If left to their own devices, bacteria on our teeth or wounded skin can encase themselves in a slimy scaffolding, turning into what is called biofilm. These bacteria wreak havoc on our tissue and, being shielded from antibiotic medication by the slime, are difficult to dislodge. A new strategy may offer a simple way [...]
EPFL researchers have discovered that nanoscale devices harnessing the hydroelectric effect can harvest electricity from the evaporation of fluids with higher ion concentrations than purified water, revealing a vast untapped energy potential. Evaporation is a natural process so ubiquitous that most of us take it for granted. In fact, roughly half of the solar energy that [...]
Research shows survey participants duped by AI-generated images nearly 40 percent of the time. If you recently had trouble figuring out if an image of a person is real or generated through artificial intelligence (AI), you’re not alone. A new study from University of Waterloo researchers found that people had more difficulty than was expected distinguishing [...]
Stress granules play a crucial role in the stress response, arising from the aggregation of non-translating mRNAs and proteins. Although significant knowledge exists about stress granules, the mechanisms behind their mRNA localization remain partially understood. Alterations to mRNA can change the characteristics of the nucleobases, influencing key processes like translation, splicing, and the positioning [...]
Many vaccines, including vaccines for hepatitis B and whooping cough, consist of fragments of viral or bacterial proteins. These vaccines often include other molecules called adjuvants, which help to boost the immune system's response to the protein. Most of these adjuvants consist of aluminum salts or other molecules that provoke a nonspecific immune response. [...]
A novel architecture for optical neural networks utilizes wavefront shaping to precisely manipulate the travel of ultrashort pulses through multimode fibers, enabling nonlinear optical computation. Present-day artificial intelligence systems rely on billions of adjustable parameters to accomplish complex objectives. Yet, the vast quantity of these parameters incurs significant expenses. The training and implementation of [...]
In a collaborative study, researchers from Kyushu University and Harvard Medical School have identified proteins that can turn or “reprogram” fibroblasts — the most commonly found cells in skin and connective tissue — into cells with similar properties to limb progenitor cells. Publishing in Developmental Cell ("Direct reprogramming of non-limb fibroblasts to cells with [...]
Artificial Intelligence has helped scientists reveal a new form of aggressive prostate cancer, which could revolutionise how the disease is diagnosed and treated in the future. A Cancer Research UK-funded study, published in Cell Genomics, has revealed that prostate cancer, which affects one in eight men in their lifetime, includes two different subtypes termed evotypes. The discovery [...]
Recent research conducted by the University of Oxford has found that a high proportion of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the general population lead to persistent infections lasting a month or more. The findings have been published in the journal Nature. It has long been thought that prolonged COVID-19 infections in immunocompromised individuals may have been the source of the multiple new variants [...]
The human brain has billions of neurons. Working together, they enable higher-order brain functions such as cognition and complex behaviors. To study these higher-order brain functions, it is important to understand how neural activity is coordinated across various brain regions. Although techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are able to provide insights into brain [...]
