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The graph shows the mechanism of Nepenthes gracilis. Credit: Anne-Kristin Lenzo Scientists at the University of Bristol have discovered the deadly workings of carnivorous plants. In the steamy jungles of Borneo, plants have developed innumerable tricks to help them survive and beat their neighbors. The Slender Pitcher Plant, Nepenthes gracilis, is one of the most ingenious: Its cup-shaped leaves are equipped with a hanging canopy-like cap that turns into a deadly stepping stone for ants when hit by falling raindrops. His findings, published today in Biology Letters revealing for the first time how the shut-off spring works. The team was surprised to find that instead of bending the lid on its own or in the narrow constriction between the jug’s cup and the lid, the spring was located far behind the wall of the tubular jug. The off-center location on the back of the tube has two effects. The Slender Pitcher Plant catc

Freshwater crustacean Daphnia (water flea) is a common research organism in ecology, toxicology, evolutionary developmental biology, and other fields. Credit: Projecto Agua Many crustaceans, including lobsters, crabs, and barnacles, have a cape-like shell protruding from the head that can serve a variety of roles, such as a small cave for storing eggs, or a protective shield to keep the gills moist. This shell (carapace), it has been proposed, did not evolve from a similar structure in a crustacean ancestor, but emerged de novo (or suddenly) through the rather random co-optation of genes that also determine insect wings. However, in a new study from the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), Research Associate Heather Bruce and Director Nipam Patel provide evidence for an alternative view: The carapace, along with other plate-like structures in arthropods (crustaceans, insects, arachnids, and myriapods) all evolved. from the lateral toe lo

Four billion years ago, Earth looked very different from today, lifeless and covered by a vast ocean. Over millions of years, in that primordial soup, life arose. Researchers have long theorized how molecules come together to trigger this transition. Now, scientists at Scripps Research have discovered a new set of chemical reactions that use cyanide, ammonia, and carbon dioxide — all thought to be common on the early Earth — to produce amino acids and nucleic acids, the building blocks of protein and DNA. “We have come up with a new paradigm to explain the shift from prebiotics to biotic chemistry,” says Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy, PhD, a professor of chemistry at Scripps Research, and lead author of the new paper, published July 28, 2022 in the journal Nature Chemistry. “We think the type of reaction we’ve described is probably what could have happened on the early Earth.” In addition to providing researchers with insight into early Earth chemistry, the newly discovered chemical

Abu Dhabi, UAE, July 26, 2022: A team of researchers from NYU Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Microfluidics and Microdevices Laboratory (AMMLab) has developed a new type of three-dimensional Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) probe they call 3DTIP. AFM technology enables scientists to observe, measure, and manipulate samples and micro and nanoscale entities with unprecedented precision. The new 3DTIP, manufactured using a one-step 3D printing process, can be used for a wider range of applications – as well as potential observations and discoveries – than the more limited standard silicon-based probes that are considered state-of-the-art. art in our time. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a technique for characterizing samples by scanning a physical probe across a surface, yielding an impressive resolution 1,000 times higher than what optical microscopy can achieve. AFM is a fundamental instrument in many disciplines including biomedical sciences, with applications ranging from characterizing living

Fluoroquinolone antibiotic residues are environmental contaminants. As these chemicals are not easily biodegradable, the development of rapid and cost-effective methods for their detection is a growing concern in the forensic industry. In a study published in Chemical analysis , Researchers have designed a microfluidic photoelectrochemical aptasensor (PEC) using photoactive AgBr/CuBi 2 HI 4 (ACO) composites for rapid and ultrasensitive detection of environmental contaminants . Study: AgBr/CuBi2O4 Photocathode Direct Z Schematic for Ultrasensitive Detection of Ciprofloxacin and Ofloxacin by Controlling Luminol Release in a Self-Powered Microfluidic Photoelectrochemical Aptasensor. Image Credit: Sonis Photography/Shutterstock.com Fluoroquinolone antibiotics, such as ofloxacin (OFL) and ciprofloxacin (CIP), pollute the environment by suppressing the activity and growth of microorganisms. This study explores a novel approach to detect ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin by controlling the r

Credit: Public Domain CC0 Almost all marine life—fish, turtles, sharks, whales, and more—depends on marine food webs for survival. However, the foundation of this enormous flow of energy lies on the shoulders of the microscopic but mighty phytoplankton. Without essential nutrients such as phosphorus, the growth of these tiny floating marine plants is limited, and the effects of such restrictions flow through the ecosystem, impacting the abundance and diversity of marine creatures. A team of Florida State University and New Hampshire University researchers have published a new study looking at how one important source of the nutrient, dissolved organic phosphorus, is distributed across the global ocean surface where it is consumed by phytoplankton. The work was published today in Natural Geoscience . All living organisms, including phytoplankton, need phosphorus to synthesize DNA, RNA and other important organic compounds. In addition

A research team says cubic boron arsenide is the best semiconductor material ever discovered, and possibly the best. Credit: Christine Daniloff/MIT Silicon is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, and in its pure form, it has been the basis of many modern technologies, from solar cells to computer chips. But silicon’s properties as a semiconductor are far from ideal. For one thing, while silicon allows electrons to penetrate its structure easily, it is far less accommodating of “holes”—the positively charged counterparts of electrons—and making use of both is important for some types of chips. What’s more, silicon is not very good at conducting heat, which is why overheating problems and expensive cooling systems are common in computers. Now, a team of researchers at MIT, the University of Houston, and other institutions has conducted experiments showing that a material known as cubic boron ar

The preparation of carbon nanotubes via flame synthesis involves a modified combustion system with a carbon source, heat source and suitable catalytic material. To this end, constructing carbon nanotubes on copper (Cu) substrates via flame synthesis is a novel approach to achieve Cu-based carbon nanotube composites. Study: Synthesis of copper-carbon nanotube composites via methane diffusion flame. Image Credit: Evannovostro/Shutterstock.com In an article recently published in the journal Today’s Material: Proceedings , researchers made Cu-based carbon nanotube composites through flame synthesis to improve the electrical and thermal properties of Cu materials. Cleaning and etching of Cu substrates with concentrated sulfuric acid is the first step towards Cu-based carbon nanotubes. The cleaned and carved Cu substrates were subjected to two different laminar flames using methane. The standard diffusion flame configuration (NDF) shows a blue flame, shielding a carbon-rich yellow flame

The researchers described direct observations of the particle size of ice nucleation in the middle Arctic throughout the cycle of sea ice development and decline. According to their findings, these particles have distinct seasons, with lower concentrations in winter and spring and higher concentrations during summer melting local flora. The clouds that cover the Earth’s surface and the tiny aerosols in the air known as ice core particles that initiate the formation of ice in these clouds are important contributors to climate change. Climate is strongly influenced by this interaction of heat, cloud cover and ice nucleation. Earth is heating up faster (Photo: Alberto Restifo/Unsplash) But those important ice-forming aerosols, which can be mineral dust, microorganisms, or ocean spray, are almost never investigated in the Arctic, where they are most needed because their effects are little understood, and few scientists have traveled that far north, as per ScienceDaily. However, scientists

Japanese researchers have released plans to recreate Earth’s gravity level on the moon. The effort aims to support plans by the United States and other countries to build long-term bases for humans on the moon. The low gravity on the moon will affect the humans living there in important ways. The American space agency NASA notes that the gravity on the moon’s surface is one-sixth the gravity we experience on Earth. How to “make” gravity Designers working on plans to recreate Earth’s level of gravity, known as “1 g,” on the moon proposed the use of a centrifugal system. Centrifugal force is created by circular motion. The centrifuge rotates very fast to force the material in it away from the center or axis point, NASA explains. This planned system will create false gravity in the enclosed space on the lunar surface. The project is a partnership between researchers at Japan’s Kyoto University and engineers at Japanese building company Kajima. The researchers say the centrifugal sys

Australian researchers have found a new way to safely separate, store and transport large amounts of gas that could be the missing piece of the puzzle for renewable hydrogen. The number of renewable hydrogens is huge in Australia’s net zero emissions plan – particularly in the hard-to-decarbonise industrial and heavy transport sectors. But storing and transporting large amounts of gas for practical applications remains a major challenge. A team from Deakin University’s Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM) in Melbourne says it has found a new mechanochemical way to separate and store gases, which is safe, uses less energy than traditional methods and produces no waste. The team said the breakthrough, detailed in the journal Materials Today, was a departure from accepted wisdom on gas separation and storage and had to be repeated 20 to 30 times before it could be trusted. “We were very surprised to see this happen, but every time we kept getting the exact same results, it was a eur

Enlarge / An event on the surface of a magnetar can produce a rapid radio explosion. A fast radio burst is exactly what the name suggests: a sudden wave of photons at radio frequencies that often lasts less than a second. After the scientists finished convincing themselves that they saw no equipment interference, a search was carried out for what generated the large amounts of energy involved in fast radio bursts (FRBs). The discovery of the first iterative FRB tells us that the process that generates the FRB does not destroy the object that generated it. Eventually, FRBs were discovered that were associated with events at additional wavelengths, allowing their source to be identified: magnetars, the subset of neutron stars that have the most extreme magnetic fields in the Universe. While that shows excellent progress, it still doesn’t tell us anything about the physics of how the explosion was generated—knowledge that will probably tell us why most magnetars don’t and why they t

Triptans, a class of commonly prescribed migraine medications, may also be useful in treating obesity, according to a new study by scientists at UT Southwestern. In a study in obese mice, a daily dose of a triptan caused the animals to eat less and lose weight for a month, the team reported in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. “We have shown that there is real potential for reusing these drugs, which are already known to be safe, for appetite suppression and weight loss,” said study leader Chen Liu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Neuroscience and an investigator at the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute. Obesity affects more than 41% of all adults in the US and increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Most treatments for obesity focus on eating habits and physical activity. Scientists have long known that serotonin, a chemical messenger found throughout the brain and body, plays a key role in appetite. However, the

picture: Autoimmune encephalitis occurs when antibodies or T cells go bad and attack the brain. In this study, UTSW researchers and colleagues from Berlin used cryo-electron microscopy to determine the atomic structure of autoantibodies bound to GABAA receptors. The receptor is an important protein in the brain and a target in autoimmune encephalitis. see again Credit: UT Southwestern Medical Center *Click here to watch the video Using the UT Southwestern Cryo-Electron Microscopy Facility, researchers have for the first time captured images of autoantibodies bound to nerve cell surface receptors, revealing the physical mechanisms behind neurological autoimmune disease. His findings, published in Cell, could lead to new ways to diagnose and treat autoimmune conditions, the study authors said. “We are entering a new era of understanding how autoimmune diseases work in the central nervous system,” says Colleen M. Noviello, Ph.D.,