Antibiotic resistance is a significant and growing medical problem worldwide. Researchers at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) and collaborators have found a novel genetic arrangement that may help a common bacterium in the human gut, Bacteroides fragilis, protect itself from tetracycline, a widely used antibiotic.
Asian elephants loudly mourn and bury their dead calves, according to a study by Indian scientists that details animal behavior reminiscent of human funeral rites.
When facing a daunting dataset, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), known as PCA, can help distill complexity by finding a few meaningful features that explain the most significant proportion of the data variance.
Crown ethers were discovered in 1967. They were then modified by adding a metal-containing unit, creating metallacrown ethers. These metallacrown ethers have been the subject of intensive research. Depending on the molecular makeup of the metallacrown ethers and their resultant architecture, the properties and, therefore, the uses of the metallacrowns can change. They have many different uses currently, and ongoing studies continue to expand their application.
The challenge of regulating the electronic structures of metal single-atoms (M-SAs) with metal nanoparticles (M-NPs) lies in the synthesis of a definite architecture. Such a structure has strong electronic metal-support interactions and maintains electron transport channels to facilitate carbon dioxide photoreduction (CO2PR).
Fiber, as the wearable material with the longest application in the history of humankind, is currently an ideal substrate for wearable devices due to its excellent breathability, flexibility, and ability to adapt perfectly to the 3D irregular shape of the human body. As a means of visualization in the field of functional fibers, light-emitting fiber breaks the rigidity of the traditional display interface and is expected to become an emerging interaction interface.
Quantum materials have generated considerable interest for computing applications in the past several decades, but non-trivial quantum properties—like superconductivity or magnetic spin—remain in fragile states.
Researchers in Imperial College London's Department of Materials have developed a new portable maser that can fit the size of a shoebox.
In day-to-day life, light seems intangible. We walk through it and create and extinguish it with the flip of a switch. But, like matter, light actually carries a little punch—it has momentum. Light constantly nudges things and can even be used to push spacecraft. Light can also spin objects if it carries orbital angular momentum (OAM)—the property associated with a rotating object's tendency to keep spinning.
Human-caused environmental changes threaten natural ecosystems. These ecosystems are essential to creating and maintaining a rich, resilient, and adaptable biosphere. In East Africa's savanna, antelope populations are vital for a healthy and functioning ecosystem.
On October 19th, 2017, astronomers with the Pann-STARRS survey observed an interstellar object passing through our system—1I/2017 U1 'Oumuamua. This was the first time an ISO was detected, confirming that such objects pass through the solar system regularly, as astronomers predicted decades prior. Just two years later, a second object was detected, the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov. Given 'Oumuamua's unusual nature (still a source of controversy) and the information ISOs could reveal about distant star systems... Читать дальше...
If you explore the night sky it won't be long before you realize there is a lot of dust and gas up there. The interstellar dust between the stars accounts for 1% of the mass of the interstellar medium but reflects 30% of the starlight in infrared wavelengths. The dust plays a key role in the formation of stars and the evolution of the galaxy. A team of astronomers has attempted to map the dust out to a distance of 3,000 light years and have just released the first 3D map of the dust in our galaxy.
Three physicists have taken a new look at the circumstances surrounding the mysterious Chinguetti meteorite and developed a means for confirming whether it exists or not. In their paper posted to the arXiv preprint server, Robert Warren, Stephen Warren and Ekaterini Protopapa suggest that there are only a few possible places the meteorite could be and thus a magnetometer-based survey over the region could solve the mystery.
Proteins not only carry out the functions that are critical for the survival of cells, but also influence the development and progression of diseases. To understand their role in health and disease, researchers study the three-dimensional atomic structure of proteins using both experimental and computational methods.
When shifting from the microgravity of a spacecraft to the gravity-rich environment of the moon or Mars, astronauts experience deficits in perceptual and motor functions. The vestibular system in the inner ear, which detects the position and movement of the head, must adjust to reinterpret new gravity cues.
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a common pathogen that can be transmitted from person to person. Long-term H. pylori infection has been recognized as a Class I human carcinogen. Currently, the standard clinical treatments for H. pylori infection (i.e., triple and quadruple therapy) rely on oral antibiotics to clear H. pylori from the stomach.
A chemical etching method for widening the pores of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) could improve various applications of MOFs, including in fuel cells and as catalysts. Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan and East China Normal University in China developed the new method with collaborators elsewhere in Japan, Australia, and China, and their work was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
A collaboration between research groups from ICIQ demonstrate how the presence of an external magnetic field alters the reaction mechanism of the electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction.
Penn Engineers have developed a new means of targeting the lungs with lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), the minuscule capsules used by the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines to deliver mRNA, opening the door to novel treatments for pulmonary diseases like cystic fibrosis.
Is it possible to deduce the shape of a drum from the sounds it makes? This is the kind of question that Iosif Polterovich, a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Université de Montréal, likes to ask. Polterovich uses spectral geometry, a branch of mathematics, to understand physical phenomena involving wave propagation.
Astronomers can use supercomputers to simulate the formation of galaxies from the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago to the present day. But there are a number of sources of error. An international research team, led by researchers in Lund, has spent a hundred million computer hours over eight years trying to correct these.
As silicon-based computer chips approach their physical limitations in the quest for faster and smaller designs, the search for alternative materials that remain functional at atomic scales is one of science's biggest challenges.
Last year's failures of Silicon Valley Bank and two other financial institutions—after panic-driven runs on deposits—have fueled a longstanding debate in bank regulation: How much transparency is too much?
Adhesives are almost always based on fossil raw materials such as petroleum. Researchers at Fraunhofer have recently developed a process that allows to utilize keratin for this purpose. This highly versatile protein compound can be found, for instance, in chicken feathers. Not only can it be used to manufacture a host of different adhesives for a variety of applications, but the processes and end products are also sustainable and follow the basic principles underlying a bioinspired circular economy. Читать дальше...
"The Tale of Genji," often called Japan's first novel, was written 1,000 years ago. Yet it still occupies a powerful place in the Japanese imagination. A popular TV drama, "Dear Radiance"—"Hikaru kimi e"—is based on the life of its author, Murasaki Shikibu: the lady-in-waiting whose experiences at court inspired the refined world of "Genji."
