High-speed microscope illuminates biology at the speed of life

The team behind the revolutionary 3D SCAPE microscope announces today a new version of this high-speed imaging technology. They used SCAPE 2.0 to reveal previously unseen details of living creatures — from neurons firing inside a wriggling worm to the 3D dynamics of the beating heart of a fish embryo, with far superior resolution and at speeds up to 30 times faster than their original demonstration.

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Converting CO2 to valuable resources with the help of nanoparticles

An international research team has used nanoparticles to convert carbon dioxide into valuable raw materials. Scientists have adopted the principle from enzymes that produce complex molecules in multi-step reactions. The team transferred this mechanism to metallic nanoparticles, also known as nanozymes. The chemists used carbon dioxide to produce ethanol and propanol, which are common raw materials for the chemical industry.

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Powerful new synthetic vaccines to combat epidemics

A new type of vaccine that can be stored at warmer temperatures, removing the need for refrigeration, has been developed for mosquito-borne virus Chikungunya in a major advance in vaccine technology. The findings reveal exceptionally promising results for the Chikungunya vaccine candidate, which has been engineered using a synthetic protein scaffold that could revolutionise the way vaccines are designed, produced and stored.

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New design of bioactive peptide nanofibers keeping both temperature reversibility and stiffness control

Scientists have developed a new method of molecular design to control both temperature reversibility and stiffness of nanofibers that are gel-forming peptides. The peptide nanofiber hydrogel can be used as biomedical materials. This method will allow the peptide nanofibers more biomedical applicable.

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Analyses of newborn babies' head odors suggest importance in facilitating bonding

Scientists have identified the chemical makeup of the odors produced by newborn babies' heads. The results shed more light on the olfactory importance of newborns' heads in mother-baby and kin recognition. They also developed a non-invasive and stress-free method of sampling these odors directory from heads of the babies. Research into these odors can hopefully be utilized in the prevention of issues such as infant neglect and attachment disorders.

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