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Viruses are the main predators of bacteria, and the findings suggest that the current view of bacterial virus diversity has a major blind spot. These conclusions have emerged through detailed analysis of marine samples led by MIT postdoc Kathryn Kauffman, professor of civil and environmental engineering Martin Polz, professor Libusha Kelly of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and nine others. The results are being reported this week in the journal Nature....

Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine have figured out how to measure an infant’s risk of developing autism by looking for abnormalities in his/her placenta at birth, allowing for earlier diagnosis and treatment for the developmental disorder. The findings are reported in the April 25 online issue of Biological Psychiatry. One out of 50 children are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but the diagnosis is usually made when these children are 3 to 4 years of age or older....

University of California, Irvine biologists, chemists, and computer scientists have identified an elusive pocket on the surface of the p53 protein that can be targeted by cancer-fighting drugs. The finding heralds a new treatment approach, as mutant forms of this protein are implicated in nearly 40 percent of diagnosed cases of cancer, which kills more than half a million Americans each year. In an open-source study published online this week in Nature Communications, the UC Irvine researchers describe how they employed a computational method to capture the various shapes of the p53 protein....

Conventional silicon solar cells could have an inexpensive competitor in the near future. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, together with scientists from Switzerland and Spain, have examined the working principle of an innovative type of solar cell, where an organic-inorganic perovskite compound acts as the light absorber. The scientists observed that charge carriers accumulate in a certain layer in these photovoltaic elements. If this jam can be dissolved, the already considerable efficiency of these solar cells could be further improved....

Nerve cells are highly energy-intensive, requiring a large amount of fuel. Approximately 20% of the calories we consume through food are dedicated to our brain, as the generation of voltage pulses (action potentials) and transmission between neurons is incredibly energy-demanding. For this reason, nerve tissue is usually crisscrossed by numerous blood vessels. They ensure a supply of nutrients and oxygen. During embryonic development, a large number of vessels sprout in the brain and spinal cord, but also in the retina of the eye....

A potent arctic weather system chilled much of the United States with frigid weather in mid-February 2021, shattering low-temperature records in the middle of the country. The extreme cold combined with several snow and ice storms to leave millions of people without power. Texas was hit particularly hard. According to news reports, natural gas shortages and frozen wind turbines were already limiting power generation across Texas prior to the mid-February storm....

The scientists presented their findings at the American Geophysical Union conference. The International Monitoring System (IMS) was established by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and has seismic detectors for terrestrial shock waves, hydroacoustic networks that scan the ocean for sound waves, and radionuclide networks to detect radioactive particles produced by nuclear explosions. Jihye Park, a postdoctoral researcher at Ohio State University, and her colleagues think that the ionosphere could also help in detecting nuclear explosions....

The novel synthetic material is composed of copper, manganese, germanium, and sulfur, and it is produced in a rather simple process, explains materials scientist Emmanuel Guilmeau, CNRS researcher at CRISMAT laboratory, Caen, France, who is the corresponding author of the study. “The powders are simply mechanically alloyed by ball-milling to form a precrystallized phase, which is then densified by 600 degrees Celsius. This process can be easily scaled up,” he says....

Dissolving gas into dough at high pressures can create ideal rise without yeast. In typical breads, yeast produces bubbles via a biochemical process, causing dough to rise and develop into light, airy, and tasty treats. Without that yeast, it is difficult to make morsels with the same characteristic taste and texture. The perfect, yeast-free pizza, as such a food, presents an important challenge for bakers and yeast-intolerant crust enthusiasts across the globe....

In almost every weather map of the Earth’s northern hemisphere atmospheric Rossby waves are a prominent feature. They appear as meanders in the jet stream separating cold polar air in the north from warmer subtropical air farther to the south. Sometimes these waves reach the equatorial regions and can even affect the weather in Australia. In principle, waves of this type (often referred to as planetary waves) arise on every rotating sphere due to the Coriolis force....

A unique feature of the SARS-CoV-2 genome controls protein synthesis and presents an Achilles heel of the virus. Viruses require the resources of an infected cell to replicate and then infect further cells, and transfer to other individuals. One essential step in the viral life cycle is the production of new viral proteins based on the instructions in the viral RNA genome. Following these construction plans, the cell’s own protein synthesis machine, called the ribosome, produces the viral proteins....

Just about every galaxy the size of our own Milky Way or larger contains a monster black hole at its center. Observations show galaxy mergers occur frequently in the universe, but so far no one has seen a merger of these giant black holes. “We know galaxies with central supermassive black holes combine all the time in the universe, yet we only see a small fraction of galaxies with two of them near their centers,” said Scott Noble, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland....

Silicon is the second most abundant element in the earth’s crust. When purified, it takes on a diamond structure, which is essential to modern electronic devices—carbon is to biology as silicon is to technology. A team of Carnegie scientists led by Timothy Strobel has synthesized an entirely new form of silicon, one that promises even greater future applications. Their work is published in Nature Materials. Although silicon is incredibly common in today’s technology, its so-called indirect band gap semiconducting properties prevent it from being considered for next-generation, high-efficiency applications such as light-emitting diodes, higher-performance transistors and certain photovoltaic devices....

The scientists published their findings in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. In the past, difficulties of manipulating nanotubes have hampered the development of nanotube-chips. In this new experiment, scientists report that a kind of two-part epoxy could place individual nanotubes at high densities. The race to replace the current silicon-based technology is on in the semiconductor chip industry. This would allow the development of smaller and faster devices, which place a burden on the physical limit on how small silicon devices can be....

For starters, the feeble light from the supernova was amplified by the gravitational field of an enormous foreground galaxy cluster, Abell 370. The gravitational warp in space acts as a cosmic lens, bending and magnifying the light from the more distant supernova, which was located far behind the cluster. A bonus for astronomers is that not one but three images of the supernova appear in the photo, strung along the cluster....

Astrophysicists have come a step closer to understanding the origin of a faint glow of gamma rays covering the night sky. They found that this light is brighter in regions that contain a lot of matter and dimmer where matter is sparser – a correlation that could help them narrow down the properties of exotic astrophysical objects and invisible dark matter. The glow, known as unresolved gamma-ray background, stems from sources that are so faint and far away that researchers can’t identify them individually....

Genome-sequencing data indicates that sponges were preceded by ctenophores, complex marine predators also called comb jellies. The scientists presented their findings at the annual meeting for the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, in San Francisco, California. Although they are gelatinous like jellyfish, comb jellies form their own phylum (ctenophores.) The tree of life roots the comb jellies’ lineage between the group containing jellyfish and sea anemones and the one containing animals with heads and rears, which includes slugs, flies, and humans....

“Physicians and patients should be aware of several rare but potentially life-threatening adverse effects of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine,” says Dr. David Juurlink, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and a senior scientist at ICES. The review provides an overview of potential harms associated with these drugs as well as their management based on the best available evidence. Potential adverse effects include Cardiac arrhythmiasHypoglycemiaNeuropsychiatric effects, such as agitation, confusion, hallucinations and paranoiaInteractions with other drugsMetabolic variability (some people metabolize chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine poorly and a small percentage metabolize them rapidly, which affects the response to treatment)Overdose (chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are highly toxic in overdose and can cause seizures, coma and cardiac arrest)Drug shortages (patients with autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and other chronic diseases, who take hydroxychloroquine to treat these conditions could have problems accessing this drug)...

Researchers have postulated since the 1960s that major depression stems from disruptions in the serotonin neurotransmitter system. However, the evidence for that idea, though plentiful, was indirect. In fact, a recent comprehensive analysis of existing studies concluded that there was not strong evidence to support the “serotonin hypothesis.” In its wake, some in the field have called for a reexamination of the hypothesis. Not so fast, says a new study that provides direct evidence of disrupted serotonin release in the brains of individuals with depression....

With personal protective equipment still in short supply, researchers at the University of Cincinnati examined what common household fabrics might work best as a face covering. Next to a single-use N95 respirator or surgical mask, UC found the best alternative could be made by a hungry little caterpillar. Silk face masks are comfortable, breathable, and repel moisture, which is a desirable trait in fighting an airborne virus. Perhaps best of all, silk contains natural antimicrobial, antibacterial and antiviral properties that could help ward off the virus, said Patrick Guerra, assistant professor of biology in UC’s College of Arts and Sciences....