A team of Chinese researchers led by Prof. GAO Caixia from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed two new genome editing technologies, known collectively as Programmable Chromosome Engineering (PCE) systems. The study, published online in Cell on August 4, achieves multiple types of precise DNA manipulations…
Some butterflies can smell others of the same species, allowing them to identify each other in areas where multiple species all look the same, new research finds. A large international team has genetically mapped glasswing butterflies found across Central and South America, rewriting the evolutionary tree and highlighting six new species. In Brazil, University of…
Mass General Brigham investigators led a nationwide study that found that financial hardship, food insecurity, lack of healthcare access, and other social risk factors are linked to higher risks of long COVID. Long COVID includes a wide range of symptoms that present or persist three or more months after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Although in recent years…
Crystals and glasses have opposite heat-conduction properties, which play a pivotal role in a variety of technologies. These range from the miniaturization and efficiency of electronic devices to waste-heat recovery systems, as well as the lifespan of thermal shields for aerospace applications. The problem of optimizing the performance and durability of materials used in these…
Immediately after the Big Bang, which occurred around 13.8 billion years ago, the universe was dominated by unimaginably high temperatures and densities. However, after just a few seconds, it had cooled down enough for the first elements to form, primarily hydrogen and helium. These were still completely ionized at this point, as it took almost…
A new study from NYU Abu Dhabi has found that high-energy particles from space, known as cosmic rays, could create the energy needed to support life underground on planets and moons in our solar system. The research shows that cosmic rays may not only be harmless in certain environments but could actually help microscopic life…
A frog croaks from a walking trail. A hiker snaps a photo and uploads it to iNaturalist. That single act — one person, one amphibian and one click — feeds into a growing global dataset that scientists now use to map shifting species ranges, detect invasive threats and even discover new species. An international study…
Engineers from RMIT University, Australia, have produced a new type of 3D-printed titanium that’s about a third cheaper than commonly used titanium alloys. The team used readily available and cheaper alternative materials to replace the increasingly expensive vanadium. RMIT has filed a provisional patent on their innovative approach, which has also been outlined in Nature…
