New research shows that vitamin D deficiency is an important determinant of poor skeletal muscle function in adults aged 60 years and over. While resistance exercise is known to preserve muscle function, there is growing evidence that adequate vitamin D status may also be protective.
Read moreWhether it's chocolate cake or pasta sauce, the sensation of sweetness plays a major role in the human diet and the perception of other flavors. While a lot is known about the individual proteins that signal ''sweet,'' not much is known about how the proteins work together as a receptor to accomplish this feat.
Read moreResearchers have recently been able to monitor the corrosion of bioresorbable magnesium alloys at the nanoscale over a time scale of a few seconds to many hours. This is an important step towards accurately predicting how fast implants are resorbed by the body to enable the development of tailored materials for temporary implant applications.
Read moreA research team has created a third approach to engineering proteins that uses deep learning to distill the fundamental features of proteins directly from their amino acid sequence without the need for additional information.
Read moreA recent study has revealed more details about how the synaptonemal complex performs its job, including some surprising subtleties in function.
Read moreTaking vitamin D by oral spray is just as effective as taking a tablet, research has found.
Read moreThe new method is leading to a better understanding of natural protein modifications and improved protein therapeutics.
Read moreWithout fat, nothing works in the body: These substances serve as energy suppliers and important building blocks — including for the envelopes of living cells. Numerous diseases are related to disorders in the fat metabolism, such as obesity or cancer. Researchers are now demonstrating how the fat metabolism can be monitored down to the individual liver cell of a mouse with the greatest sensitivity.
Read moreScientists have created a new layered superconducting material with a conducting layer made of bismuth, silver, tin, sulfur and selenium. The conducting layer features four distinct sublayers; by introducing more elements, they were able to achieve unparalleled customizability and a higher ''critical temperature'' below which superconductivity is observed, a key objective of superconductor research. Their design strategy may be applied to engineer new and improved superconducting materials.
Read moreNew research suggests that patients with sepsis and septic lung injury could have a better chance of survival and recover more quickly when treated with vitamin C infusions. On average, the vitamin C group spent three fewer days in the ICU at day 28 and a week less in the hospital overall by day 60 than the placebo group.
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