ScienceDaily: All - November 17, 2023
Today's top research news
Heart repair via neuroimmune crosstalk
Unlike humans, zebrafish can completely regenerate their hearts after injury. They owe this ability to the interaction between their nervous and immune systems, as researchers now report.
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Environment and wallet benefit from redispensing cancer pills
Redispensing cancer drugs reduces both environmental impact and medical costs, according to new research. The annual savings could amount to tens of millions.
Three-pronged approach discerns qualities of quantum spin liquids
In 1973, physicist Phil Anderson hypothesized that the quantum spin liquid, or QSL, state existed on some triangular lattices, but he lacked the tools to delve deeper. Fifty years later, a team has confirmed the presence of QSL behavior in a new material with this structure, KYbSe2. Â
Heat tolerant coral may trade fast growth for resilience
Algae living within the soft tissue of coral supply much of the energy needed by their hosts, and some symbiotic algae help coral withstand warmer water better than others. Researchers have now found that there was a tradeoff for corals dominated by the thermally sensitive algae -- they have higher growth, but only in cooler water.
Future of brain-inspired AI as Python code library passes major milestone
An open source code library for brain-inspired deep learning, called 'snnTorch,' has surpassed 100,000 downloads and is used in a wide variety of projects. A new paper details the code and offers a perspective on the future of the field.
Nature photographers posting to social media help with protecting biodiversity
Nature photographers posting to social media are helping improve biodiversity conservation mapping in South Asia, and the method could go global.
Rediscovery of rare marine amoeba Rhabdamoeba marina
Researchers have rediscovered and successfully cultivating Rhabdamoeba marina -- a rare marine amoeba that has only been reported in two cases in the past century. Using this culture strain, they performed a comprehensive analysis of its genetic sequence, revealing for the first time the phylogenetic position of this enigmatic amoeba, and proposed a novel taxonomic classification based on their research findings.
Novel measurement technique for fluid mixing phenomena using selective color imaging method
A novel measurement technique has been developed to visualize the fluid flow and distribution within two droplets levitated and coalesced in space using fluorescence-emitting particles. This technique enabled the estimation of fluid motion within each droplet, thereby revealing the internal flow caused by surface vibration when the droplet merging promotes fluid mixing.
Scientists have leveraged artificial intelligence models to enhance dam operations.
Discovery of hemoglobin in the epidermis sheds new light on our skin's protective properties
Researchers have shown for the first time that hemoglobin, a protein found in red blood cells where it binds oxygen, is also present in the epidermis, our skin's outermost body tissue. The study provides important insights into the properties of our skin's protective external layer.
Division of cells in cell cultures and cancer
If cells in cell cultures grow while being treated with division-suppressing agents, their growth becomes excessive and they permanently lose their ability to divide. However, if the cells are treated with a combination of division inhibitors and growth inhibitors, they remain capable of dividing after these substances have been discontinued. The findings could be transferred to certain cancer therapies, but first need to be clinically tested and confirmed.
Research in Lake Superior reveals how sulfur might have cycled in Earth's ancient oceans
A scientists has sulfur on her mind. The yellow element is a vital macronutrient, and she's trying to understand how it cycles through the environment. Specifically, she's curious about the sulfur cycle in Earth's ancient ocean, some 3 billion years ago.
Researchers identify brain center responsible for responses to rapid temperature change
The boiling frog parable seems to have inspired new research, which identified a brain pathway responsible for rapid-threat detection.
Study proposes new framework to identify keystone microbial species
Microbial communities are thought to contain keystone species, which can disproportionately affect the stability of the communities, even if only present in low abundances. Identifying these keystone species can be challenging, especially in the human gut, since it is not feasible to isolate them through systematic elimination. Researchers have designed a new data-driven keystone species identification (DKI) framework that uses machine learning to resolve this difficulty.Â
Genomic tug of war could boost cancer therapy
Researchers have discovered a 'genomic tug of war' in animal studies that could influence how well certain patients -- or certain cancers -- respond to decitabine, a drug used to treat myelodysplastic syndromes that is plagued by drug resistance issues. For the first time, researchers show that decitabine causes coding and non-coding regions of DNA to engage in a tug of war for a gene activator, called H2A.Z. Typically, deticabine draws this gene activator away from coding DNA, causing gene expression to grind to a halt and cells to die. However, many types of cancer have very high levels of H2A.Z, which may help them overcome this decitabine-induced tug of war, allowing the cancer to grow.
How cell identity is preserved when cells divide
A new theoretical model helps explain how epigenetic memories, encoded in chemical modifications of chromatin, are passed from generation to generation. Â Within each cell's nucleus, researchers suggest, the 3D folding patterns of its genome determines which parts of the genome will be marked by these chemical modifications.
Much more than waste: Tiny vesicles exchange genetic information between cells in the sea
Researchers take a look at data that has so far been mostly discarded as contamination, revealing the previously underestimated role of extracellular vesicles (EVs). These are important for the exchange of genetic information between cells and thus for the microbial community in the sea.
The mind's eye of a neural network system
A new tool, based on topology, makes finding the areas where neural networks are confused as simple as spotting mountaintops from an airplane. The ability to spot and address those areas of confusion should enable more confident application of neural networks in high-stakes decision scenarios or image prediction tasks like healthcare and research.
Pushing the boundaries of eco-friendly chemical production
A team of pioneering researchers has made a significant leap forward in the complex world of molecular chemistry. Their focus? Azaarenes, unique molecular puzzle pieces crucial to many everyday products, from eco-friendly agrochemicals to essential medicines. The team developed an innovative way to modify these molecules using light-powered enzymes -- a groundbreaking discovery that holds promise for new industrially relevant chemical reactions and sustainable energy solutions.