Credit: CC0 Public Domain Researchers at the University of Maryland and National Institutes of Health have identified the microbial enzyme responsible for giving urine its yellow hue, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Microbiology. The discovery of this enzyme, called bilirubin reductase, paves the way for further research into the gut … Read more
A landslip of old mining debris hit Tylorstown in south Wales in 2020. It was nearly four years ago but the memory of the landslip that sent 60,000 tons of old mining debris sliding down a Welsh hillside still haunts former miner Jeff Coombes. First the river he was walking along with his dog in … Read more
Air Supply: Coined by astrophysics Adam Frank and Amedeo Balbi, the “oxygen bottleneck” describes the critical threshold that separates worlds capable of fostering technological civilizations from those that fall short. “Without a ready source of fire, you’re never going to develop higher technology,” says Frank . Credit: University of Rochester illustration / Michael Osadciw In … Read more
Credit: Environmental Science & Technology (2023). DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c05547 After the last embers of a campfire dim, the musky smell of smoke remains. Whiffs of that distinct smokey smell may serve as a pleasant reminder of the evening prior, but in the wake of a wildfire, that smell comes with ongoing health risks. Wildfire smoke is … Read more
Suberin is deposited in the tomato exodermis and is regulated by ABA. Credit: Nature Plants (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41477-023-01567-x Plants have to be flexible to survive environmental changes, and the adaptive methods they deploy must often be as changeable as the shifts in climate and condition to which they adapt. To cope with drought, plant roots … Read more
Vocal diversity in fishes and tetrapods. Credit: Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43794-y For talkative midshipman fish—sometimes called the “California singing fish”—the midbrain plays a robust role in initiating and patterning trains of sounds used in vocal communication. The midbrain in these fish, it turns out, may serve as a useful model for how mammals and … Read more
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain A new analysis of fossils believed to be juveniles of T. rex now shows they were adults of a small tyrannosaur, with narrower jaws, longer legs, and bigger arms than T. rex. The species, Nanotyrannus lancensis, was first named decades ago but later reinterpreted as a young T. rex. The first … Read more
Electrocatalysis enables facile organic halide activation. a, Selective reductive activation of organic halides over aldehydes and ketones is limited due to the similar reduction potentials accessed via OSET. b, Inner-sphere reductive activation of organic halides via molecular electrocatalysis or catalytic electrodes drives the reduction potential of organic halides to more positive potentials. c, This work … Read more
In addition to conventional secreted factors, cells also secrete ncRNA molecules (RNAkines). The molecular types of secreted factors are in bold, and representative examples or subfamilies, such as chemokines, are listed. The figure provides an overview of the diverse types of secreted factors contributing to intercellular signaling. Abbreviations: circRNA, circular RNA; lncRNA, long noncoding RNA; … Read more
The above graphic features: a spatial map of vertical land motion on the East Coast (left panel); primary, secondary, and interstate roads on Hampton Roads, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach, Virginia (top right panel); and John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York (bottom right panel). The yellow, orange and red areas on these maps denote areas … Read more
