Curated News: Nature (journal)

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A team of neurosurgeons and engineers has developed wireless brain sensors that monitor intracranial pressure and temperature and then are absorbed by the body, negating the need for surgery to remove the devices. Such implants, developed by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, potentially could be used to monitor patients with traumatic brain injuries.

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Around 720-640 million years ago, much of the Earth’s surface was covered in ice during a glaciation that lasted millions of years. Explosive underwater volcanoes were a major feature of this ‘Snowball Earth’, according to new research led by the University of Southampton.

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Using strands of nucleic acid, scientists have demonstrated basic computing operations inside a living mammalian cell. The research could lead to an artificial sensing system that could control a cell’s behavior in response to such stimuli as the presence of toxins or the development of cancer.

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Researchers at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan have discovered how to reverse the abnormal axonal development characteristic of CFEOM3, a congenital disease that affects the muscles that control eye movements. Published in Nature Communications, the work shows how creating a specific mutation rescued abnormal axonal growth in the developing mouse brain.

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Researchers at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan have discovered how to reverse the abnormal axonal development characteristic of CFEOM3, a congenital disease that affects the muscles that control eye movements. Published in Nature Communications, the work shows how creating a specific mutation rescued abnormal axonal growth in the developing mouse brain.

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The destructive ability of bacteria to organize an infection or block pathways such as intestines, medical stents and wastewater pipes relies on communication with one another.

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Study bolsters view that sustainable, productive ecosystems depend on maintaining biodiversity

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ASU professor discusses advances in recycling dirty water, and harvesting its content.

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ASU professor discusses advances in recycling dirty water, and harvesting its content.

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New large-scale computational analysis of gene expression in single cells in the brain identifies distinct cell types.

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For the first time, McGill researchers have been able to take a series of 3D images of a large section from one of the medicine-synthesizing enzymes in action. The researchers believe that the images they have generated will not only bring scientists closer to understanding how many antibiotics are made, but could, with further research, lead to the development of much needed next-generation antibiotics.

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In a recent experiment, Argonne battery scientists Jun Lu, Larry Curtiss and Khalil Amine, along with American and Korean collaborators, were able to produce stable crystallized lithium superoxide (LiO2) instead of lithium peroxide during battery discharging. Unlike lithium peroxide, lithium superoxide can easily dissociate into lithium and oxygen, leading to high efficiency and good cycle life.

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Researchers at the Technion have used mechanical stimulation to “train” cardiac cells to beat at a given rate. The findings reveal the importance of mechanical communication, and could drive the development of new therapies for cardiovascular diseases.

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Individuals addicted to cocaine may have difficulty in controlling their addiction because of a previously-unknown 'back door' into the brain, circumventing their self-control, suggests a new study led by the University of Cambridge.

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Individuals addicted to cocaine may have difficulty in controlling their addiction because of a previously-unknown 'back door' into the brain, circumventing their self-control, suggests a new study led by the University of Cambridge.

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The Greenland Ice Sheet is the second largest ice sheet in the world and it’s melting rapidly, likely driving almost a third of global sea level rise. A new study shows clouds are playing a larger role in that process than scientists previously believed.

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The Greenland Ice Sheet is the second largest ice sheet in the world and it’s melting rapidly, likely driving almost a third of global sea level rise. A new study shows clouds are playing a larger role in that process than scientists previously believed.

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IDH mutations disrupt how the genome folds, bringing together disparate genes and regulatory controls to spur cancer growth.

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IDH mutations disrupt how the genome folds, bringing together disparate genes and regulatory controls to spur cancer growth.

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Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have successfully converted human skin cells into fully-functional pancreatic cells. The new cells produced insulin in response to changes in glucose levels, and, when transplanted into mice, the cells protected the animals from developing diabetes in a mouse model of the disease.

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Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have successfully converted human skin cells into fully-functional pancreatic cells. The new cells produced insulin in response to changes in glucose levels, and, when transplanted into mice, the cells protected the animals from developing diabetes in a mouse model of the disease.

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A team of investigators based in Seattle, Amsterdam, and Luxembourg, have established the cause of a rare syndrome consistent with Fanconi Anemia, a chromosome instability disorder which is clinically typified by birth defects, bone marrow failure, leukemia, and susceptibility to solid tumors. The results were reported by researchers from the Institute for Systems Biology (Seattle), the Free University Medical Center in Amsterdam, and the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine and several other institutions in the United States and Europe in the journal Nature Communications on December 18, 2015 (DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9829).

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A unique filtering technology that combines light (photons) and sound (phonon) waves on a single chip is expected to detect radar and communications frequencies better than conventional electronics.

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Different groups of neurons “predict” the body’s subsequent looking and reaching movements, suggesting an orchestration among distinct parts of the brain, a team of neuroscientists has found. The study enhances our understanding of the decision-making process, potentially offering insights into different forms of mental illness—afflictions in which this dynamic is typically impaired.

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Stanford researchers have developed the first lithium-ion battery that shuts down before overheating, then restarts immediately when the temperature cools.

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Stanford researchers have developed the first lithium-ion battery that shuts down before overheating, then restarts immediately when the temperature cools.

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Scientists at three Department of Energy national laboratories have discovered how to keep a promising new type of lithium ion battery cathode from developing a crusty coating that degrades its performance. The solution: Use a simple manufacturing technique to form the cathode material into tiny, layered particles that store a lot of energy while protecting themselves from damage.

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Research suggests we do not yet have the whole story about how fertilised eggs produce the many different types of cell that make up our adult bodies.

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In cancer, cell signaling pathways are the critical chain of events that can either quash or quicken disease progression.

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An analysis funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has identified three genes that contribute to the most common type of glaucoma. The study increases the total number of such genes to 15.

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A team of scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory say they've found a way to make a battery cathode with a hierarchical structure where the reactive material is abundant yet protected--key points for high capacity and long battery life.

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A team of scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory say they've found a way to make a battery cathode with a hierarchical structure where the reactive material is abundant yet protected--key points for high capacity and long battery life.

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Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide, or NMC, is one of the most promising chemistries for better lithium batteries, especially for electric vehicle applications, but scientists have been struggling to get higher capacity out of them. Now researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have found that using a different method to make the material can offer substantial improvements.

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A two-stage power management and storage system could dramatically improve the efficiency of triboelectric generators that harvest energy from irregular human motion such as walking, running or finger tapping.

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Seashells and lobster claws are hard to break, but chalk is soft enough to draw on sidewalks. Though all three are made of calcium carbonate crystals, the hard materials include clumps of soft biological matter that make them much stronger. A study today in Nature Communications reveals how soft clumps get into crystals and endow them with remarkable strength.

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Fibrocartilage tissue in the knee is comprised of a more varied molecular structure than researchers previously appreciated. The work informs ways to better treat such injuries as knee meniscus tears – treatment of which are the most common orthopaedic surgery in the United States -- and age-related tissue degeneration, both of which can have significant socioeconomic and quality-of-life costs.

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Magnesium infused with dense silicon carbide nanoparticles could be used for airplanes, cars, mobile electronics and more.

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Magnesium infused with dense silicon carbide nanoparticles could be used for airplanes, cars, mobile electronics and more.

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Inspired by healing wounds in skin, a new approach protects and heals surfaces using a fluid secretion process.

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For the first time, researchers tailored the electronic properties of nanoribbons using a new “bottom-up” method that precisely controls and modulates the atomic-scale width within a single nanoribbon.

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A team at the Weizmann Institute of Science found that when spherical nanoparticles self-assembled into a cluster, empty spaces – “flasks” – formed between them, as between oranges packed in a case. They were able to produce a range of chemical reactions in the flasks that were 100 times faster than in solution. The many potential applications include drug delivery.

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As delegates from 195 nations meet in Paris to debate mankind’s response to global climate change, scientists from the University of Kansas and Rothamsted Research in England today issue a study of a major crop pest that underlines how “climate is changing in more ways than just warming.”

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As delegates from 195 nations meet in Paris to debate mankind’s response to global climate change, scientists from the University of Kansas and Rothamsted Research in England today issue a study of a major crop pest that underlines how “climate is changing in more ways than just warming.”

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In its simplest terms, weight loss occurs when the amount of energy consumed in the form of food is less than the amount of energy burned. This can be accomplished by eating less or exercising more. With either approach, the goal is to create a caloric debt that will be resolved by burning stored carbohydrate, protein, or fat. Challenges to losing the holiday weight (alternatively a beer gut, Freshman Fifteen, etc.) are simple: eating feels good and being hungry is uncomfortable.

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Drought and extreme heat events slashed cereal harvests in recent decades by 9% to 10% on average in affected countries – and the impact of these weather disasters was greatest in the developed nations of North America, Europe and Australasia, according to a new study.

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In the quest for sustainable alternative energy and fuel sources, one viable solution may be the conversion of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) into liquid fuels.

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In the quest for sustainable alternative energy and fuel sources, one viable solution may be the conversion of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) into liquid fuels.

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By combining sophisticated RNA sequencing technology with a new device that isolates single cells and their progeny, MIT researchers can now trace detailed family histories for several generations of cells descended from one “ancestor.”

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By combining sophisticated RNA sequencing technology with a new device that isolates single cells and their progeny, MIT researchers can now trace detailed family histories for several generations of cells descended from one “ancestor.”

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Research conducted by members of the Colorado School of Mines Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering demonstrates microscale biomedical devices shaped like wheels can be injected into the body and effectively “roll” to treat areas in need – such as arterial blockages.