In animals, infections are fought by the immune system. Studies on an unusual virus infecting wild koalas, by a team of researchers reveal a new form of "genome immunity."
Read moreResearchers have demonstrated a new, rapid method to obtain donor stem cells for bone marrow transplants using a combination of Viagra and a second drug called Plerixafor. Bone marrow transplants, used mostly in the treatment of cancer, are life-saving procedures to restore the stem cells that generate new blood cells throughout a person's life.
Read moreBiologists have uncovered an important clue in the longtime mystery of how long strands of DNA fold up to squeeze into microscopic cells, with each pair of chromosomes aligned to ensure perfect development.
Read moreScientists has shown how bacteria adhere to rough surfaces at the microscopic level. The team has discovered that precise analysis of the topographical composition of nanostructured surfaces provides a direct means of deriving the adhesive forces that bind bacteria to the surface. This discovery has opened up promising new avenues of research, including ways of combating the bacteria that are so hazardous in clinical environments.
Read moreScientists have investigated a simple biomimetic light-harvesting system using advanced spectroscopy combined with a microfluidic platform. The double-walled nanotubes work very efficiently at low light intensities, while they are able to get rid of excess energy at high intensities. These properties are useful in the design of novel materials for the harvesting and transport of photon energy.
Read moreThe human fetus is considered to be particularly sensitive to environmental contaminants. A team has now been able to demonstrate for the first time how the widespread food estrogen zearalenone behaves in the womb. Using a new analytical method, it was shown that the xenoestrogen migrates through the placenta and is partially converted to other harmful substances.
Read moreEarly symptoms of frontotemporal dementia are often confused with symptoms occurring in psychiatric disorders. Researchers show that serum neurofilament levels can be used as a diagnostic tool to differentiate between these conditions.
Read moreBiologists have found two genes that may permit some insect species to survive climate change by adjusting their biological annual clocks while others succumb. The researchers looked at the European corn borer moth and pinpointed variation in two circadian clock genes — per and Pdfr — that enable different populations of the moth to adapt their transitions to longer or shorter winters.
Read moreAn analysis of FEMA's 30-year-old property buyout program offers new insight into the growing debate on managed retreat — moving people and assets out of flood-prone areas.
Read moreA team of astronomers has discovered that several of the small — or 'dwarf' — galaxies orbiting the Milky Way were likely stolen from the Large Magellanic Cloud, including several ultrafaint dwarfs, but also relatively bright and well-known satellite galaxies, such as Carina and Fornax.
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