Timing is everything: Researchers describe genetic clockwork in germ cell development

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J The nematode C. elegans is truly an organizational talent: The tiny animals live for only two to three weeks, with sexual maturity lasting only four days. They still manage to generate over 300 offspring during this period. For this ambitious development program to function optimally, a large number of processes must be synchronized within their cells. Geneticists have deciphered a central signalling pathway that encodes and controls these processes.

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Dinosaurs ended -- and originated -- with a bang!

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J It is commonly understood that the dinosaurs disappeared with a bang -- wiped out by a great meteorite impact on the Earth 66 million years ago. But their origins have been less understood. In a new study, scientists show that the key expansion of dinosaurs was also triggered by a crisis -- a mass extinction that happened 232 million years ago.

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Virtual contact lenses for radar satellites

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J Radar satellites supply the data used to map sea level and ocean currents. However, up until now the radar's 'eyes' have been blind where the oceans are covered by ice. Researchers have now developed a new analysis method to solve this problem.

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BESSY II sheds light on how the internal compass is constructed in magnetotactic bacteria

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J Bacteria exist in many shapes and with very different talents. Magnetotactic bacteria can even sense the earth's magnetic field by making use of magnetic nanoparticles in their interior that act as an internal compass. Experts have now examined the magnetic compass of Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense at BESSY II. Their results may be helpful in designing actuation devices for nanorobots and nanosensors for biomedical applications.

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Moss capable of removing arsenic from drinking water discovered

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J A moss capable of removing arsenic from contaminated water has been discovered. And it happens quickly -- in just one hour, the arsenic level is so low that the water is no longer harmful for people to drink.

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Cholesterol leash: Key tethering protein found to transport cellular cholesterol

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J Cholesterol is an essential component of living organisms, but the mechanisms that transport cholesterol inside the cell are poorly understood. Researchers have identified RELCH, a tethering protein that is essential for non-vesicular transport of cholesterol. The findings may lead to new discovery pathways for the treatment of cholesterol-related metabolic disorders.

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50x more stable adsorbent created

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J A research team developed a technology to increase the stability of amine-containing adsorbents by fifty times, moving one step further toward commercializing stable adsorbents that last longer.

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