Category: Science
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Researchers use nanotechnology to develop new treatment for endometriosis
Scientists have developed a precise, nanotechnology-based treatment to alleviate the pain and fertility problems associated with endometriosis, a common gynaecological condition in women of childbearing age. Research led by Oleh Taratula of the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy and Ov Slayden of the Oregon National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University…
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Viruses don’t have a metabolism; but some have the building blocks for one
Fig 1 . ‘Brown tide virus’ is a member of a class called the giant viruses. Researchers have discovered genes for key cellular metabolic cycles in many giant viruses, suggesting that these microbes may be interacting with their hosts in more diverse ways than previously thought. In satellite photos of the Earth, clouds of…
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New metabolism discovered in bacteria
Fig 1. While acetic acid creating bacteria and methanogens are dependent on the transfer of hydrogen in anoxic biotopes, Acetobacterium woodii recycles hydrogen within its cell. They make sauerkraut sour, turn milk into yogurt and cheese, and give rye bread its intensive flavour: bacteria that ferment nutrients instead of using oxygen to extract their energy.…
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Nerve finding unravels mystery about communication between the gut and brain
Scientists at Flinders University have, for the first time, identified a specific type of sensory nerve ending in the gut and how these may ‘talk’ to the spinal cord, communicating pain or discomfort to the brain. This discovery is set to inform the development of new medications to treat problems associated with gut-to-brain communication, paving…
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A New Way To Deliver Drugs In Mofs
Fig 1. Organometallic frameworks are like sponges. They can hold very large amounts of drug, and then precisely ‘squeeze’ it out at the required time. Scientists from the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IPC PAS) in cooperation with the Faculty of Chemistry of the Warsaw University of Technology (WUT) have…
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Are animals vulnerable to COVID-19
While there’s no evidence so far that pets, livestock, or their owners can infect each other with COVID-19, there is also very little research about a potential crossover. The novel coronavirus started with an animal, then mutated to transfer to people, but research hasn’t yet shown if the virus has jumped back to animals, said…
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Crowd sourced virtual supercomputer revs up virus research
Fig 1. A crowdsourcing project drawing on individual and corporate computing power worldwide has created a supercomputer to help accelerate coronavirus research. Gamers, bitcoin “miners” and companies large and small have teamed up for an unprecedented data-crunching effort that aims to harness idle computing power to accelerate research for a coronavirus treatment. The project…
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Research team produces new nanosheets for near infrared imaging
Fig 1. Egyptian blue: the researchers obtained the nanosheets from this powder. Egyptian blue is one of the oldest manmade colour pigments. It adorns, for instance, the crown of the world famous bust of Nefertiti. But the pigment can do even more. An international research team led by Dr. Sebastian Kruss from the Institute…
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ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers may increase the risk of severe COVID-19
Fig 1. SARS-CoV-2 Credit: Centres for Disease Control and Prevention James Diaz, MD, MHA, MPH & TM, Dr. PH, Professor and Head of Environmental Health Sciences at LSU Health New Orleans School of Public Health, has proposed a possible explanation for the severe lung complications being seen in some people diagnosed with COVID-19. The manuscript…
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How sperm unpack dad’s genome so it can merge with mom’s
A sperm enters an egg, an embryo develops and eventually a baby is born. But back up a second—how does the mother’s half-genome actually merge with the father’s half-genome to form one new human genome? Turns out researchers don’t really know that much about these relatively brief, yet crucial, incipient moments in fertilization. Researchers at…