Biochemistry

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Dried plum diet prevents bone loss associated with spinal cord injury

Findings from a new study among mice show a diet high in dried plum (prunes) completely prevents bone loss associated with spinal cord injury (SCI), while also restoring some of the bone lost following SCI.

7 Oct 2020

Scientists fine-tune plasma treatment to optimize plant growth and yield

Ever since scientists discovered that plasma treatment leads to faster growth and higher yields of some agricultural crops, physicists, chemists, and biologists have been working together to tease out the mechanisms driving this phenomenon.

7 Oct 2020

Energy-efficient, climate-friendly cooling could lower greenhouse gas emissions

A new IIASA-led study shows that coordinated international action on energy-efficient, climate-friendly cooling could avoid as much as 600 billion tonnes CO2 equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions in this century.

7 Oct 2020

Imaging technique could replace invasive tissue biopsies to determine cancer drug resistance

Imaging techniques could replace the need for invasive tissue biopsies in helping rapidly determine whether cancer treatments are working effectively, according to researchers at the University of Cambridge.

7 Oct 2020

Single fungicide application can protect corn from foliar diseases

Foliar diseases, such as gray leaf spot, northern corn leaf blight, and southern rust, were estimated to cause annual losses ranging from 19,029 to 244,149 metric tons from 2012 to 2015 in Kentucky.

7 Oct 2020

Spinach-derived carbon nanosheets have potential to help power fuel cells

"Eat your spinach," is a common refrain from many people's childhoods. Spinach, the hearty, green vegetable chock full of nutrients, doesn't just provide energy in humans.

7 Oct 2020

Researchers reveal mechanism behind osimertinib resistance in some lung-cancer patients

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Nature Communications the mechanism making some lung-cancer patients resistant to the drug osimertinib.

7 Oct 2020

Maternal high sugar diet can impact developmental outcomes in infants

A diet high in sugar during adulthood is associated with weight gain, and has also been linked to risk of type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, and heart disease. New research shows that when consumed by moms during the breastfeeding period, a high sugar diet can also impact developmental outcomes during infancy.

7 Oct 2020

Researchers demonstrate new method to increase catalytic activity of cyanobacteria

Although cyanobacteria are known to stain water green through their unique pigments, they are colloquially referred to as “blue-green algae.”

6 Oct 2020

EPFL engineers simplify the chemistry behind zeolite membrane synthesis

Zeolites are porous minerals that occur both naturally but also are being synthesized artificially. Because they are stable and durable, zeolites are used for chemical catalysis, purification of gases and liquids, and even in medical applications such as drug delivery and blood-clotting powders, e.g. the QuickClot trauma bandages used in the US military.

6 Oct 2020

Fly larvae extract could protect plants from pathogenic bacteria

Biotechnologists from MIPT have developed a method for extracting the active constituents from the fat of black soldier fly larvae.

6 Oct 2020

Deep learning-based technique could boost drug development

When you take a medication, you want to know precisely what it does. Pharmaceutical companies go through extensive testing to ensure that you do.

6 Oct 2020

High folic acid levels during pregnancy affect brain development of mouse embryos

A UC Davis MIND Institute study of pregnant mice found that high amounts of folic acid during pregnancy harmed the brain development of embryos.

From The University of California, Davis 6 Oct 2020

Study finds how the malaria parasite can withstand fever's heat

Even when a person suffering from malaria is burning up with fever and too sick to function, the tiny blood-eating parasites lurking inside them continue to flourish, relentlessly growing and multiplying as they gobble up the host's red blood cells.

6 Oct 2020

Scientist develops high-resolution emissions map to improve environmental policymaking

With intense wildfires in the western U.S. and frequent, intense hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, the nation is again affected by extreme weather-related events resulting from climate change.

6 Oct 2020

Studies provide insights on the role of cover crops in controlling horseweed

Horseweed is considered one of the most troublesome weeds in the United States and Canada - able to produce devastating losses in both corn and soybean yields when left uncontrolled. Populations of herbicide-resistant horseweed are now found in 18 countries, and many are resistant to multiple herbicide sites of action.

6 Oct 2020

Researchers discover how synapses find energy to support intense neural conversations

Our thoughts, feelings, and movements are controlled by billions of neurons talking to each other at trillions of specialized communication points called synapses.

6 Oct 2020

Scientists identify new ingredient that makes vaccine more effective

A number of vaccines contain ingredients known as adjuvants that make them more effective by triggering a more powerful immune response.

5 Oct 2020

Researchers identify a promising treatment for COVID-19 infection

An effective method for treating the 2003 SARS epidemic, also works on the closely associated SARS-CoV-2 virus.

5 Oct 2020

Harvesting vegetation on riparian buffers minimally impacts water quality

Allowing farmers to harvest vegetation from their riparian buffers will not significantly impede the ability of those streamside tracts to protect water quality by capturing nutrients and sediment -- and it will boost farmers' willingness to establish buffers.

5 Oct 2020