Новости за 23.09.2021

Cancer is a devastating disease and is the second leading cause of death in the U.S. One of the hallmarks of cancer is genomic instability, or the tendency to accumulate mutations and damage to the DNA that leads to genome alterations during cell division. DNA mutations can arise from exposure to ultraviolet or X-ray radiation or from certain chemicals known as carcinogens; however, our cells have developed mechanisms to monitor and repair damaged DNA.

Footprints found at White Sands National Park in New Mexico provide the earliest unequivocal evidence of human activity in the Americas and offer insight into life over 23,000 years ago.

An international team of researchers led by the University of Huddersfield's Archaeogenetics Research Group, including geneticists, archeological scientists, and archeologists, has published the genome sequence of a unique individual from Islamic medieval Spain—al-Andalus—the results of which have shed light on a brutal event that took place in medieval Spain.

No language has words for all the blues of a wind-churned sea or the greens and golds of a wildflower meadow in late summer. Globally, different languages have divvied up the world of color using their own set of labels, from just a few to dozens.

A new miniature satellite designed and built at CU Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) is providing proof that "cute" things can take on big scientific challenges.

Long-lasting protection from corrosion is essential for materials used for vehicles and aircraft to ensure structural integrity amid extreme operating conditions. Two chemical pre-treatment processes are widely used in industrial settings to prepare for coating adhesion and protect aluminum alloy surfaces against corrosion. While highly regulated, both processes use large quantities of hazardous compounds with known environmental and health risks.

When we reflect on our past behavior and decisions, we can normally identify both occasions where we have been true to ourselves, i.e. acted authentically, as well as times when we have done things in a way that doesn't align with who we believe we are. However, how do these recollections translate onto the story of who we are that we tell ourselves every day?

The control and measurement of asserted forces on small objects are frequently seen in micromanipulation, material science, and biological and medical applications. Researchers in China have proposed for the first time the microprinting of a novel fiber-tip-polymer clamped-beam probe micro-force sensor for the examination of biological samples. This approach opens new avenues towards the realization of small-footprint AFMs, and the proposed sensor has great application prospects for examining biological... Читать дальше...

Chinese scientists recently reported a de novo route for artificial starch synthesis from carbon dioxide (CO2) for the first time. Relevant results were published in Science on Sept. 24.

Researchers can predict what syllables a bird will sing—and when it will sing them—by reading electrical signals in its brain, reports a new study from the University of California San Diego.

Vampire bats that form bonds in captivity and continue those "friendships" in the wild also hunt together, meeting up over a meal after independent departures from the roost, according to a new study.

Two University of Wyoming researchers are part of the first-ever mapping of magnetic stripes—one of the foundations of plate tectonics—within the lower gabbroic section of fast-spreading oceanic crust.

High stable common-path digital holographic interferometers can be widely applied in long-term time-lapsing interferometric measurements, three-dimensional imaging, and quantitative phase imaging. Scientists in China reviewed the common-path off-axis digital holography and categorized the common-path models into lateral shearing, point diffraction and other types, and summarized the progress of this topic in detail. Benefiting from compact features, common-path digital holography is very promising... Читать дальше...

Engineers at the University of Cincinnati are developing new ways to convert greenhouse gases to fuel to address climate change and get astronauts home from Mars.

The global decline of pollinators threatens the reproductive success of 90 per cent of all wild plants globally and the yield of 85 per cent of the world's most important crops. Pollinators—mainly bees and other insects—contribute to 35 per cent of the world's food production. The service provided by pollinators is particularly important for securing food produced by the more than two billion small farmers worldwide. An agroecologist at the University of Göttingen points out that yields could be increased if pollinators were encouraged. Читать дальше...

Atomic nuclei have only two ingredients, protons and neutrons, but the relative number of these ingredients makes a radical difference in their properties. Certain configurations of protons and neutrons, with "magic numbers" of protons or neutrons arranged into filled shells within the nucleus, are more strongly bound than others. The rare nuclei with complete proton and neutron shells, which are termed doubly magic, exhibit particularly enhanced binding energy and are excellent test cases for studies of nuclear properties.

Plants adapt to their nutritional needs by modifying the permeability of their roots through the production or degradation of a cork-like layer called suberin. By studying the regulation of this protective layer in Arabidopsis thaliana, an international team, led by scientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, has discovered four molecular factors responsible for the genetic activation of suberin. The identification of these factors allowed the production of plants with roots that are continuously covered—or... Читать дальше...

Quantum secure direct communication (QSDC) based on entanglement can directly transmit confidential information. Scientist in China explored a QSDC network based on time-energy entanglement and sum-frequency generation. The results show that when any two users are performing QSDC over 40 kilometers of optical fiber, and the rate of information transmission can be maintained at 1Kbp/s. Our result lays the foundation for the realization of satellite-based long-distance and global QSDC in the future.

A new study finds that that some large whale species (humpback, fin and minke whales) use the waters off New York and New Jersey as a supplemental feeding area feasting on two different types of prey species.

An international team of astronomers has not only detected clouds on the distant exoplanet WASP-127b, but also measured their altitude with unprecedented precision. A presentation by Dr. Romain Allart at the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2021 shows how, by combining data from a space- and a ground-based telescope, the team has been able to reveal the upper structure of the planet's atmosphere. This paves the way for similar studies of many other faraway worlds.

Men and women often have differing views around the expected norms for romantic relationships, consent and sexual activity, and the messages and images they consume on social media may play a role in shaping those perceptions, according to a new study from the University of Georgia.

For the past 150 years, humans have pumped extraordinary amounts of greenhouse gasses, such as CO2, into the atmosphere and warmed the planet at an alarming rate. To slow down climate change, societies tend to focus on two solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions: improving energy efficiency and developing and using renewable energy sources. United States President Joe Biden's climate agenda includes a large effort to upgrade buildings to be more efficient and proposes investing billions of dollars for clean energy research. Читать дальше...

Oceans play a key role in the global carbon dioxide balance. This is because billions of tiny algae live there, absorbing carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and incorporating it into their biomass. When these algae die, they trickle down—along with the excretions of microscopic creatures that feed on them—as "marine snow" into deeper zones. About one percent of their carbon dioxide then lies buried in the seafloor for thousands of years.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended much stricter limits for air pollutants on Wednesday.

The apparent increase in hormone-induced cancers and disorders of the reproductive tract has led to a growing demand for new technologies capable of detecting nanogram per liter level endocrine disruptors. Scientists in China invented an ultracompact optical fiber biosensor displaying superfine plasmonic spectral combs and enhanced by conjugate-induced bio-amplification, which showed the limit of detection down to 1.5 ng l-1 estradiol equivalent concentration. The technique has the potential to revolutionize environmental and health monitoring.