Новости за 28.03.2024

Scientists have long pondered the beginnings of life on Earth. One theory is that RNA, which is ubiquitous across all domains of life, played a central role in early life. Similar to DNA, RNA possesses the ability to store genetic information. However, to initiate life's processes, early RNA must have also possessed the capability to self-replicate and catalyze biochemical reactions independently, without the assistance of specialized enzymes.

A North Texas county issued a disaster declaration ahead of the April 8 solar eclipse, warning of traffic and potential gridlock as the celestial event ends.

Businesses play a crucial role in building a sustainable future, but it's the passionate individuals within these organizations who often lead the change. Known by many names— tempered radicals, social intrapreneurs, champions, reformers, advocates, activists, and more—these insider social change agents are the driving force behind efforts to tackle social and environmental issues.

South Florida is considered one of the most at-risk areas of the U.S. when it comes to sea-level rise. But what can the region learn from other areas facing similar challenges?

Communities of microbes that live in ocean sediments can consume methane. In oxygen-deprived sediments these microbes form clusters, called aggregates, that can have deposits of silica on their surfaces. It is not clear if these silica deposits result from the activity of methane consuming aggregates, or if their formation is unrelated to biological processes.

Future quantum computers could be based on electrons floating above liquid helium, according to study by a RIKEN physicist and collaborators, appearing in Physical Review Applied.

To shed light on the principles that govern tissue dynamics across species, RIKEN biologists have developed a new method for analyzing the development of vertebrate limbs. These principles could help guide the development of artificial organs known as organoids. The study is published in the journal Nature Communications.

Zinc–nitrate batteries are a primary non-rechargeable energy storage system that utilizes the redox potential difference between zinc and nitrate ions to store and release electrical energy. A research team co-led by chemists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) have developed a high-performance rechargeable zinc–nitrate/ethanol battery by introducing an innovative catalyst.

A research group led by Prof. Li Xiangyang from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has theoretically predicted a series of multiferroic materials that can be applied in room-temperature environments by utilizing the d-p spin coupling combined with center-symmetry-breaking organic heterocycles in two-dimensional (2D) Cr-based metal-organic frameworks.

The radiation detectors used today for applications like inspecting cargo ships for smuggled nuclear materials are expensive and cannot operate in harsh environments, among other disadvantages. Now, MIT engineers have demonstrated a fundamentally new way to detect radiation that could allow much cheaper detectors and a plethora of new applications.

Metalenses, nano-artificial structures capable of manipulating light, offer a technology that can significantly reduce the size and thickness of traditional optical components. Particularly effective in the near-infrared region, this technology holds great promise for various applications such as LiDAR which is called the "eyes of the self-driving car," miniature drones, and blood vessel detectors.

Rice University engineers have demonstrated a way to control the optical properties of atomic imperfections in silicon material known as T centers, paving the way toward leveraging these point defects for building quantum nodes for large-scale quantum networks.

Researchers at Leipzig University and Ulm University have developed a new method to isolate HIV from samples more easily, potentially making it easier to detect infection with the virus. They focus on peptide nanofibrils (PNFs) on magnetic microparticles, a promising tool and hybrid material for targeted binding and separation of viral particles. They have published their new findings in Advanced Functional Materials.

Branching patterns are prevalent in our natural environment and the human body, such as in the lungs and kidneys. For example, specific genes that express growth factor proteins are known to influence the development of the lungs' complex branches. Still, until now the mechanics behind this phenomenon have remained a mystery.

New DNA sequencing technologies have identified the historical remains of George Washington's grandnephews, Samuel Walter Washington and George Steptoe Washington Jr., and their mother, Lucy Payne Washington, from unmarked, fragmentary bones left at the Harewood family cemetery in Charles Town, West Virginia, in the mid-1800s.

What did an ancient Chinese emperor from 1,500 years ago look like? A team of researchers reconstructed the face of Chinese Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou using DNA extracted from his remains.

A breakthrough in sustainable molecular transformations has been achieved by researchers at the University of Helsinki. Led by Professor Pedro Camargo, the team has developed an important way to harness the power of visible light to drive chemical processes with greater efficiencies, offering a greener alternative to traditional methods.

The ALMA radio telescope has detected more than 100 molecular species, including many indicative of different star formation and evolution processes, in a galaxy where stars are forming much more actively than in the Milky Way. This is far more molecules than were found in previous studies. Now the team will try to apply this knowledge to other galaxies. The research is published in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series.

A team of scientists from Columbia, Nanjing University, Princeton, and the University of Munster, writing in the journal Nature, have presented the first experimental evidence of collective excitations with spin called chiral graviton modes (CGMs) in a semiconducting material.

A new study greatly reduces uncertainty in climate change predictions, a move economists say could save the world trillions in adaptations for a hotter future. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, considers dozens of climate models from different countries that differ in the magnitude of global warming they predict to occur by the end of the century.

Dr. Cheol-Woo Ahn, leading a research team at the Department of Functional Ceramics within the Ceramic Materials Division at the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), has developed the world's first heat dissipation material. This material reduces hydrophilicity through a chemical reaction that forms a nanocrystalline composite layer and increases thermal conductivity by controlling point defects. This process occurs during a simple sintering process that does not require surface treatment.

Scientists have resolved one of the outstanding questions about one of the world's most recognizable creatures, identifying two well-known killer whales in the North Pacific Ocean as separate species. The research is published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

A University at Buffalo–led research team is developing new catalysts that aim to turn climate-warming methane emissions into useful commercial products.

When you need to measure white blood cell counts, it usually involves trips to clinics and expensive equipment for analysis. Likewise, checking water quality for contaminants can be a lengthy process.

The decay of ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a crucial mechanism for controlling gene expression in response to environmental stresses. Researchers from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) and the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) have developed a statistical approach that allows a more accurate prediction of RNA half-lives in bacteria.