Science Daily

To rapidly transmit electrical signals in the brain, the long nerve fibers are insulated by specialized cells called oligodendrocytes. These cells also respond to the electrical signals of active nerve fibers and provide them with energy on demand, as researchers have discovered. If this process, regulated by potassium, is disabled in mice, the nerve fibers are severely damaged as the animals age -- resembling the defects of neurodegenerative diseases.

A team of researchers has achieved a major breakthrough in genome editing technology. They've developed a cutting-edge method that combines the power of designer-recombinases with programmable DNA-binding domains to create precise and adaptable genome editing tools.

A new type of E. coli that is both highly infectious and resistant to some antibiotics has been discovered. The newly identified mutation of antibiotic-resistant E. coli is described in a new article. The team suggests that some existing antibiotics called carbapenems will be ineffective against the bacteria.

Green roofs have become increasingly popular thanks to their benefits related to climate adaptation, mitigation, and urban biodiversity management. But, in the U.S., green roofs are typically planted with non-native plants in sterile soils, and their effectiveness declines over time. A new study finds that managing green roof soil microbes boosts healthy urban soil development, which is a methodology that could be applied to support climate resilience in cities.

The world of online dating can be overwhelming with the dizzying array of options for attracting a partner but new research shows that those looking for love may have more success if they also seek a sense of purpose in life.

A new study has found that the brain system enabling us to inhibit our own pain changes with age, and that gender-based differences in those changes may lead females to be more sensitive to moderate pain than males as older adults.

A new patch uses tiny needles to measure electrical signals in the human body with incredible accuracy, even when these devices are stretched or twisted.

Insect-killing bacteria typically release toxins to slay their hosts. The bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens, for example, pumps insect larvae full of the lethal 'Makes caterpillars floppy 1' (Mcf1) toxin, leading them to first become droopy and then dead. However, it has so far been a mystery how Mcf1 unfolds its devastating effect. Researchers successfully used cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and biochemical assays to characterize the first-ever Mcf1 structure, allowing them to propose a molecular mechanism of the toxin's action. Understanding how bacterial toxins perform their deadly task in such detail is very useful for engineering novel biopesticides, thereby reducing the use of barely specific chemical agents with harmful side effects for the ecosystem.

Antimicrobial resistance is an urgent and growing global crisis. Researchers are exploring phages, viruses that infect bacteria, as a possible solution. In the new study, researchers successfully modified DNA from four types of phages to kill a deadly pathogen. The process can also be used to produce more phage variants for further exploration.

Researchers have developed a pioneering method to precisely manipulate ultrafast spin waves in antiferromagnetic materials using tailored light pulses.

Having a high dietary intake of fish and vegetables at 1 year of age, and a low intake of sugar beverages, seems to protect against inflammatory bowel disease. These are the findings of a study with more than 80,000 children.

As sea otters recolonize a California estuary, they are restoring its degraded geology by keeping populations of overgrazing marsh crabs in check, a new study shows. The crabs' appetite for plant roots, and their tunneling behavior had caused many of the estuary's marshes and creekbanks to erode and collapse in the otters' absence. Today, erosion has slowed by up to 90% in areas with large otter populations and marshes and streambeds are restabilizing.

Archaeologists have debated whether Neanderthals or modern humans made stone tools that are found at sites across northern Europe and date from about 40,000 years ago. A new excavation at one site in Germany turned up 45,000-year-old bone fragments that, when analyzed for mitochondrial DNA, proved to be from Homo sapiens. This is the earliest evidence that modern humans overlapped with Neanderthals in northwest Europe, thousands of years before Neanderthals went extinct.

A precursor of cholesterol, previously categorized as harmful, can protect cancer cells from cell death.

Researchers have outlined ambitious targets to help deliver a sustainable and net zero plastic economy. The authors argue for a rethinking of the technical, economic, and policy paradigms that have entrenched the status-quo, one of rising carbon emissions and uncontrolled pollution.

Treatment with a molecule known as A485 can quickly and temporarily increase levels of white blood cells, a critical part of the body's immune system, an effect that is difficult to deliver with currently available pharmaceuticals, a new Yale study finds. In an experiment, the researchers found that exposure to the molecule in mice caused white blood cells to mobilize from the bone marrow, a response that could inform future treatment for patients who need a boost in immune activity, the researchers say. The findings were reported Jan. 31 in the journal Immunity.

During infection, reversible switch permits flexible formation of memory T cells, long-lived blood cells that can remember pathogen encounters and respond upon reinfection.

Harmful emissions from the industrial sector could be reduced by up to 85% across the world, according to new research. The sector, which includes iron and steel, chemicals, cement, and food and drink, emits around a quarter of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions -- planet-warming gases that result in climate change and extreme weather.

When comparing the national burden of pedestrian injuries from motor vehicles to that of pedestrian falls occurring on streets and sidewalks researchers found that the probability of a pedestrian suffering a severe injury is higher for motor vehicle collisions as compared to falls. Yet, the public health burden of the number of pedestrians injured from a fall -- severe or otherwise -- is significantly higher compared to the number of pedestrians injured by a motor vehicle collision. This is particularly true for individuals 50 years of age or older.

To find poison ivy before it finds you, scientists have published a new study in which they show how they used artificial intelligence to confirm that an app can identify poison ivy. The app is not yet commercially available, nor is there a timetable for it to be available.