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Study shows freezing protein samples before X-ray analysis distorts structure

A new study by researchers at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the University of California Irvine shows that the conformation of proteins can be significantly distorted by the practice of freezing with liquid nitrogen preparatory to analysis by X-ray crystallography.

How ‘ice needles’ weave patterns of stones in frozen landscapes

Nature is full of repeating patterns that are part of the beauty of our world. An international team, including a researcher from the University of Washington, used modern tools to explain repeating patterns of stones that form in cold landscapes.

What makes us human? The answer may be found in overlooked DNA

Lund University has issued the following press release: Our DNA is very similar to that of the chimpanzee, which in evolutionary terms is our closest living relative.

New technique, effective in mice, could help advance the use of probiotics

Scientists studying probiotics, beneficial bacteria that show promise for their ability to treat inflammatory bowel disease and other intestinal disorders, continue to face a problem: how to keep probiotics from getting obliterated in the gut before they can be helpful.

Plant-eating lizards on the cusp of tooth evolution

Researchers at the Universities of Helsinki and Lyon and the Geological Survey of Finland found that complex teeth, a hallmark of mammals, also evolved several times in reptiles, prompting the evolutionary success of plant-eating lizards. However, contrary to mammals their tooth evolution was not unidirectional.

How human disease-causing genes prevent adaptations to remove them

Researchers have shed new light on evolutionary processes in the last 50,000 years that have allowed some disease-causing genes to persist in human populations.

Titan’s river maps may advise Dragonfly’s sedimental journey

With future space exploration in mind, a Cornell-led team of astronomers has published the final maps of Titan’s liquid methane rivers and tributaries – as seen by NASA’s late Cassini mission – so that may help provide context for Dragonfly’s upcoming 2030s expedition.

Prehistoric shrimp discovered after heavy rains in Arizona

Discovery is similar to fossils from Devonian period

The weed in winter: How plants detect seasonal changes

Plants know winter is coming. But exactly how they detect this seasonal change has never been clear.

New research spotlights promise of isotype-specific monoclonal antibodies against Rift Valley Fever

Recent advances in the development of monoclonal antibodies have shown promise in the treatment of infectious diseases.

BioRad's new, broader antibody test promises to improve COVID-19 detection, treatment

A new blood assay, designed to detect four different antibodies associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, promises to increase diagnostic accuracy and to help researchers understand the spread of COVID-19.

British professor takes up cause of Francis Bacon, scientific revolutionary

How should we think about historical figures who continue to be relevant to philosophical, scientific and political thinking today?

U.S., British scientists develop automated program to assist in estimating physical properties from molecular simulation

An automated framework can help scientists in predicting the properties of materials from molecular simulations and are important in making it faster and easier to to understand biological and chemical phenomena, according to a research team.

University College London research team develops model to examine mitochondrial DNA mutations

How natural selection eliminates harmful mitochondrial DNA mutations in mammalian egg cells (oocytes) is a subject of current scientific debate and is under examination by a London university research team.

NREL, Mines insight could lead to better silicon solar panels

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Colorado School of Mines are applying a new technique to identify defects in silicon solar cells that cause a drop in efficiency.

Electrical control over designer quantum materials

In the past few years, suitably engineered stacks of two-dimensional materials have emerged as a powerful platform for studying quantum correlations between electronic states. ETH physicists now demonstrate how key properties of such systems can be conveniently tuned by changing an applied electrical field.

Roman noblewoman’s tomb reveals secrets of ancient concrete resilience

Over time, concrete cracks and crumbles. Well, most concrete cracks and crumbles. Structures built in ancient Rome are still standing, exhibiting remarkable durability despite conditions that would devastate modern concrete.

Popular theory of Native American origins debunked by genetics and skeletal biology

Latest scientific findings suggest the ancestral Native American population does not originate in Japan, as believed by many archeologists

Florida psychology professor views cognition as more than the brain

Psychology increasingly characterizes cognition as the process of an individual acting in the environment in which he or she develops, instead of a kind of computational processing of information in the brain.

Machine learning reveals brain networks involved in child aggression

Child psychiatric disorders, such as oppositional defiant disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), can feature outbursts of anger and physical aggression. A better understanding of what drives these symptoms could help inform treatment strategies.