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
Friday 21 June 2019
National emergency alerts potentially vulnerable to attack
On October 3, 2018, cell phones across the United States received a text message labeled "Presidential Alert." The message read: "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed."
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Mystery of immunosuppressive drug's biosynthesis finally unlocked
Mycophenolic acid (MPA), discovered in 1893, was the first natural antibiotic to be isolated and crystallized in human history. Today, this fungal metabolite has been developed into multiple first-line immunosuppressive drugs to control immunologic rejection during organ transplantation and treat various autoimmune diseases.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
How working out in anger can put you at risk
(HealthDay)—Research points to a very long list of benefits from exercise, from improving your overall health to easing stress and enhancing mental well-being. But a landmark study in the journal Circulation highlights a negative, yet specific, concern.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
NASA helps warn of harmful algal blooms in lakes, reservoirs
Harmful algal blooms can cause big problems in coastal areas and lakes across the United States. When toxin-containing aquatic organisms multiply and form a bloom, it can sicken people and pets, contaminate drinking water, and force closures at boating and swimming sites.
* 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
How you lock your smartphone can reveal your age: study
Older smartphone users tend to rely more on their phones' auto lock feature compared to younger users, a new UBC study has found. They also prefer using PINs over fingerprints to unlock their phones.
* 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
Climbing droplets driven by mechanowetting on transverse waves
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
* 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
Women more likely to face long-term impairment after childhood brain tumor radiation
Young women who undergo radiation therapy to treat pediatric brain tumors are more likely to suffer from long-term cognitive impairment than male survivors, according to a study by Georgia State University researchers.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Kelly Latimer flies at the cutting edge of aviation—and soon, space
Kelly Latimer, 54, is a test pilot for Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit—two commercial space companies owned by British billionaire Richard Branson. For space tourism company Virgin Galactic, Latimer flies the giant, twin-fuselage aircraft known as WhiteKnightTwo, which carries a smaller spaceship at its belly to an altitude of up to 50,000 feet before the spaceship detaches and blasts off toward suborbital space. Latimer is also chief test pilot for Virgin Orbit, where she flies a modified 747 plane called Cosmic Girl. The plane carries a rocket under its left wing up to about 35,000 feet in the air, after which the rocket is released and falls for about four or five seconds before igniting and launching toward its intended orbit. Latimer is the only female test pilot out of a total of seven between the two companies.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Ten times the Chernobyl television series lets artistic licence get in the way of facts
Audiences have been gripped by Chernobyl, the HBO/Sky series that charts the events and aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster of April 1986.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Washable electronic textiles to usher in an era of even smarter wearable products
With the wearable electronic device market firmly established, active research is being conducted on electronic textiles capable of functioning like electronic devices. Fabric-based items are flexible and can be worn comfortably all day, making them the ideal platform for wearable electronic devices.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Small satellite concept finalists target moon, Mars and beyond
NASA has selected three finalists among a dozen concepts for future small satellites. The finalists include a 2022 robotic mission to study two asteroid systems, twin spacecraft to study the effects of energetic particles around Mars, and a lunar orbiter managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, to study water on the moon. At least one of these missions is expected to move to final selection and flight.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Phenols in cocoa bean shells may reverse obesity-related problems in mouse cells
Scientists may have discovered more reasons to love chocolate.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Tailor-made prosthetic liners could help more amputees walk again
Researchers at the University of Bath have developed a new way of designing and manufacturing bespoke prosthetic liners, in less than a day.
* 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
Slack Technologies rises in Wall Street debut
Software company Slack Technologies climbed on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday after debuting in a direct listing, in the latest sign of Wall Street's appetite for new technology entrants.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
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