Quantcast

Latest News

Biologists Glean Insight Into Repetitive Protein Sequences

A computational analysis reveals that many repetitive sequences are shared across proteins and are similar in species from bacteria to humans.

How The Brain Focuses On What’s In Mind

When holding information in mind, neural activity is more focused when and where there are bursts of gamma frequency rhythms.

Divorce Is More Common In Albatross Couples With Shy Males, Study Finds

In a long-studied population of wandering albatrosses, females are less likely to stick with a shy mate.

Study: Astronomers Risk Misinterpreting Planetary Signals In JWST Data

Refining current opacity models will be key to unearthing details of exoplanet properties — and signs of life — in data from the powerful new telescope.

Study Reveals How Environment And State Are Integrated To Control Behavior

A simple animal model shows how stimuli and states such as smells, stressors, and satiety converge in an olfactory neuron to guide food-seeking behavior.

Possible Increase in PC Operating Memory Due to the Unusual Properties of Iodide

At high pressure, chromium iodide crystals start to exhibit remarkable magnetic properties, losing their regular structure and moving into a chaotic, so-called spin-glass arrangement. Their physically exotic behaviour can be used, for example, to increase the capacity of operational memory. Scientists from the J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Charles University have found this out. Their study was recently published in the Physical Review B journal.

MIT Cognitive Scientists Win Ig Nobel For Shedding Light On Legalese

Edward Gibson and Eric Martinez are among this year's winners of the satiric prize, for explaining what makes legal documents so difficult to comprehend.

With Fractured Genomes, Alzheimer’s Neurons Call For Help

Study indicates ailing neurons may instigate an inflammatory response from the brain’s microglia immune cells.

Czech Anticancer Agent Works on Type 2 Diabetes

A team of scientists and physicians from the Institute of Biotechnology of the CAS at the BIOCEV centre and the Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine in Prague has demonstrated a positive effect of MitoTam on type 2 diabetes. The research was published today in the prestigious journal Nature Communications.

What Drives Ecosystems To Instability?

With only a little information, researchers can predict the circumstances under which an ecosystem will be stable or unstable.

Plectin Protein Affects Tissue Stability in Butterfly Wing Disease

Butterfly wing disease (epidermolysis bullosa) affects approximately one in 50,000 born babies. This inherited connective tissue disease is characterized by blistering over the entire body surface but it also affects mucous membranes as well as digestive, respiratory, and excretory systems. In a study published in the Journal of Cell Biology, an international research team led by Martin Gregor from the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the CAS described the mechanism by which plectin, one of the proteins associated with the disease, controls the mechanical properties of tissues.

New System Designs Nanomaterials That Conduct Heat In Specific Ways

The technique could be used to fabricate computer chips that won’t get too hot while operating, or materials that can convert waste heat to energy.

Trees Call for Help from Birds and Predatory Insects

Forest trees emit scents when attacked by caterpillars and other herbivores. They use these to attract predatory insects and even birds, thus getting rid of their pests. This had only been demonstrated in laboratory or garden experiments so far. A team of researchers led by Martin Volf from the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, could now demonstrate this phenomenon for the first time in a natural habitat – in the 40-metre-high canopy of the Leipzig floodplain forest.

After A Lifetime Of Blindness, Newly Sighted Can Immediately Identify Human Locomotion

Study on blind patients who recovered their sight suggests rethinking the belief that babies learn to recognize human movement through visual exposure.

Method For Decoding Asteroid Interiors Could Help Aim Asteroid-Deflecting Missions

Astronomers have found a way to determine an asteroid’s interior structure based on how its spin changes during a close encounter with Earth.

Best Research Article in Science: Discovery with the Participation of Czech Scientists

The international team, which also includes Czech researchers from České Budějovice and Třeboň, received the Newcomb Cleveland Prize from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for the best research article or report published in the scientific journal Science in 2021.

Geophysicist Leigh Royden Looks At Earth From The Top Down

The MIT professor combines geophysics and geology to understand what’s happening beneath the crust.

Self-Assembling Proteins Can Store Cellular “Memories”

Using these engineered proteins, researchers can record histories that reveal when certain genes are activated or how cells respond to a drug.

U. of Virginia team identifies genes responsible for coronary artery disease

Researchers at the University of Virginia (UVA) have identified genes that are responsible for the development of coronary artery disease (CAD), the leading cause of death around the world.