Новости за 30.11.2022

Orb-weaving spiders cooperate for more peaceful colonies, a surprising revelation given that most spiders live solitarily. In the colonies that researchers observed, male spiders fought less with one another when there were more female spiders in a colony. But colonies with large numbers of larger and medium-sized female spiders tended to have more aggressive environments.

Data from a new fetal brain atlas has helped a science team discover a collection of progenitor cells that give rise to aggressive 'group 3' medulloblastomas. Findings include identifying two genes that may serve as treatment targets. Mice with these tumors lived longer when bred to express reduced activity of these genes.

A low-cost, prenatal intervention benefits mothers' mental health up to eight years later, a new study finds.

Scientists have solved the high-resolution, complex structures of drug-like compounds bound to designer brain cell receptors, paving the way for the creation of next-generation chemogenetic tools.

Researchers have discovered that removal of cilia from the brain's striatum region impaired time perception and judgment, revealing possible new therapeutic targets for mental and neurological conditions including schizophrenia, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, autism spectrum disorder, and Tourette syndrome.

Stories about how daily stress can negatively impact people's lives, from physical health to mental and emotional well-being, are frequently in the media. But there is good news about the experience of daily stress as people age.

The unprecedented shutdown of classroom learning caused undue stress, low levels of social inclusion and low satisfaction with school for many -- and mental health issues for some, according to a new study.

Researchers have discovered a specific genetic variant in SCN1A, the most common genetic epilepsy, that leads to an earlier onset of epilepsy, with clinical features distinct from other epilepsies. The researchers also identified a potentially effective treatment strategy.

Researchers have identified several genetic variants associated with increased risk of cancer in children with non-chromosomal birth defects, such as congenital heart disease and defects of the central nervous system. While the risk of developing cancer is not as high as children with chromosomal birth defects, it is significantly higher than children with no birth defects at all, and the findings may provide a basis for early detection in these understudied patients.

A new study suggests that people with high levels of neuroticism and stress may be at greater risk for depressive symptoms, but those links could be buffered for people who observe the five precepts of Buddhism -- a fundamental system of ethics for the religion's followers.

Researchers introduced seven proteins, thought to let Spiroplama bacteria swim by switching the direction that their helical bodies spiral, into a strain of synthetic bacterium with minimal genetic information. As a result, they confirmed that the synthetic bacterium named syn3, which is normally spherical, formed a helix that could swim by spiraling. Further investigation revealed that only two of these newly added proteins were required to make syn3 capable of minimal swimming. This swimming synthetic... Читать дальше...

Researchers have conducted the first spatiotemporal study of the effects of prolonged water stress on tomato fruits, identifying genes that could help plant breeders develop fruit crops that can adapt to drought conditions.

A collaboration of scientists found a novel way to render benign the worst side effects of fentanyl.

High school students who have a large weekly allowance, friends who smoke and low levels of physical activity are more likely to use multiple substances over time. Conversely, being older, being Black and eating breakfast daily were factors associated with a smaller chance of transitioning to multiple use, according to a new study from Canada.

Lithium-ion batteries with high-energy-density cathodes are necessary to meet the energy demands of next-generation electronics and electric vehicles. At high voltages, however, the battery electrolyte undergoes excessive decomposition, compromising cathode performance. To tackle this, researchers have now synthesized a bio-based, non-toxic additive material that stabilizes the cathode by forming a passivation layer on its surface and suppressing its decomposition. Eco-friendly and low-cost, the... Читать дальше...

Scientists have successfully identified the urinary biomarkers of an emerging subclass of synthetic cannabinoids, called OXIZID, to monitor potential abuse.

Several of great gray owls' physical features, especially parts of their wings and face, help them correct for sonic distortions caused by snow, enabling them to find hidden, moving food with astonishing accuracy, according to a new study.

Large terrestrial mammals are vulnerable to the acoustic sounds of drones, technological systems which are increasingly used to study the wildlife in open habitats such as the savanna and marshes, according to a new study.

A new study shows that cumulative adverse psychosocial factors in childhood are associated with worse midlife learning and memory, and specifically child's self-regulation and social adjustment.

A new study links a gene concentrated in the brain’s cleanup cells, known as microglia, to the inflammation that has increasingly emerged as a key mechanism contributing to Alzheimer’s disease. The findings may offer a new potential target for therapies for the intractable condition.

Nanodiamond materials have potential as low-cost photocatalysts. But until now, such carbon nanoparticles required high-energy UV light to become active. The DIACAT consortium has therefore produced and analysed variations of nanodiamond materials. The work shows: If the surface of the nanoparticles is occupied by sufficient hydrogen atoms, even the weaker energy of blue sunlight is sufficient for excitation. Future photocatalysts based on nanodiamonds might be able to convert CO2 or N2 into hydrocarbons or ammonia with sunlight.

In the pursuit of clean and renewable energy, hydrogen plays an important role. But a major challenge facing this transition is that the gas is explosive when mixed with air. For this reason, it is crucial to be able to detect hydrogen leaks as early as possible. Now researchers have developed an optical sensor that can detect record low levels of hydrogen.

In recent years, research interest in the 3D printing of metal patterns on plastic parts has grown exponentially, due to its high potential in the manufacturing of next-generation electronics. But fabricating such complex parts through conventional means is not easy. Now, researchers have developed a new 3D printing process for the fabrication of 3D metal-plastic composite structures with complex shapes.

Global climate change and, in particular, the warming of the oceans has caused the frequency and severity of marine heatwaves to increase every year, with serious consequences for the stability and resilience of coral populations. Researchers have analyzed the impact of the sudden increase in temperatures on the early life stages of two key species in the Mediterranean: the red coral and the white gorgonian.

If one particle accelerator alone is not enough to achieve the desired result, why not combine two accelerators? Physicists have now implemented this idea. They combined two plasma-based acceleration methods for electrons, namely a laser-driven wakefield accelerator (LWFA) with a particle-beam-driven wakefield accelerator (PWFA). With this combination, the physicists achieve better stability and higher particle density for electron beams than with just a single plasma accelerator. The innovative... Читать дальше...