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Originally published by Bob Yirka , Phys.org, on July 30, 2024 Cloud-to-ground lightning on the early Earth vs. a plasma-electrochemical setup used in this work. B) Key components of a plasma (air gap)-electrochemical setup used to conduct interfacial discharges under controlled environmental conditions. Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2024). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2400819121 A large team of chemists at Harvard University has found evidence suggesting that cloud-to-ground lightning strikes may have helped generate some of the building blocks needed for life on Earth to arise . In their paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , the group describes how they set up an experiment in their lab meant to mimic the conditions on early Earth and then studied the results of chemical reactions that occurred as lightning strikes were simulated . Prior research has suggested that life may have gotten its start on Earth through ma

Originally published by James Gallagher at BBC.com, 14 July 2024 Two mice, both the same age, the one on the left has aged normally, but the one on the right has been given an anti-ageing drug. A drug has increased the lifespans of laboratory animals by nearly 25%, in a discovery scientists hope can slow human ageing too. The treated mice were known as "supermodel grannies" in the lab because of their youthful appearance . They were healthier, stronger and developed fewer cancers than their unmedicated peers . The drug is already being tested in people , but whether it would have the same anti-ageing effect is unknown . The quest for a longer life is woven through human history. However, scientists have long known the ageing process is malleable - laboratory animals live longer if you significantly cut the amount of food they eat. Now the field of ageing-research is booming as researchers try to uncover - and manipulate - the molecular processes of ageing

Originally written by Katherine Fenz, Rockefeller University on July 3, 2024   One of the first-ever images of the open complex that forms when RNAP encounters DNA and kicks off the process of transcription. Credit: Rockefeller University E very living cell transcribes DNA into RNA . This process begins when an enzyme called RNA polymerase (RNAP) clamps onto DNA . Within a few hundred milliseconds, the DNA double helix unwinds to form a node known as the transcription bubble , so that one exposed DNA strand can be copied into a complementary RNA strand . How RNAP accomplishes this feat is largely unknown. A snapshot of RNAP in the act of opening that bubble would provide a wealth of information, but the process happens too quickly for current technology to easily capture visualizations of these structures. Now, a new study published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology describes E. coli RNAP in the act of opening the transcription bubble . The findings , capt

Originally published by Tel Aviv University, on July 8, 2024           The 3D Origami Platform integrated in a 3D printed structure. Credit: Tel Aviv University Researchers at Tel Aviv University relied on principles of origami , the Japanese art of paper folding, to develop an original and innovative solution for a problem troubling researchers worldwide: positioning sensors inside 3D-bioprinted tissue models . Instead of bioprinting tissue over the sensors (found to be impracticable), they designed and produced an origami-inspired structure that folds around the fabricated tissue , allowing the insertion of sensors into precisely pre-defined locations . The study was a joint effort of researchers from several units at TAU: the School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry and Biophysics, the Koum Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, the Department of Biomedical Engineering, the Sagol Center for Regenerative Medicine, the Sagol School of Neuroscience and the Drimmer-Fischler Fa

Originally published by Society for Experimental Biology, on July 3, 2024 Tissue collection from a Greenland shark. Credit: Ewan Camplisson New experimental research shows that muscle metabolic activity may be an important factor in the incredible longevity of the world's oldest living vertebrate species—the Greenland shark . These findings may have applications for conservation of this vulnerable species against climate change or even for human cardiovascular health . Greenland sharks ( Somniosus microcephalus ) are the longest-living vertebrate , with an expected lifespan of at least 270 years and a possible lifespan beyond 500 years. "We want to understand what adaptations they have that allow them to live so long," says Ewan Camplisson, a Ph.D. student at the University of Manchester, UK . Previously , it was thought that this long lifespan was due to the shark's cold environment and minimal movement , but the factors behind the extreme longevi

Originally published by Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology on June 27, 2024 SMART researcher Dr. Wei-Xiang Sin holding the microfluidic chip within which T cells are activated, transduced, and expanded in a 2 milliliter growth chamber. Credit: SMART CAMP Researchers have developed a novel method capable of producing clinical doses of viable autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells in a ultra-small automated closed-system microfluidic chip , roughly the size of a pack of cards. The team from the Critical Analytics for Manufacturing Personalized-Medicine (CAMP) Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) at Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) , MIT's research enterprise in Singapore , collaborated with researchers from Duke-NUS Medical School (Duke-NUS), Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) , KK Women's & Children's Hospital (KKH) and Singapore Ge

Originally published by Nagoya University, on June 17, 2024   In Parkinson's disease, a reduction in the gut bacteria of genes responsible for synthesizing the essential B vitamins B2 and B7 was found. Credit: Reiko Matsushita A study led by Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan has revealed a link between gut microbiota and Parkinson's disease (PD) . The researchers found a reduction in the gut bacteria of genes responsible for synthesizing the essential B vitamins B2 and B7 . They also identified a relationship between the lack of these genes and low levels of agents that help maintain the integrity of the intestinal barrier. This barrier prevents toxins from entering the bloodstream , which c auses the inflammation seen in PD . Their findings , published in npj Parkinson's Disease , suggest that treatment with B vitamins to address these deficiencies can be used to treat PD . PD is characterized by a variety of physical symptoms that h