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UrduWhile DNA provides the genetic recipe book for biological form and function, it is the job of the body’s proteins to carry out the complex commands dictated by DNA’s genetic code. Stuart Lindsay, a researcher at the Biodesign Institute at…
Tag: BIOMECHANICS/BIOPHYSICS
Arctic rotifer lives after 24,000 years in a frozen state
Bdelloid rotifers are multicellular animals so small you need a microscope to see them. Despite their size, they’re known for being tough, capable of surviving through drying, freezing, starvation, and low oxygen. Now, researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology…
Space travel weakens our immune systems: Now scientists may know why
Final study by UCSF astronaut points to Treg cells as the culprit
How to retard time for cells
Heavy water makes biological clocks tick more slowly
Yale-NUS College scientist discovers how leafbirds make complex color-producing crystals
These mind-bendingly complex crystals called the single gyroid, found in blue-winged leafbirds, have the potential to make fiber optics, solar cells and fuel cells more efficient
Researchers reveal the inner workings of a viral DNA-packaging motor
Trilogy of papers provide insight into a critical step in how some viruses reproduce
Computer simulations visualize in atomic detail how DNA opens
Researchers from the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht (The Netherlands) and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Münster (Germany) used computer simulations to reveal in atomic detail how a short piece of DNA opens while it is tightly wrapped…
Cancer-promoting Ras protein exists in a pair within cells
Researchers from Bochum and Osnabrück have gained new insights into the structure of the Ras protein, which acts as a molecular switch for cell growth and is involved in the development of cancer. With the help of fluorescence markings, they…
Researchers learn how swimming ducks balance water pressure in their feathers while diving
A team of students working with Jonathan Boreyko, associate professor in mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech, has discovered the method ducks use to suspend water in their feathers while diving, allowing them to shake it out when surfacing. The discovery…
A sticky subject: Studying shellfish for advanced adhesives
Don’t look now, but you’re surrounded. Really. Within arm’s reach – probably even touching you – are troublesome, sticky, potentially even toxic, substances. Bad for the planet, permanent, maybe even bad for your health. They’re in your shoes, in your…
Hi-CO unravels the complex packing of nucleosomes
High-resolution genome structural analyses combined with large-scale simulations show the arrangements of the genome’s spool-like structures affecting gene expression
Innovative technologies to develop cancer and virus biomarkers
Politecnico di Torino’s ANFIBIO project will develop a set of technologies and advanced sensors to detect and quantify cancer and viral bio-markers in bodily fluids, making simpler, faster and more economical the diagnosis of many diseases
Detecting skin disorders based on tissue stiffness with a soft sensing device
By putting a piece of soft, strain-sensing sheet on the skin may be able to detect skin disorders non-invasively and in real-time very soon. A research team co-led by a scientist from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has designed…
Proton’s travel route in polymers could lead the way to clean fuels
Researchers explore proton transport in thin film polymers containing various concentrations of an organic acid group found in biomaterials
Watch me move it, move it: Gliding structure in Mycoplasma mobile revealed
Researchers detect internal motor structure of Mycoplasma mobile using high-speed atomic force microscopy
Recruiting bacteria to build catalysts atom by atom
Exploiting the unusual metal-reducing ability of the iron-breathing bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens, KAUST researchers have demonstrated a cheap and reliable way to synthesize highly active single-atom catalysts. The innovation, which could dramatically improve the efficiency and cost of hydrogen production from…
Global microbiome study discovers thousands of new species, maps urban antimicrobial resistance and reveals new drug candidates
NEW YORK (May 26, 2021) — About 12,000 bacteria and viruses collected in a sampling from public transit systems and hospitals around the world from 2015 to 2017 had never before been identified, according to a study by the International…
Key early steps in gene expression captured in real time by CSU researchers
Capturing how RNA polymerase enzymes kick off transcription
Deciphering structure of a toxic matter that destroys the nerves in the brain
Alzheimer’s disease – also called dementia – where memory and cognitive functions gradually decline due to deformation and death of neurons, and Parkinson’s disease that causes tremors in hands and arms impeding normal movement are major neurodegenerative diseases. Recently, a…
The world’s smallest fruit picker controlled by artificial intelligence
Physicists from DTU have studied whether valuable chemical substances can be harvested directly from the cells of plants. Using a harvester measuring only a few microns, they have now achieved a technological breakthrough
Dive bombing killer flies are so fast they lose steering control
Killer flies can reach accelerations of over 3g when aerial diving to catch their prey – but at such high speeds they often miss because they can’t correct their course. These are the findings of a study by researchers at…
Scientists to present new findings on atoms, molecules, and optics
Quantum choreography, ultraprecise clocks, memory boosters, and related research will debut at the 2021 DAMOP Annual Meeting
Building a better LED bulb
UH researchers’ new prototype LED lightbulb emits less of that troublesome blue light
Researchers seek deeper understanding on how cells in the body operate
An interdisciplinary team seeks to better understand how the mechanical properties of cells operate in the body and how pathologies can disrupt these processes.
Implantable piezoelectric polymer improves controlled release of drugs
Repeated tests showed a similar amount of drug release per activation, confirming robust control of release rate
How tendons become stiffer and stronger
Tendons are what connect muscles to bones. They are relatively thin but have to withstand enormous forces. Tendons need a certain elasticity to absorb high loads, such as mechanical shock, without tearing. In sports involving sprinting and jumping, however, stiff…
Finer touch for tuning stem cell “fate” with substrates of varying stiffness
Quantitative control over localization of key proteins in mesenchymal stem cells
Face masks effectively limit SARS-CoV-2 transmission
‘Don’t forget the mask’ – although most people nowadays follow this advice, professionals express different opinions about the effectiveness of face masks.
Telling up from down: How marine flatworms learn to sense gravity
Zoologists explore the mechanism and development of gravity-sensing ability in marine acoel flatworms
Promoting young talent in Chemistry: New research training group launched at MLU
The Research Training Group (RTG) 2670 “Beyond Amphiphilicity: Self-organisation of soft matter via multiple noncovalent interactions” has begun its work at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). Amphiphilicity, a fundamental ordering principle for molecules, will be the starting point of the…
Innovating power generation where ‘a river runs through it’
Lehigh University mechanical engineering and mechanics professor Keith Moored partners on multi-institutional hydrofoil turbine project that could help generate cleaner, more cost-effective energy for cities and rural communities alike
Lehigh Engineering PhD students earn prestigious STEM research fellowships from NSF, DoD
Rossin College PhD students Mari-Therese Burton (materials science and engineering) and Nicole Malofsky (bioengineering) have been selected for prestigious national STEM research fellowships. Malofsky, who is advised by Lesley Chow , an assistant professor of bioengineering and materials science and…
Understanding light-activated proteins in order to improve them
Today, proteins that can be controlled with light are a widely used tool in research to specifically switch certain functions on and off in living organisms. Channelrhodopsins are often used for the technique known as optogenetics: When exposed to light,…
Opening up possibilities with open-top optofluidic device
Co-planar optoelectrowetting device allows for droplet access from above that increases microfluidic input/output system integration configurations while achieving faster droplet speeds
Research suggests fly brains make predictions, possibly using universal design principles
Flies predict changes in their visual environment in order to execute evasive maneuvers, according to new research from the University of Chicago. This reliance on predictive information to guide behavior suggests that prediction may be a general feature of animal…
Long search finds grain of hope in the glume
Researchers have found the elusive genetic element controlling the elongated grains and glumes of a wheat variety identified by the renowned botanist Carl Linnaeus more than 250 years ago. The findings relating to Polish wheat, Triticum polonicum, could translate into…
COVID-19 testing method gives results within one second
Superfast, portable COVID-19 testing method detects the virus much faster than currently available methods
Embryo cryopreservation minimizes cryoinjuries, offers hope for would-be parents
Microfluidics system automates loading of cryoprotectants in IVF embryos before freezing them
Novel simulation method predicts blood flow conditions behind von Willebrand disease
Lehigh University researchers’ breakthrough could advance diagnosis and treatment of bleeding disorder and lead to improved design of left ventricular assist devices used in heart failure patients
How x-rays could make reliable, rapid COVID-19 tests a reality
An imaging technique pioneered by Berkeley Lab is helping reveal the best antibodies for COVID-19 detection
Adding antibodies to enhance photodynamic therapy for viral and bacterial disease
Advancing PDT as a rapid response to pandemics
The secret life of bee signals can communicate colony health
Recording the electrostatic energy of honeybee hives offers a ‘canary in the coalmine’ look into ecosystem threats and environmental conditions
A sweet solution to hard brain implants
Study uses sugar to make and deliver pudding-like brain implants that reduce foreign body response
Using 4D printing to enable vascularization, bone tissue regeneration, spinal fusion
4D printing helps create a biomimetic microchannel scaffold made of collagen and hydroxyapatite.
Phase transition inside the nucleus provides oncogenic function to mutant p53 in cancer
Researchers at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro discover a crucial link between phase transition (aggregation) and cancer pathology
Oceans’ microscopic plants — diatoms — capture carbon dioxide via biophysical pathways
Diatoms are tiny unicellular plants — no bigger than half a millimeter — which inhabit the surface water of the world’s oceans where sunlight penetration is plenty. Despite their modest size, they are one of the world’s most powerful resources…
Baby mantis shrimp don’t pull their punches
Tiny pugilists give scientists a clear view of their lock and spring elbows
Polymer-based coatings on metallic implants improve bone-implant integration
Polysaccharide and protein-based coatings on metallic implants increase bone tendency to attach on implants, prevent loosening and bacterial invasion
Structure gives insight into how plants keep their “mouths” shut
Stomata, formed by a pair of kidney-shaped guard cells, are tiny pores in leaves. They act like mouths that plants use to “eat” and “breathe.” When they open, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) enters the plant for photosynthesis and oxygen…
New research finds advanced shoe technology reduces top race times for elite athletes
For elite runners competing in long-distance races, every second counts. So when Nike introduced “advanced shoe technology” in 2017, questions arose about whether the new design would significantly affect performances in professional sports. A new paper published in Frontiers in…