cool down, a bacterial prey species becomes the predator      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a new study, two species of bacteria grown in a lab reversed their predator-prey relationship after one species was grown at a lower temperature.

Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Complex green organisms emerged a billion years ago      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Of all the organisms that photosynthesize, land plants have the most complex form. How did this morphology emerge? A team of scientists has taken a deep dive into the evolutionary history of morphological complexity in streptophytes, which include land plants and many green algae. Their research allowed them to go back in time to investigate lineages that emerged long before land plants existed.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Environmental: General Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Don't overeat: How archaea toggle the nitrogen-uptake switch      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

By tightly regulating nitrogen uptake, microorganisms avoid overeating nitrogen and thus wasting energy. Scientists now reveal how some methanogenic archaea manage to do so.

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

Single-celled kamikazes spearhead bacterial infection      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

You suddenly feel sick -- pathogenic bacteria have managed to colonize and spread in your body! The weapons they use for their invasion are harmful toxins that target the host's defense mechanisms and vital cell functions. Before these deadly toxins can attack host cells, bacteria must first export them from their production site -- the cytoplasm -- using dedicated secretion systems.