On the cellular highway, motor proteins called dyneins rule the road. Dyneins "walk" along structures called microtubules to deliver cellular cargo, such as signaling molecules and organelles, to different parts of a cell. Without dynein on the job, cells...
A famous experiment in 1953 showed that amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, could have formed spontaneously under the atmospheric conditions of early Earth. However, just because molecules could form doesn't mean that the process was likely. Now,...
Bees are among the most important species responsible for pollinating about one-third of the world's food supply, with their contribution in the United States alone valued at $15-20 billion each year. Rapid declines in honey bee colonies globally, and...
Scientists have built tiny droplet-based microbial factories that produce hydrogen, instead of oxygen, when exposed to daylight in air.
The findings of the international research team based at the University of Bristol and Harbin Institute of Technology in China, are...
Helium, the second lightest element in the universe, has a variety of uses, from keeping balloons afloat to cooling superconducting magnets.
It is also a noble gas—so labeled because it was long believed to be "too aloof" to react with...
Lennon and McCartney. Abbott and Costello. Peanut butter and jelly.
Think of one half of any famous duo, and the other half likely comes to mind. Not only do they complement each other, but together they work better.
The same is...
Water contaminated with mercury and other toxic heavy metals is a major cause of environmental damage and health problems worldwide. Now, researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, present a totally new way to clean contaminated water through an...
National University of Singapore chemists have developed a photo-induced method for late-stage functionalization of carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds in organic molecules.
The replacement of H in C-H bonds with other atoms or substituents is one of the most coveted ways to...
The formation of exciton-polaritons through strong light-matter coupling is a promising strategy for producing electrically pumped carbon-based lasers. Scientists from Heidelberg University and the University of St Andrews (Scotland) have now, for the first time, demonstrated this strong light-matter...
A new 3-D-printing method will make it easier to manufacture and control the shape of soft robots, artificial muscles and wearable devices. Researchers at UC San Diego show that by controlling the printing temperature of liquid crystal elastomer, or...
With the ability to leech heavy metals from the environment and digest a potent greenhouse gas, methanotrophic bacteria pull double duty when it comes to cleaning up the environment.
But before researchers can explore potential conservation applications, they first must...
