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Categories: Chemistry: Biochemistry, Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published World's highest-performance superconducting wire segment
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers report that they have fabricated the world's highest-performing high-temperature superconducting wire segment while making the price-performance metric significantly more favorable.
Published Fishing is causing frightened fish to flee when they should flirt
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Populations of squaretail grouper face an uncertain future as new research shows fishing that targets their spawning sites is causing males to be repeatedly scared away from their territories during their short mating meet-ups. By fleeing for safety, individuals are losing valuable time to catch the eye and court female fish.
Published Social rank may determine if animals live fast, die young
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Social rank may determine whether animals prioritize immediate fitness over long-term health, according to a study. Researchers studied macaques on a Thai island and found that the animals' unusual habit of washing their food is in fact based on social rank. Dominant monkeys quickly brush their food on their fur before eating it, along with mouthfuls of tooth-degrading sand, while lower-ranked monkeys obsessively wash their food in the surf. Citing the disposable soma hypothesis, the researchers suggest that high-ranking macaques are looking to quickly consume energy to mate and fend off challengers. But food-washing monkeys may be preserving their long-term health to produce more offspring over time. The findings could shed light on how the wear observed in the fossilized teeth of early humans relates to social structure.
Published Walking the walk, scientists develop motion-compatible brain scanner
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An upright neuroimaging device developed by neuroscientists, physicists and engineers allows patients to move around while undergoing a brain scan.
Published Dozing at the wheel? Not with these fatigue-detecting earbuds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source To help protect drivers and machine operators from the dangers of drifting off, engineers have created prototype earbuds that can detect the signs of drowsiness in the brain. In a new study, the researchers show that their Ear EEG platform is sensitive enough to detect alpha waves, a pattern of brain activity that increases when you close your eyes or start to fall asleep.
Published Advanced chelators offer efficient and eco-friendly rare earth element recovery
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The world is going to need a lot of weird metals in the coming years, according to chemistry professor. But he isn't talking about lithium, cobalt or even beryllium. He's interested in dysprosium, which is so hidden in the periodic table that you'd be forgiven for thinking he made it up.
Published Stacking molecules like plates improves organic solar device performance
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers found that how well light-converting molecules stack together in a solid is important for how well they convert light into electric current. A rigid molecule that stacked well showed excellent electricity generation in an organic solar cell and photocatalyst, easily outperforming a similar flexible molecule that did not stack well. This new way of improving the design of molecules could be used to pioneer the next generation of light-converting devices.
Published Soft gold enables connections between nerves and electronics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Gold does not readily lend itself to being turned into long, thin threads. But researchers have now managed to create gold nanowires and develop soft electrodes that can be connected to the nervous system. The electrodes are soft as nerves, stretchable and electrically conductive, and are projected to last for a long time in the body.
Published First measurement of electron- and muon-neutrino interaction rates at the highest energy ever detected from an artificial source
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Understanding neutrino interactions is crucial for obtaining a complete picture of particle physics and the universe. To date, neutrino interaction cross sections have not been measured at high energy above some hundred gigaelectronvolts at particle colliders. Now, researchers have obtained the first direct observation of electron and muon neutrino interactions in the Teraelectronvolt range at CERN's Large Hadron Collider, using the FASER detector. This study marks a significant step for particle physics research.
Published Dopamine physiology in the brain unveiled through cutting-edge brain engineering
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered a new correlation between neural signaling in the brain and dopamine signaling in the striatum. The human brain requires fast neural signal processing in a short period of less than a second. Dopamine is known to have the strongest effect on brain neural signals, but the research team's newly developed 'optical neural chip-based multiple brain signal monitoring technology' shows that changes in dopamine signals within the physiological range do not affect brain neural signal processing.
Published Precise package delivery in cells?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed new real-time microscopy technology and successfully observed the behavior of 'motor proteins', which may hold the key to unraveling the efficient material transport strategy of cells.
Published When it comes to DNA replication, humans and baker's yeast are more alike than different
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Humans and baker's yeast have more in common than meets the eye, including an important mechanism that helps ensure DNA is copied correctly, reports a pair of studies. The findings visualize for the first time a molecular complex -- called CTF18-RFC in humans and Ctf18-RFC in yeast -- that loads a 'clamp' onto DNA to keep parts of the replication machinery from falling off the DNA strand.
Published Half a billion-year-old spiny slug reveals the origins of mollusks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Exceptional fossils with preserved soft parts reveal that the earliest mollusks were flat, armored slugs without shells. The new species, Shishania aculeata, was covered with hollow, organic, cone-shaped spines. The fossils preserve exceptionally rare detailed features which reveal that these spines were produced using a sophisticated secretion system that is shared with annelids (earthworms and relatives).
Published Research catalogs greenhouse gas emissions tied to energy use for interbasin water transfers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Much of the water in the West is transported across vast geographical areas by large infrastructure projects known as interbasin water transfers. Two of these projects in particular make up 85% of all energy-related greenhouse gas emissions associated with U.S. interbasin transfers -- one in Arizona and the other in California -- according to the new research.
Published Sustainable catalysts: Crystal phase-controlled cobalt nanoparticles for hydrogenation
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Controlling the crystal phase of cobalt nanoparticles leads to exceptional catalytic performance in hydrogenation processes, scientists report. Produced via an innovative hydrosilane-assisted synthesis method, these phase-controlled reusable nanoparticles enable the selective hydrogenation of various compounds under mild conditions without the use of harmful gases like ammonia. These efforts could lead to more sustainable and efficient catalytic processes across many industrial fields.
Published Engineering researchers crack the code to boost solar cell efficiency and durability
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Photovoltaic (PV) technologies, which convert light into electricity, are increasingly applied worldwide to generate renewable energy. Researchers have now developed a molecular treatment that significantly enhances the efficiency and durability of perovskite solar cells. Their breakthrough will potentially accelerate the large-scale production of this clean energy.
Published Breakthrough in plant disease: New enzyme could lead to anti-bacterial pesticides
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists uncover a pivotal enzyme, XccOpgD, and its critical role in synthesizing C G16, a key compound used by Xanthomonas pathogens to enhance their virulence against plants. This breakthrough opens new avenues for developing targeted pesticides that combat plant diseases without harming beneficial organisms. Insights into XccOpgD's enzymatic mechanism and optimal conditions offer promising prospects for sustainable agriculture, bolstering crop resilience and global food security while minimizing environmental impact.
Published Electrical impedance tomography--extracellular voltage activation technique simplifies drug screening
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Recently, researchers developed a non-invasive method combining electrical impedance tomography and extracellular voltage activation to evaluate drug effects on ion channels. The resulting printed circuit board sensor allows real-time monitoring of how newly developed drugs can affect ion flow in channels, providing a cost-effective and accurate alternative to traditional methods like patch-clamp techniques and paving the way toward more efficient and shorter preclinical testing in the drug discovery process.
Published Proteins as the key to precision medicine: Finding unknown effects of existing drugs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Fewer side effects, improved chances of healing: the goal of precision medicine is to provide patients with the most individualized treatment possible. This requires a precise understanding of what is happening at the cellular level. Researchers have now succeeded in mapping the interactions of 144 active substances with around 8,000 proteins. The results could help to identify previously unknown potential benefits of existing drugs.
Published The next generation of RNA chips
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international research team has succeeded in developing a new version of RNA building blocks with higher chemical reactivity and photosensitivity. This can significantly reduce the production time of RNA chips used in biotechnological and medical research. The chemical synthesis of these chips is now twice as fast and seven times more efficient.