Phys.org news

Research led by a Swansea University academic has revealed a synthetic glycosystem—a sugar-coated polymer nanoparticle—that can block COVID-19 from infecting human cells, reducing infection rates by nearly 99%.

Traditional drug development methods involve identifying a target protein (e.g., a cancer cell receptor) that causes disease, and then searching through countless molecular candidates (potential drugs) that could bind to ...

From lifelong farmers to backyard gardeners, most plant-lovers know that adding organic matter to a field, vegetable plot or flowerpot increases the soil's moisture. Now, for the first time, Northwestern University scientists ...

Anomalies in temperature and salinity that originate in the midlatitude North Atlantic can affect the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in the Nordic Seas up to a decade later. A new study published in Communications ...

To help manage agricultural practices with fewer or no pesticides, University of Michigan researchers say they need to understand how ecological systems work on agricultural lands.

After enduring centuries of hunting, habitat loss, and disease, North American beavers (Castor canadensis) are making a comeback—and bringing benefits for both humans and nature with them.

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are tiny fat bubbles that are used to deliver medicines, genes, and RNA into cells. However, in some cases LNPs can cause harmful inflammation as a result of the process of RNA delivery.

Around 5,000 years ago, a mysterious form of plague spread throughout Eurasia, only to disappear 2,000 years later. Known only from ancient DNA, this enigmatic "LNBA plague" lineage has left scientists puzzled about its likely ...

In materials science, defects are usually seen as problems, unwanted microscopic features that degrade performance, reduce efficiency or shorten the lifespan of devices. But a recent breakthrough published in Advanced Materials ...

A new study reveals how Lactococcus lactis (L. lactis), a common food bacterium, regulates the production of a key precursor in vitamin K₂ (menaquinone) biosynthesis. The bacteria produce enough of this precursor to support ...

Pollinators play a vital role in fertilizing flowers, which grow into seeds and fruits and underpin our agriculture. But climate change can cause a mismatch between plants and their pollinators, affecting where they live ...

In order to fulfill their many functions, proteins must be folded into the correct shape. Researchers at the University of Basel have now discovered tiny "folding factories" in cells that enable efficient and accurate protein ...