Atomic resolution protein models reveal new details about protein binding

Knowing precisely where proteins are frustrated could go a long way toward making better drugs.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-frustration-drugs.html

Mother's touch lingers in her child's genes

Mothers leave their mark on their children in many ways—and WEHI researchers have discovered a protein called SMCHD1 is involved in this 'imprinting' process.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-mother-lingers-child-genes.html

Six years in 120 pages: Researchers shed light on Ricci flows

Differential geometry is the study of space geometry. Multiple natural phenomena, from universal expansion to thermal expansion and contraction, can come down to spatial evolution. The two core conjectures in this field, the Hamilton-Tian conjecture and the Partial C0 conjecture, were unsolved puzzles for more than 20 years.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-years-pages-ricci.html

Researchers find conformational disorder tuning charge carrier mobility in 2-D perovskites

The organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites (OIHPs) have a multiple application on solar cells, lighting-emitting diodes (LEDs), field effect transistors (FETs) and photodetectors. Among the parameters valuing the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of devices based on perovskite materials, the mobility of carriers undoubtedly captures a high weight.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-conformational-disorder-tuning-carrier-mobility.html

Scientists reveal role of RNA helicase in zygote activation and stem cell homeostasis in plants

After double fertilization, zygotic activation occurs that initiates a new life cycle, followed by cell divisions, cell differentiation and organogenesis. During post-embryonic development, stem cells located in shoot apical meristem (SAM) and root apical meristem (RAM) allow plants to continuously generate new tissues and organs. Therefore, understanding the role of zygote activation and stem cell homeostasis is a long-standing interest to scientists.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-scientists-reveal-role-rna-helicase.html

New digital media keeps families connected through forced migration

Can information and communication technologies help maintain close ties in families who are scattered around the world as a result of (forced) migration? Vienna-based social anthropologist Monika Palmberger explores the role played by new media in this context and the way they might transform these relationships.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-digital-media-families-migration.html

Researchers observe instance of cannibalism in wild white‐faced capuchin monkeys

A team of researchers with the University of Tokyo, Área de Conservación Guanacaste, the University of Calgary and Tulane University has reported observation of an instance of cannibalism in wild white‐faced capuchin monkeys. In their paper published on the open access site Ecology and Evolution the group describes an incident in which adult wild white‐faced capuchin monkeys consumed some of the remains of a 10-day old infant.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-instance-cannibalism-wild-whitefaced-capuchin.html

The Amur River Basin lost 22% of its wetlands from 1980 to 2016

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) highlight the conservation and restoration of wetlands. Understanding the extent of wetlands, their change trends and the proximate causes is important for the conservation of wetlands and endangered waterfowls.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-amur-river-basin-lost-wetlands.html

Helicates meet rotaxanes to create promise for future disease treatment

A new approach to treating cancers and other diseases that uses a mechanically interlocked molecule as a 'magic bullet' has been designed by researchers at the University of Birmingham.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-helicates-rotaxanes-future-disease-treatment.html

Minimal-interface structures constrained in polycrystalline copper with extremely fine grains

Metals with nanoscale crystal grains are super-strong although they do not retain their structure at higher temperatures. As a result, it is challenging to explore their high strength during materials applications. In a new report now published on Science, X. Y. Li and a team of scientists in materials science and engineering at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shanghai Jiaotong University in China, found a minimum-interface structure in copper (Cu) with 10-nanometer-sized grains, which they combined with a nanograin crystallographic twinning network to retain high strength at temperatures just below the melting point. The discovery provided a different path to obtain stabilized nanograined metals for metallurgy and materials engineering applications.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-minimal-interface-constrained-polycrystalline-copper-extremely.html

Snapchat challenges TikTok with curated video feed

Snapchat on Monday unveiled a new curated short-form video feed in a stepped up challenge to social media rivals like TikTok.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-11-snapchat-tiktok-curated-video.html

Paleontologists discover identical evolution of isolated organisms

Paleontologists at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and the University of Calgary in Canada have provided new proof of parallel evolution: conodonts, early vertebrates from the Permian period, adapted to new habitats in almost identical ways despite living in different geographical regions. The researchers were able to prove that this was the case using fossil teeth found in different geographical locations.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-paleontologists-identical-evolution-isolated.html

The rainforest's most loyal couples: No evidence for extra-pair paternity in coppery titi monkeys

Since methods for genetic paternity analyses were introduced, it has been clear that many pair-living animal species, including humans, do not take partnership fidelity that seriously. In most species, there is some proportion of offspring not sired by their social father. Coppery titi monkeys living in the Amazon lowland rainforest seem to be an exception. Scientists from the German Primate Center (DPZ)—Leibniz Institute for Primate Research in Göttingen could not find evidence for extra-pair paternity in their study population in Peru. Mate choice seems to be so successful that a potential genetic advantage does not outweigh the social costs of infidelity. The study is published in Scientific Reports.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-rainforest-loyal-couples-evidence-extra-pair.html

Human ribosome assembly has no counterparts in simpler model organisms

Ribosomes synthesize all the proteins in cells. Studies mainly done on yeast have revealed much about how ribosomes are put together, but an Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich team now reports that ribosome assembly in human cells requires factors that have no counterparts in simpler model organisms.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-human-ribosome-counterparts-simpler.html

Convolutional neural networks can be tricked by the same visual illusions as people

A convolutional neural network is a type of artificial neural network in which the neurons are organized into receptive fields in a very similar way to neurons in the visual cortex of a biological brain. Today, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are found in a variety of autonomous systems (for example, face detection and recognition, autonomous vehicles, etc.). This type of network is highly effective in many artificial vision tasks, such as in image segmentation and classification, along with many other applications.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-11-convolutional-neural-networks-visual-illusions.html

Light-controlled nanomachine controls catalysis

The vision of the future of miniaturization has produced a series of synthetic molecular motors that are driven by a range of energy sources and can carry out various movements. A research group at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) has now managed to control a catalysis reaction using a light-controlled motor. This takes us one step closer to realizing the vision of a nano factory in which combinations of various machines work together, as is the case in biological cells. The results have been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-light-controlled-nanomachine-catalysis.html

Scientists observe directed energy transport between neighboring molecules in a nanomaterial

When light falls on a material, such as a green leaf or the retina, certain molecules transport energy and charge. This ultimately leads to the separation of charges and the generation of electricity. Molecular funnels, so-called conical intersections, ensure that this transport is highly efficient and directed.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-scientists-energy-neighboring-molecules-nanomaterial.html

New insights into memristive devices by combining incipient ferroelectrics and graphene

Scientists are working on new materials to create neuromorphic computers with a design based on the human brain. A crucial component is a memristive device, the resistance of which depends on the history of the device—just as the response of neurons depends on previous input. Materials scientists from the University of Groningen analyzed the behavior of strontium titanium oxide, a platform material for memristor research and used the 2-D material graphene to probe it. On 11 November 2020, the results were published in the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-insights-memristive-devices-combining-incipient.html

Jumbo task: Elephant hoisted from deep well in India

A wild elephant that fell into a well in southern India was lifted out with a crane following a 16-hour rescue mission involving dozens of rangers and firefighters.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-jumbo-task-elephant-hoisted-deep.html

Greenhouse gas levels at new high, despite COVID-19 measures

Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the main driver of climate change, hit record highs last year and have continued climbing this year, despite measures to halt the pandemic, the UN said Monday.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-greenhouse-gas-high-covid-.html

Understanding ion channel inhibition to open doors in drug discovery

Scientists have discovered how drug-like small molecules can regulate the activity of therapeutically relevant ion channels—and their findings could transform ongoing drug development efforts.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-ion-channel-inhibition-doors-drug.html

Concrete jungle threatens mangroves on Pakistan island

A short boat ride from the shores of Karachi, mangrove trees sprout along the quiet inlets of an uninhabited island that environmentalists say provides vital coastal protection to Pakistan's largest city.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-concrete-jungle-threatens-mangroves-pakistan.html

China in final preparations for latest lunar mission

Chinese technicians were making final preparations Monday for a mission to bring back material from the moon's surface in what would be a major advance for the country's space program.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-china-latest-lunar-mission.html