The human body produces many antimicrobial peptides that help the immune system fend off infection. Scientists hoping to harness these peptides as potential antibiotics have now discovered that other peptides in the human body can also have potent antimicrobial effects, expanding the pool of new antibiotic candidates. In the new study, researchers from MIT and …
New quantum theory research, led by academics at the University of St Andrews’ School of Physics, could transform the way scientists predict how quantum particles behave. Quantum theory is a cornerstone of modern physics, explaining the behaviour of isolated particles, like the electrons that orbit atoms. It has shown us that quantum particles have great …
Researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology report on an enzyme belonging to the glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT) family as a promising target for increasing biofuel production from the red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae. Algae are known to store up large amounts of oils called triacylglycerols (TAGs) under adverse conditions such as nitrogen deprivation. Understanding precisely how …
America’s drug problem may be even worse than officials realize. And illicit drugs are consumed at a higher rate during celebratory events. Those are just two of the conclusions scientists have drawn from recent studies of drug residues in sewage. The researchers will present their findings today at the 256th National Meeting & Exposition of …
Last year, physicists at MIT, the University of Vienna, and elsewhere provided strong support for quantum entanglement, the seemingly far-out idea that two particles, no matter how distant from each other in space and time, can be inextricably linked, in a way that defies the rules of classical physics. Take, for instance, two particles sitting …
The transition from light bulbs to LEDs has drastically cut the amount of electricity we use for lighting. Most of the electricity consumed by incandescent bulbs was, after all, dissipated as heat. We may now be on the verge of a comparable breakthrough in electronic computer components. Up to now, these have been run on …
Contrary to previous studies, pigs appear to have better visual discrimination abilities than had previously been assumed. Cognition researchers from the Messerli Research Institute showed in a new study that pigs not only discriminate between front and back views of human heads but also that the animals apparently use certain facial features such as our …
At Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), physicist Professor Thomas Schimmel and his team have developed a single-atom transistor, the world’s smallest. This quantum electronics component switches electrical current by controlled repositioning of a single atom, now also in the solid state in a gel electrolyte. The single-atom transistor works at room temperature and consumes very …
Scientists have shown that water is likely to be a major component of those exoplanets (planets orbiting other stars) which are between two to four times the size of Earth. It will have implications for the search of life in our Galaxy. The work is presented at the Goldschmidt Conference in Boston. The 1992 discovery …
The relatively swift adaptability of tiny, acorn-dwelling ants to warmer environments could help scientists predict how other species might evolve in the crucible of global climate change. That’s a big-picture conclusion from research into the some of the world’s smallest creatures, according to evolutionary biologists at Case Western Reserve University. More specifically, the scientists are …
