ScienceDaily: All - April 07, 2024
Today's top research news
Atlas of the human ovary with cell-level resolution is a step toward artificial ovary
A new 'atlas' of the human ovary provides insights that could lead to treatments restoring ovarian hormone production and the ability to have biologically related children, according to engineers.
A simple, inexpensive way to make carbon atoms bind together
The active ingredient in many drugs is what's known as a small molecule: bigger than water, much smaller than an antibody and mainly made of carbon. It's tough, however, to make these molecules if they require a quaternary carbon -- a carbon atom bonded to four other carbon atoms. But now, scientists have uncovered a potential cost-effective way to produce these tricky motifs.
Image: carbon atom, Designua/shutterstock.com
In the evolution of walking, the hip bone connected to the rib bones
A new reconstruction of the 375-million-year-old fossil fish Tiktaalik -- a close relative of limbed vertebrates -- used micro-CT to reveal bones still embedded in matrix. The reconstruction shows that the fish's ribs likely attached to its pelvis, an innovation thought to be crucial to supporting the body and for the eventual evolution of walking.
Innovative sensing platform unlocks ultrahigh sensitivity in conventional sensors
Engineers unlock the power of exceptional points (EPs) for advanced optical sensing. EPs -- specific conditions in systems where extraordinary optical phenomena can occur -- can be deployed on conventional sensors to achieve a striking sensitivity to environmental perturbations.
Dinosaur study challenges Bergmann's rule
A new study calls into question Bergmann's rule, an 1800s-era scientific principle stating that animals in high-latitude, cooler climates tend to be larger than close relatives living in warmer climates.
Common loons threatened by declining water clarity
The Common Loon, an icon of the northern wilderness, is under threat from climate change due to reduced water clarity, according to a new study. The study followed up an earlier paper that showed substantial reproductive decline in the author's study area in northern Wisconsin.
First tandem repeat expansions genetic reference maps
A research team has built a genetic reference maps for short lengths of DNA repeated multiple times which are known to cause more than 50 lethal human diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease and multiple cancers.
eDNA methods give a real-time look at coral reef health
The study underscores the crucial role of microbes in maintaining coral reef health, akin to the human gut microbiome. Hurricanes and disease outbreaks affect coral reef water microbial communities, leading to changes that may support further reef decline. Microbial analysis enables prompt assessment of disturbances' impacts on coral reefs, facilitating timely interventions to support reef ecosystems. Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis offers a noninvasive approach to study coral microbial communities and diagnose reef health.
Chemical reactions can scramble quantum information as well as black holes
A team of researchers has shown that molecules can be as formidable at scrambling quantum information as black holes by combining mathematical tools from black hole physics and chemical physics and testing their theory in chemical reactions.
A deep dive into the genetics of alcohol consumption
Some people have genes that protect them from alcohol abuse. An examination of databases at 23andMe reveal that those same alcohol-protective variants have associations with conditions and behaviors that may have nothing to do with alcohol.