Insulin-producing beta cells from stem cells: Scientists decipher early...
The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and microRNA 335 are instrumental in helping form differentiated progenitor cells from stem cells. These are organized in germ layers and are thus the origin of...
View ArticleMonet's striking cliff by the sea beckons 'celestial sleuths'
Famed French Impressionist Claude Monet created a striking scene of the Normandy coast in his 1883 painting, Étretat: Sunset. Now, a team of Texas State University researchers, led by astronomer and...
View ArticleShape Security develops world's first "botwall"
(Phys.org) —Newly created company Shape Security has announced new technology aimed at combating botnets. Called the ShapeShifter, the product helps protect website owners against website breaches,...
View ArticleFuture solar cells may be made of wood
(Phys.org) —A new kind of paper that is made of wood fibers yet is 96% transparent could be a revolutionary material for next-generation solar cells. Coming from plants, the paper is inexpensive and...
View ArticleMitochondrial ribosome revealed: Structure of large subunit deciphered
Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich have deciphered the structure of part of the ribosome found in mitochondria, the power plants of the cell. The scientists were able to...
View ArticleStatistical methods improve biological single-cell analyses
Stem cells can turn into heart cells, skin cells can mutate to cancer cells; even cells of the same tissue type exhibit small heterogeneities. Scientists use single-cell analysis to investigate these...
View ArticleNew microscopy technique improves imaging at the atomic scale
(Phys.org) —When capturing images at the atomic scale, even tiny movements of the sample can result in skewed or distorted images – and those movements are virtually impossible to prevent. Now...
View ArticleFur and feathers keep animals warm by scattering light
In work that has major implications for improving the performance of building insulation, scientists at the University of Namur in Belgium and the University of Hassan I in Morocco have calculated that...
View ArticleAncient forests stabilized Earth's CO2 and climate
UK researchers have identified a biological mechanism that could explain how the Earth's atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate were stabilised over the past 24 million years. When CO2 levels became...
View ArticleSniffed out: The 'gas detectors' of the plant world
The elusive trigger that allows plants to 'see' the gas nitric oxide (NO), an important signalling molecule, has been tracked down by scientists at The University of Nottingham. It is the first time...
View ArticleA new wrinkle in the control of waves: Flexible materials could provide new...
Flexible, layered materials textured with nanoscale wrinkles could provide a new way of controlling the wavelengths and distribution of waves, whether of sound or light. The new method, developed by...
View ArticleStudy shows size matters in prehistoric seas
Bigger really is better – at least it was for early prehistoric life. A NASA research group featuring University of Toronto Mississauga professor Marc Laflamme has helped to explain why some...
View ArticleExperiments show hypothesis of microtubule steering accurate
Tiny protein motors in cells can steer microtubules in the right direction through branching nerve cell structures, according to Penn State researchers who used laboratory experiments to test a model...
View ArticleQuantum physics in 1-D: New experiment supports long-predicted 'Luttinger...
How would electrons behave if confined to a wire so slender they could pass through it only in single-file?
View ArticleNew genes spring and spread from non-coding DNA
"Where do new genes come from?" is a long-standing question in genetics and evolutionary biology. A new study from researchers at the University of California, Davis, published Jan. 23 in Science...
View ArticleRisky ripples: Frog's love song may summon kiss of death
Male túngara frogs call from puddles to attract females. The production of the call incidentally creates ripples that spread across the water. Researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute...
View ArticleProbing hydrogen catalyst assembly
Biochemical reactions sometimes have to handle dangerous things in a safe way. New work from researchers at UC Davis and Stanford University shows how cyanide and carbon monoxide are safely bound to an...
View Article'Virtual earthquakes' used to forecast Los Angeles quake risk
Stanford scientists are using weak vibrations generated by the Earth's oceans to produce "virtual earthquakes" that can be used to predict the ground movement and shaking hazard to buildings from real...
View ArticleResearchers identify key pathway for plant cell growth
For plants, the only way to grow is for cells to expand. Unlike animals, cell division in plants happens only within a tiny region of the root and stem apex, making cell expansion the critical path to...
View ArticleRX J1532.9+3021: Extreme power of black hole revealed
(Phys.org) —Astronomers have used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and a suite of other telescopes to reveal one of the most powerful black holes known. The black hole has created enormous structures...
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