https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Transport proteins are responsible for the ongoing movement of substrates into and out of a biological cell. However, it is difficult to determine which substrates a specific protein can transport. Bioinformaticians at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have developed a model—called SPOT—that can predict this with a high degree of accuracy using artificial intelligence (AI). https://phys.org/news/2024-09-ai-substrate-movement-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 26 Sep 2024 14:46:10 EDT news646580759 Like moths to a flame, microbes can also be moved by light. Using this knowledge, researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University's Research Institute for Light-induced Acceleration System (RILACS) have demonstrated a method to detect the presence of viruses quickly and using only a small sample. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-immunoassay-coronavirus-spike-proteins-minutes.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Thu, 19 Sep 2024 10:02:02 EDT news645958921 Researchers want to transform the natural and abundant resource wood into useful materials, and central to that is a molecular machine found in fungi that decomposes the complex raw material into its basic components. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-bioengineers-substrate-wood-decomposing-enzyme.html Biochemistry Materials Science Wed, 18 Sep 2024 17:15:04 EDT news645898502 Flexible electronic devices based on electrospun nanofiber membranes (ENM) are attracting significant attention due to their high biocompatibility and excellent mechanical performance. However, patterning conductive materials on fiber substrates typically requires expensive vacuum equipment or additional processes to create separate masks. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-mechanical-stability-nanofiber-based-bioelectrodes.html Nanomaterials Wed, 07 Aug 2024 04:11:32 EDT news642222688 The genetic information on DNA is transcribed into messenger RNA (mRNA) and translated to the amino acid sequence by transfer RNA (tRNA) on the ribosome. Modified nucleosides within RNA are involved in maintaining and regulating the protein synthesis system. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-discovery-trna-modification-enzyme-nucleosides.html Biochemistry Thu, 18 Jul 2024 13:42:03 EDT news640528921 A new publication in Opto-Electronic Science discusses forbidden propagation of hyperbolic phonon polaritons and applications in near-field energy transport. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-forbidden-propagation-hyperbolic-phonon-polaritons.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Mon, 08 Jul 2024 17:24:03 EDT news639678241 Gallium nitride (GaN)-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have transformed the lighting industry by replacing conventional lighting technologies with superior energy efficiency, longer operating life and greater environmental sustainability. In recent years, considerable attention has been paid to the trend toward miniaturization of LEDs, driven by display devices, augmented reality, virtual reality, and other emerging technologies. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-flexible-nanoimprint-lithography-enables-efficient.html Nanomaterials Mon, 08 Jul 2024 16:03:53 EDT news639673431 South Korean researchers have successfully developed technology to mass-produce quantum dot lasers, widely used in data centers and quantum communications. This breakthrough paves the way for reducing the production cost of semiconductor lasers to one-sixth of the current cost. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-technology-mass-quantum-dot-lasers.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 28 Jun 2024 09:40:30 EDT news638786423 Carbon capture and utilization technologies for the conversion of carbon dioxide into carboxylic acids have garnered attention recently, with researchers from Tokyo Tech recently demonstrating a biocatalyzed carboxylation reaction of not only natural substrate, pyruvate, but also an unnatural one, 2-ketoglutarate, using Thermoplasma acidophilum NADP+- malic enzyme under mild reaction conditions. The proposed strategy can be tailored for the selective synthesis through carbon dioxide fixation reactions. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-excess-carbon-dioxide-biocatalyst-driven.html Biochemistry Materials Science Mon, 10 Jun 2024 09:18:04 EDT news637229882 As fashion designers look for alternatives to leather, growing mycelium—or fungi-based—'leather' substitutes using a new paste media has opened up the possibility of growing this bio-fabricated material faster, and of cultivating it more easily. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-fungi-fashion-mushroom-eco-leather.html Biotechnology Fri, 17 May 2024 12:21:03 EDT news635167261 The synthesis of metallic inorganic compound thin films typically requires high-temperature processes, which hampers their applications on flexible substrates. Recently, a research team at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) developed a pulse irradiation technique that synthesizes a variety of thin films in an extremely short time under ultra-low temperature. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-temperature-pulse-irradiation-technique-enables.html Nanomaterials Thu, 16 May 2024 11:37:17 EDT news635078234 Chemists often develop and optimize new chemical reactions using so-called model systems, i.e., simple, easily accessible substrates. They then use up to around 100 other substrates as examples to show that the reaction works. This demonstration of versatile applicability is called "scope" in technical jargon. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-strategy-applicability-reactions.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Wed, 10 Apr 2024 11:19:03 EDT news631966741 Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed flexible films that exhibit bright colors purely by virtue of their physical structure, without the need for any pigment. When stretched, the films exhibit a change in color as a response to the mechanical deformation. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-scientists-tunable-displays-sensors.html Nanomaterials Tue, 19 Mar 2024 09:26:03 EDT news630059161 Glasses are ubiquitous materials found in building materials, beverage containers, soft electronics, and mobile phone screens. The creation of naturally dense and rigid glass occurs through a process known as aging. It involves a slow transformation that can take place over millennia to hundreds of millions of years and is marked by the gradual densification and rigidification of a liquid cooled below its melting point. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-soft-unexpectedly-stable-glass.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Wed, 13 Mar 2024 08:45:04 EDT news629538301 A new study has shed light on how soil microorganisms, which are crucial to the carbon cycle, adapt to different levels of temperature and organic matter availability. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-soil-carbon-microbial-thermal-substrate.html Ecology Cell & Microbiology Wed, 28 Feb 2024 08:47:02 EST news628332421 Infections caused by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus have a significant impact on human health, with tens of thousands of hospital patients dying every year from infections due to the S. aureus "superbug." Stopping the spread of bacteria like S. aureus will require not only the development of new antibiotics to which antimicrobial resistance has not been established, but also a better understanding of how these germs adhere to surfaces and from where they can enter the human body. In hospitals, surfaces that may be infected with S. aureus include catheters and implants. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-aureus-surface-ability-evenly-cell.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 22 Jan 2024 13:05:04 EST news625151101 Photonics offers various advantages, including enablement of high-speed and low-loss communication by leveraging light properties in optical data communication, biomedical applications, automotive technology, and artificial intelligence domains. These advantages are realized through complex photonic circuits, comprising diverse photonic elements that are integrated on a photonic chip. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-thermal-stabilization-photonic-packages.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 10 Jan 2024 15:32:02 EST news624123121 The demand for industrial enzymes is continually rising, driven by the growing need to shift towards more sustainable industrial processes. Our research outlines a novel approach to enzyme production, harnessing the untapped potential of cyanobacterial biomass within the P. pastoris platform. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-solution-pichia-pastoris-enzyme-production.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 29 Dec 2023 12:10:17 EST news623074215 Under field conditions, soil respiration consists of heterotrophic respiration by soil microbes and autotrophic respiration by plants. Temperature sensitivity (Q10) is a common method to describe proportional changes in soil heterotrophic respiration in response to warming. However, it remains unclear how the available substrate and the soil microbial community regulate the Q10 of soil microbial respiration under natural warming conditions. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-temperature-sensitivity-soil-microbial-respiration.html Ecology Cell & Microbiology Thu, 21 Dec 2023 11:55:19 EST news622382117 A surprising relationship that governs the activity of enzymes—the molecules that catalyze almost all the chemical reactions of life—has been uncovered by three RIKEN scientists. This finding could help researchers to select and design the best enzymes for use in biotechnology applications. The study is published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-simple-enzyme-biotechnologists.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 13 Dec 2023 11:00:02 EST news621687601 Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences a computational method to predict the placement of proteins on AFM substrates based on electrostatic interactions https://phys.org/news/2023-12-protein-placement-atomic-microscopy-substrates.html Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 13 Dec 2023 09:53:03 EST news621683582 Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a powerful fingerprint analysis and detection technique that plays an important role in the fields of food safety, environmental protection, bio-imaging and hazardous substance identification. Electromagnetic enhancement (EM) and chemical enhancement (CM) are the two recognized mechanisms of action for amplifying Raman signals. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-ferroelectric-modulation-fermi-graphene-oxide.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Fri, 03 Nov 2023 12:12:11 EDT news618232328 Researchers at Delft University of Technology, led by assistant professor Richard Norte, have unveiled a remarkable new material with potential to impact the world of material science: amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC). Beyond its exceptional strength, this material demonstrates mechanical properties crucial for vibration isolation on a microchip. Amorphous silicon carbide is therefore particularly suitable for making ultra-sensitive microchip sensors. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-ultra-strong-material-microchip-sensors.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 02 Nov 2023 11:01:03 EDT news618141662 The rich diversity of organic compounds is a result of the remarkable ability of carbon atoms to connect and form bonds with different molecules. Variations in these bonding arrangements, as well as the types of atoms and functional groups involved, result in the formation of isomers. They are a type of compound that shares the same molecular formula but exhibits distinct three-dimensional shapes and properties. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-successful-pausonkhand-reaction-atropisomeric-substrates.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Mon, 30 Oct 2023 16:00:19 EDT news617900417 An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has uncovered how the stiffness of a cell's microenvironment influences its form and function. The team was led by Namrata Gundiah, Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Paturu Kondaiah, Professor at the Department of Developmental Biology and Genetics. The findings provide a better understanding of what happens to tissues during wound healing. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-uncovering-link-cell-biomechanics-wound.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 25 Oct 2023 15:20:04 EDT news617466001 Industry 4.0 requires simple solutions for complex functions. Optical sensors, such as pinhole cameras, can deliver a depth of focus and reasonable resolution, but they suffer from low intensity for reliable and fast imaging. This requires a long exposure time, which sacrifices fast imaging capability and limits their real-world usage in self-driving cars. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-dragonfly-eyes-microlens-array-technique.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 05 Oct 2023 13:57:03 EDT news615733021 Protein phosphorylation is a major posttranslational modification carried out by protein kinases that constitute an integral part of complex signaling networks in eukaryotes. Casein kinase 1 (CK1) is a conserved serine/threonine protein kinase in eukaryotes and plays pivotal roles in both plants and mammals through phosphorylating various substrates. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-global-phosphoproteomics-reveal-diverse-roles.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 28 Sep 2023 11:19:28 EDT news615118762 Writing is an age-old cultural technique. Thousands of years ago, humans were already carving signs and symbols into stone slabs. Scripts have become far more sophisticated since then but one aspect remains the same: Whether the writer is using cuneiform or a modern alphabet, a solid substrate, such as clay or paper, is required to fix the written structures in place. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-ion-exchange-bead-pen.html Condensed Matter Soft Matter Wed, 30 Aug 2023 12:51:04 EDT news612618661 Agricultural and forestry waste biomass is a renewable lignocellulosic resource. The cellulosome-producing strain Clostridium thermocellum (C. thermocellum), an efficient cellulose-degrading bacterium, is a promising component for lignocellulose biorefinery. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-reveals-role-glucosidase-oligosaccharide-metabolism.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Fri, 25 Aug 2023 11:04:06 EDT news612180242 A research team led by Prof. Chen Yuxing and Prof. Zhou Cong from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) recently utilized single-particle cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to decipher the 3D structure and molecular mechanism of the platelet drug transporter ABCC4. The study was published online in Nature Cardiovascular Research. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-unveiling-3d-molecular-mechanism-platelet.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 28 Jul 2023 11:57:28 EDT news609764244