Phys.org news
Phys.org / Eye-eating amoeba resists treatment—understanding its biochemistry could help
In water, soil and air all around us lives a free-living, single-celled organism called Acanthamoeba. Most of the time, Acanthamoeba keeps to itself. On rare occasions, though, the amoeba infects humans and can cause severe ...
Phys.org / Small protein helps amplify cell signals from receptors targeted by many medicines
A small protein known as p11 may play a much broader role in cellular signaling than previously thought. Researchers at Karolinska institutet have now shown that p11 interacts with numerous receptors targeted by commonly ...
Phys.org / Yosemite toad killer may be hiding in their own homes
UCLA biologists have found the hiding place of a silent killer stalking threatened Yosemite toads: their own burrows. The Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) fungus decimating amphibian populations around the world has long ...
Phys.org / Five new species of freshwater mussels in southern US uncovered by researchers
A new research paper published in Zootaxa describes five new species of freshwater mussels in the southern U.S., providing the scientific foundation for protecting the most imperiled group of animals in North America.
Phys.org / Sex-like DNA exchange in starving bacteria occurs over 100 times more often than spontaneous mutations
How do bacteria adapt when resources run low? ISTA researchers have found that, under starvation stress, E. coli can use bacteriophages and CRISPR-Cas immunity to transfer and incorporate DNA, accelerating genetic reshuffling. ...
Phys.org / Device detects 'Devil's Breath' in beverages in just 10 minutes
Assault facilitated by drugs such as scopolamine (popularly known as Devil's Breath) is a serious public health and forensic concern. This drug is especially hazardous due to its strong amnesic, sedative and hallucinogenic ...
Phys.org / Mining fragmented microbial DNA identifies candidates for anticancer testing
Researchers have developed a practical strategy for recovering biosynthetic information from fragmented metagenomic data. Through this work, the researchers identified and prioritized promising natural-product candidates ...
Phys.org / Gut mRNA tech supercharges vaccine and GLP-1 delivery
From vaccines to gene therapies, mRNA medicines often rely on tiny fat-based particles called lipid nanoparticles, or LNPs, to carry treatments where they need to go. But researchers still face a fundamental challenge: getting ...
Phys.org / 90-plus-day spaceflights linked to higher rates of hip fractures in astronauts
New research has found that the rate of hip fractures among astronauts after spaceflights lasting more than 90 days was higher than after shorter spaceflights or among people who were not astronauts. The findings of the study ...
Phys.org / Salivary gland mini-organs grown from pluripotent stem cells offer potential path to treating severe dry mouth
Extreme dry mouth, caused by radiation used to treat cancer and by autoimmune diseases such as Sjögren's disease, radically affects quality of life for sufferers. It can hamper speaking, swallowing and eating, and for years ...
Phys.org / Global pollination analysis reveals climate explains specialized partnerships better than latitude
An international study led by researchers from Charles University in Prague (CUNI) and the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences (BC CAS) has mapped how closely flowering plants and their pollinators depend on each ...
Phys.org / Ions help electrons hop through porous material with potential for brain-inspired computing
Next-generation computing technologies could be one step closer to emulating how neurons respond and communicate with each other, thanks to research examining how electrons and ions move through materials.
