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Researchers have dicovered that some creatures can consume and thrive of viruses. - Copyright   Canva By  Oceane Duboust   •   Updated:  02/01/2023 All creatures will consume organic matter in one way or another. But there is something new on the menu: viruses. Researchers have discovered that some creatures can consume and thrive of them and they have been given the name ‘virovore’ - aka an organism that eats viruses. The discovery was made by John DeLong, a microbiologist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the United States and his team. Original article

by Sari Vegendal, Technical University of Denmark Bacteria designed by researchers can help solving one of the big CO2 challenges in the construction industry. Credit: Thomas Steen Sørensen   New buildings are often a cause for celebration, but there is not much to celebrate when looking at the climate footprint of the construction industry, which is among the world's highest. In 2021 alone, 2.9 billion tons of CO 2 were emitted through the industry's cement production, corresponding to more than 7% of the total global CO 2 emissions. The emissions occur when the cement is heated, as the high temperatures cause CO 2 release.  Original article

By Keith Cowing Press Release February 23, 2023 Filed under aliphatic amines, amino acids, asteroid, carboxylic acids, Hayabusa2, JAXA, nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds, organic molecules, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, prebiotic, Ryugu    This conceptual image illustrates the types of organic molecules found in the sample of asteroid Ryugu collected by Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft. Organics are the building blocks of all known forms of terrestrial life and consist of a wide variety of compounds made of carbon combined with hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and other atoms. However, organic molecules can also be created by non-living processes, such as chemical reactions in asteroids. Credits: NASA/JAXA/Dan Gallagher Asteroid Ryugu has a rich complement of organic molecules, according to a NASA and international team’s initial analysis of a sample from the asteroid’s surface delivered to ...

By Ben Turner published November 28, 2022 Octopus brains may have grown smart from an enormous diversity of microRNAs that let them grow multiple types of brain cells.     Octopuses may have gained some of their exceptional intelligence from the same evolutionary process that humans went through, a new study suggests.  The process involved a sudden explosion of microRNAs (miRNAs) — small, noncoding molecules that control how genes are expressed. This increase may have helped the brains of octopuses and humans to develop new types of nerve cells, or neurons, which were stitched together into more complex neural networks. Original article

Neuromorphic camera and machine learning aid nanoscopic imaging by Indian Institute of Science Transformation of cumulative probability density of ON and OFF processes allows localisation below the limit of classical single particle detection. Credit: Mangalwedhekar et al In a new study, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) show how a brain-inspired image sensor can go beyond the diffraction limit of light to detect miniscule objects such as cellular components or nanoparticles invisible to current microscopes. Their novel technique, which combines optical microscopy with a neuromorphic camera and machine learning algorithms, presents a major step forward in pinpointing objects smaller than 50 nanometers in size. The results are published in Nature Nanotechnology. Original article  

P ublished: Mar 09, 2023 By Kate Goodwin   Pictured: Clene CEO Rob Etherington/company courtesy Despite missing the initial mark, Clene Inc.’s gold nanocrystal therapy for ALS still shows promise. Thursday, the company shared new results from an exploratory analysis showing CNM-Au8 delayed disease progression across key areas for patients. In October 2022, Clene reported that CNM-Au8 did not meet the primary endpoint of slope of change in the HEALEY ALS trial based on the adjusted ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised. However, the strong survival signals seen at six months warranted a deeper look.   Original article