Scientists at Long Ashton Research Station have identified a gene with a pivotal role in regulating seed germination. According to an article published in the January issue of BBSRC business, the Arabidopsis COMATOSE (CTS) gene, is vital for breaking seed dormancy. It is also analogous to the human X-ALD gene, which featured in the 1992 film “Lorenzos oil”. Treatment of cts mutants with a plant version of Lorenzos oil cures their inability to germinate.
The researchers were inves
The University of the Basque Country, IBERDROLA (an electricity utility supplying the Basque Country), the enterprises INGETEAM and INDAR and innovative energies company EHN have participated jointly in this research project. The project has put forward an innovative use of wind-sourced energy to control fluctuations on the grid. The research site where measurements were made was the Salajones wind park in Sanguesa (Navarre).
In recent years the electricity utilities have shown much greater
An Australian scientist has made a discovery which is electrifying world fungal biology – a new truffle genus related to the famous Amanita family, or fairy toadstools.
The Amanita family is famed worldwide for the red and white-spotted toadstools beloved of children’s fairy tales, the lethal Death Cap beloved of tabloid media, and a range of delicious edible fungi beloved of gourmets.
The find, by CSIRO Forestry and Forest Products mycologist Dr Neale Bougher, highli
Technique could help bring efficiency of biology to man-made materials
A Princeton chemist has developed a general mathematical system for designing materials that perform two functions at once, even when the desired properties sometimes conflict with each other.
Salvatore Torquato and colleagues used computers to calculate the optimum structure for any material that is a composite of two substances with differing properties. The achievement is the first simple example of a
Agents that alter blood levels of beta-amyloid protein in mouse models of Alzheimers disease represent a potential approach to treating the illness in humans that may be safer than the vaccine method of therapy, researchers report in a new study.
Beta-amyloid protein is a component of the amyloid plaques that accumulate in the brains of people with Alzheimer¡s disease. Beta-amyloid is viewed by many researchers and clinicians as the underlying cause of the degeneration and demen
Meta-analysis shows medication treatment decreases risk of future substance abuse
An analysis of all available studies that examine the possible impact of stimulant treatment for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on future substance abuse supports the safety of stimulant treatment. Using a statistical technique called meta-analysis, the researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) found that medication treatment for children with ADHD resulted in an almost two-f
Although Mars is currently a cold, dry planet, geological evidence suggests that liquid water existed there around 3 to 4 billion years ago. Where there is water, there is usually…
A new paper unravels the mysteries of a bizarre physical state known as the pseudogap, which has close ties to the sought-after state called high-temperature superconductivity, in which electrical resistance…
Researchers from Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands have been able to initiate a controlled movement in the very heart of an atom. They caused the atomic nucleus to…
5-formylcytosine activates genes in the embryonic development of vertebrates. The team of Professor Christof Niehrs at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) in Mainz, Germany, has discovered that a DNA…
Research led by the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) has studied the migratory movement of groups of cells using light control. In processes such as embryonic development, wound healing…
Brigham researchers develop strategy to improve immunotherapy by helping T cells penetrate and kill tumor cells. Fighting cancer is exhausting for T cells. Hostile tumor microenvironments can drain their mitochondrial…
… that can harvest energy at room temperature. Researchers have succeeded in developing a framework for organic thermoelectric power generation from ambient temperature and without a temperature gradient. Researchers have…
The global use of lithium-ion batteries has doubled in just the past four years, generating alarming amounts of battery waste containing many hazardous substances. The need for effective recycling methods…
A new study led by researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities is providing new insights into how next-generation electronics, including memory components in computers, breakdown or degrade over…
… shape-shift into versatile robots. Scientists at MPI-IS have developed electrically driven robotic components, called HEXEL modules, which can snap together into high-speed reconfigurable robots. Magnets embedded along the outside…
The AQT quantum computer, featuring 20 qubits based on trapped-ion technology, is now operational at LRZ’s Quantum Integration Centre (QIC), making it the first of its kind in a computing…
The CHAI joint project aims to optimize corrosion management in ports and waterways. The federal state of Schleswig-Holstein is funding the CHAI research project with a total of 900,000 euros….