Mauro Sereno et al. Gravitational lensing detection of an extremely dense environment around a galaxy cluster, Nature Astronomy (2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-018-0508-y

A study published recently in the journal Nature Astronomy and which questions current models of structure formation in the universe is based on data obtained with the Gran Telescopio Canarias and among its authors is a team of researchers from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC). The structure of the universe can be compared to that of a sponge, often referred to as the cosmic web. Matter is concentrated along filaments which cross over each other, forming zones where most matter accumulates, and others where there is very little. At the densest points, galaxies group together, forming clusters...

In the absence of SIRT7, a human primary cell displays multiple nucleoli. DNA was stained with DAPI (turquoise) and nucleolus was stained with anti-fibrillarin (red).

Aging is a process of gradual deterioration from exposure to time and the elements; this process begins with deterioration deep inside every cell. Researchers from Stanford University and the VA Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS) have identified a protein that guards cells against senescence – aging-related problems – by protecting a particularly vulnerable set of genes. The study is published in the July 13 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

The genes that encode components of the ribosome – the protein-making machine of the cell – are abundant and constantly in use...

When exposed to sunlight, star-shaped gold nanoparticles coated with a semiconductor allow efficient production of hydrogen from water. Credit: Ashley Pennington/Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Rutgers study opens door to broader use of sunlight and advanced materials to combat climate change. Star-shaped gold nanoparticles, coated with a semiconductor, can produce hydrogen from water over 4X more efficiently than other methods – opening the door to improved storage of solar energy and other advances that could boost renewable energy use and combat climate change, according to Rutgers University-New Brunswick researchers.

“Instead of using ultraviolet light, which is the standard practice, we leveraged the energy of visible and infrared light to excite electrons in gold nanoparticles,” sa...

Mice were exposed to two auditory fear conditioning, separated by five hours. Both memories were encoded by shared neurons in the lateral amygdala while they were encoded by different neurons in the auditory cortex. Mice showed freezing behavior in response to 7kHz and 2kHz tones. Induction of optical long term depotentiation (LTD) to synapses specific to 7kHz fear memory, erased only that memory (test 3) without affecting the other memory (test 4) that was stored in shared neuron ensemble.
Credit: Kaoru Inokuchi, Kareem Abdou

Memories are formed through long-term changes in synaptic efficacy, a process known as synaptic plasticity, and are stored in the brain in specific neuronal ensembles called engram cells, which are activated during corresponding events...