Modern applications use self-cleaning strategies and digital microfluids to control individual droplets of fluids on flat surfaces but existing techniques are limited by the side-effects of high electric fields and high temperatures. In a new study, Edwin De Jong and co-workers at the interdisciplinary departments of Advanced Materials, Mechanical Engineering and Complex Molecular Systems developed an innovative "mechanowetting" technique to control droplet motion on changing surfaces based on the interfacial surface tension.
* This article was originally published here
Friday, 21 June 2019
Discovery of the cell fate switch from neurons to astrocytes in the developing brain
During mammalian brain development, neural precursor cells first generate neurons and later astrocytes. This cell fate change is a key process generating proper numbers of neurons and astrocytes. Here we discovered that FGF regulates the cell fate switch from neurons to astrocytes in the developing cerebral cortex using mice. FGF is a critical extracellular regulator of the cell fate switch, necessary and sufficient, in the mammalian cerebral cortex.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
B chromosome first—mechanisms behind the drive of B chromosomes uncovered
The specific number of chromosomes is one of the defining characteristics of a species. Whilst the common fruit fly carries 8 chromosomes, the genome of bread wheat counts 42 chromosomes. In comparison, the human genome is made out of a total of 46 chromosomes. However, about 15% of all eukaryotic species additionally carry supernumerary chromosomes referred to as "B chromosomes". Other than the essential chromosomes of the genome, B chromosomes are expendable and often preferentially inherited. This leads to a transmission advantage for B chromosomes called "chromosome drive". To date, little knowledge exists about the mechanisms behind this phenomenon. Researchers from the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) in Gatersleben have now been able to decipher the mechanisms behind the drive of B chromosomes in the goatgrass Aegilops speltoides. The novel insights in the workings of chromosome drive were recently published in New Phytologist.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Spintronic memory cells for neural networks
In recent years, researchers have proposed a wide variety of hardware implementations for feed-forward artificial neural networks. These implementations include three key components: a dot-product engine that can compute convolution and fully-connected layer operations, memory elements to store intermediate inter and intra-layer results, and other components that can compute non-linear activation functions.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
PSI imaging helps with rocket launches
Rockets from the European Space Agency (ESA) fly into space with support from the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). Imaging carried out at PSI in cooperation with Dassault Aviation ensures the quality of certain components of the Ariane 5 and Vega launch vehicles. With the help of the neutrons generated at the neutron source SINQ, PSI researchers are screening so-called pyrotechnic components that are installed in the ESA rockets. These components, which act like fuse cords and igniters, ensure, among other things, that the booster rockets are dropped at the right hundredth of a second. The Ariane launch on 20 June took place with components that had been examined at PSI.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Discovery of a 'holy grail' with the invention of universal computer memory
A new type of computer memory which could solve the digital technology energy crisis has been invented and patented by scientists from Lancaster University in the UK.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Bacteria live on our eyeballs—and understanding their role could help treat common eye diseases
You may be familiar with the idea that your gut and skin are home to a collection of microbes—fungi, bacteria and viruses—that are vital for keeping you healthy. But did you know that your eyes also host a unique menagerie of microbes? Together, they're called the eye microbiome. When these microbes are out of balance—too many or too few of certain types—eye diseases may emerge.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Automated cryptocode generator is helping secure the web
Nearly every time you open up a secure Google Chrome browser, a new MIT-developed cryptographic system is helping better protect your data.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Women who declined medical care during hospital births report poor treatment overall
A new study involving University of Minnesota School of Public Health (SPH) researchers surveyed mothers nationwide and found many who declined care for themselves or their newborn babies during hospital births were more likely to report experiencing discrimination and other forms of poor treatment.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Possible signal pathway in the fight against obesity-related fatty liver disease identified
A research group from the Medical University of Vienna reports how the hormone leptin stimulates the liver to export lipids and reduce the fat production in the liver. This occurs due to the activation of neurons in the brain stem. These findings provide new approaches for the fight against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which often occurs in connection with obesity. The results were just published in Nature Communications.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
2018 to 2019 influenza season in U.S. was longest in 10 years
In the United States, the 2018 to 2019 influenza season was of moderate severity and lasted 21 weeks, according to research published in the June 21 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
A clear vision for cancer diagnosis
While reading an article about Sen. John McCain's glioblastoma diagnosis, Kavya Kopparapu was shocked to learn that the prognosis for this aggressive brain cancer has not improved over the past 30 years. With standard treatment, glioblastoma patients typically survive for only about 11 months after diagnosis, according to the American Brain Tumor Association.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Imaging results, health data combine in AI model to predict breast cancer
Women know the drill: Breast cancer is too commonly a cancer diagnosis to be ignored, as early detection could make a difference. While false positives may cause an enormous amount of undue stress, false negatives have an impact on how early a cancer is detected and subsequently treated.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Advanced computational modeling of the gut for biodefense
The Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory (NIMML) has developed a high-resolution model of the gut immune system by using advanced computational systems. The new high-performance computing (HPC)-driven model of the gut predicts new emerging behaviors and responses to biological threats. The gut ecosystem includes trillions of interactions between host epithelial and immune cells, molecules (cytokines, chemokines and metabolites) and microbes is a massively and dynamically interacting network, similar to a multidimensional jigsaw puzzle with pieces that are constantly changing shape. These interactions with cooperativity and feedback lead to nonlinear dynamics and unforeseen emergent behaviors across spatiotemporal scales. The NIMML model of the gut facilitates discovering new knowledge within this complex system for biodefense applications.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Structural development of the brain
In a recent study published in The Journal of Neuroscience, researchers reveal how the basic structure of the brain is formed.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Hospital insects harbour drug-resistant bacteria
More than 50 percent of bacteria recovered from flying insects in a group of English hospitals were resistant to one or more antibiotics, posing a potential infection risk to patients, according to a new study.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Algorithm quickly finds hidden objects in dense point clouds
A new MIT-developed technique enables robots to quickly identify objects hidden in a three-dimensional cloud of data, reminiscent of how some people can make sense of a densely patterned "Magic Eye" image if they observe it in just the right way.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
How you feel about your home is more important than the size
Although home environments affect the way many feel which, in turn, has the potential to influence family relationships, researchers at BYU recently found that how individuals perceive the space (too crowded or too spread out) in their homes has more of an effect on family functioning than actual characteristics, such as the size of the house or number of bedrooms.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Sugars that coat proteins are a possible drug target for pancreatitis
Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas that accounts for 275,000 hospitalizations in the United States annually. Patients who suffer from hereditary pancreatitis have a 40 to 50 percent lifetime risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Soft drink by-products could reduce global warming
Professor of Chemistry Craig Teague and his students have discovered that the by-products of soft drinks could help reduce global warming.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Chronic hepatitis B infections in Europe on the rise since 2008
In 2017, the majority (58 percent) of the almost 27,000 newly reported hepatitis B cases in the European Union and European Economic Area were classified as chronic infections. This follows a consistent upward trend in reported chronic hepatitis B cases since 2008.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Advanced NMR captures new details in nanoparticle structures
Advanced nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory have revealed surprising details about the structure of a key group of materials in nanotechology, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs), and the placement of their active chemical sites.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Restrictive approach to blood cell transfusions safe for heart surgery patients
In a recent clinical trial of higher risk patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass surgery, a restrictive approach to blood cell transfusions resulted in fewer transfusions without putting patients at increased risk of acute kidney injury. The findings appear in an upcoming issue of JASN.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
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