The nucleolus is a small organelle present in the nucleus of cells, which regulates physiologic processes such as growth and stress responses. Scientists from Cologne discovered that upon bacterial infection, the nucleolus shrinks in size, revealing a remarkable visible change as part of the host response. But how might nucleolar reduction combat infection? Prof. Antebi from the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne notes that “the nucleolus contains a protein highly conserved in evolution called fibrillarin, which also decreases during infection....

Skid marks left by cars are often analyzed for their impression patterns, but they often don’t provide enough information to identify a specific vehicle. UCF Chemistry Associate Professor Matthieu Baudelet and his forensics team at the National Center for Forensic Science, which was established at UCF in 1997, may have just unlocked a new way to collect evidence from those skid marks. The team recently published a study in the journal Applied Spectroscopy that details how they are classifying the chemical profile of tires to link vehicles back to potential crime scenes....

Study’s findings provide reassurance to individuals with concerns about vaccination. Skin problems such as itchiness, rashes, hives and swelling can occur in some individuals after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, but it’s not clear how common these reactions are or how frequently they recur with a subsequent vaccination. Research by led by allergists at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) now provides encouraging indications that the reactions are rare, and that even when they do occur with an initial COVID-19 vaccination, they seldom recur after receiving a second vaccine dose....

The team’s new findings, published in the Journal of Experimental Biology and Royal Society Open Science, advance the creation of search and rescue robots that can successfully navigate treacherous terrain. “We look to these creepy creatures for movement inspiration because they’re already so adept at stably scaling obstacles in their day-to-day lives. Hopefully, our robot can learn how to bob and weave across surfaces just like snakes,” says Chen Li, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins University and the paper’s senior author....

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have identified a small neutralizing antibody, a so-called nanobody, that has the capacity to block SARS-CoV-2 from entering human cells. The researchers believe this nanobody has the potential to be developed as an antiviral treatment against COVID-19. The results are published today (September 4, 2020) in the journal Nature Communications. “We hope our findings can contribute to the amelioration of the COVID-19 pandemic by encouraging further examination of this nanobody as a therapeutic candidate against this viral infection,” says Gerald McInerney, corresponding author and associate professor of virology at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology at Karolinska Institutet....

Researchers from the Low Energy Electronic Systems (LEES) interdisciplinary research group at the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT’s research enterprise in Singapore, together with MIT and National University of Singapore (NUS), have discovered a new way to control light emission from materials. Controlling the properties of materials has been the driving force behind many modern technologies — from solar panels to computers, smart vehicles, and lifesaving hospital equipment....

When we breathe in, our lungs fill with air containing oxygen, which is distributed to our red blood cells for transportation throughout our bodies. To function, our bodies require a lot of oxygen, and healthy people have at least 95% oxygen saturation all the time. Conditions like asthma or COVID-19 make it harder for bodies to absorb oxygen from the lungs. This results in oxygen saturation percentages that drop to 90% or below, an indication that medical attention is needed....

Tin monosulfide (SnS) is a promising material used for next generation solar cells because of its nontoxic characteristics and abundance, in addition to its excellent photovoltaic properties. Sakiko Kawanishi and Issei Suzuki led a team that has succeeded in growing large single crystals of SnS, which can provide a pathway for the fabrication of SnS solar cells with a high conversion efficiency. A p-n homojunction, which consists of p-type and n-type SnS, is key to obtaining SnS solar cells with high efficiency....

Even though it has been widely known that wearing a face mask will help mitigate the community spread of COVID-19, less is known regarding the specific effectiveness of masks in reducing the viral load in the respiratory tracts of those wearing them. In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, researchers from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and California Baptist University examined the effect of wearing a three-layer surgical mask on inspiratory airflows and the mask’s effects on the inhalation and deposition of ambient particles in the upper respiratory airways....

This recent picture from Hubble shows a galaxy nicknamed the “Sunburst Arc” that has been split into a kaleidoscope illusion of no fewer than 12 images formed by a massive foreground cluster of galaxies 4.6 billion light-years away. This beautifully demonstrates Einstein’s prediction that gravity from massive objects in space should bend light in a manner analogous to a funhouse mirror. His idea of space warping was at last proven in 1919 by observations of a solar eclipse where the sun’s bending of space could be measured....

The scientists published their findings in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. There has been a small boom in the last decade in the development of epidermal electronics, thin and flexible circuits that can be attached to skin or provide skin-like touch sensitivity to prosthetic limbs. Chemists have also become increasingly interested in self-healing polymers, some of which join their cut edges together when they are heated up, when a light is shone on them, or when the edges of the cut are held together....

Three children with the condition, two siblings and an unrelated child, were identified by scientists from NIH’s National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and Undiagnosed Diseases Program (UDP). The three children all had issues with motor coordination and speech, and one child had abnormalities in the cerebellum, the part of the brain involved in complex movement among other functions. Additionally, the children all had mutations in both copies of the ATG4D gene....

A new analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial of the stop-smoking drug varenicline (brand name Chantix in the US and Champix elsewhere), has provided clear evidence that varenicline does not increase the risk of psychiatric problems. The study also assessed the risk of psychiatric problems associated with bupropion and the nicotine patch. It similarly found moderate to strong evidence for no increased risk of neuropsychiatric adverse events relative to use of a placebo....

Injuries to peripheral nerves — tissues that transmit bioelectrical signals from the brain to the rest of the body — often result in chronic pain, neurologic disorders, paralysis, or disability. Now, researchers have developed a stretchable conductive hydrogel that could someday be used to repair these types of nerves when there’s damage. They report their results in ACS Nano. Injuries in which a peripheral nerve has been completely severed, such as a deep cut from an accident, are difficult to treat....

Botulinum toxin (BoNT) is produced by the Clostridium botulinum bacterium in seven serotypes, BoNT/A through G. All work in a similar way: after attaching to nerves near their junction with muscles (the neuromuscular junction), a portion of the toxin crosses the nerve’s membrane to prevent the release of neurotransmitter and thereby paralyze the muscle. A commercial form of BoNT/A is approved for the clinical treatment of various forms of muscle overactivity as well as cosmetic reduction of wrinkles, while a commercial form of BoNT/B is approved for a movement disorder called cervical dystonia....

Findings also provide clues to why some people experience more stomach upset during pregnancy. In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers at the UC Davis School of Medicine found that probiotics significantly improve the symptoms of pregnancy-related nausea, vomiting, and constipation. The findings were published in the journal Nutrients. Nausea and vomiting affect about 85% of pregnancies and can significantly impact quality of life, particularly during early pregnancy. “The cause of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy is unknown to this date....

A study published today in the journal Nature reports that a viral predator of the cholera bacteria has stolen the functional immune system of bacteria and is using it against its bacterial host. The study provides the first evidence that this type of virus, the bacteriophage (“phage” for short), can acquire a wholly functional and adaptive immune system. The phage used the stolen immune system to disable – and thus overcome – the cholera bacteria’s defense system against phages....

The approximately four-hour “Matchpoint” rehearsal took the spacecraft through the first three of the sampling sequence’s four maneuvers: the orbit departure burn, the “Checkpoint” burn and the Matchpoint burn. Checkpoint is the point where the spacecraft autonomously checks its position and velocity before adjusting its trajectory down toward the event’s third maneuver. Matchpoint is the moment when the spacecraft matches Bennu’s rotation in order to fly in tandem with the asteroid surface, directly above the sample site, before touching down on the targeted spot....

A joint effort with ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency, the Webb observatory is NASA’s revolutionary flagship mission to seek the light from the first galaxies in the early universe and to explore our own solar system, as well as planets orbiting other stars, called exoplanets. “The James Webb Space Telescope represents the ambition that NASA and our partners maintain to propel us forward into the future,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson....

Insomnia is a driver of suicide, and particularly people with severe insomnia may safely benefit from taking a sedative to help address their sleep problems as it reduces their suicidal thoughts, investigators report. “If you have a patient who complains that their sleep has taken a turn for the worse then there is reason to open the door to a question about suicide,” says Dr. Vaughn McCall, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University....