A newly created DNA base editor contains an atom-rearranging enzyme (red) that can change adenine into inosine (read and copied as guanine), guide RNA (green) which directs the molecule to the right spot, and Cas9 nickase (blue), which snips the opposing strand of DNA and tricks the cell into swapping the complementary base. Credit: Gaudelli et al./ Nature 2017

Researchers have built an enzyme that can perform a previously impossible DNA swap, directly changing the DNA base pair from an A●T to a G●C. The new enzyme, known as a base editor, may one day enable genome surgery that erases harmful mutations and writes in helpful ones, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator David Liu and colleagues report October 25, 2017, in Nature.

Some genome editing tools eg CRISPR/Cas9, cut...

Seething hot planet Kepler-13Ab that circles very close to its host star, Kepler-13A. In the background is the star’s binary companion, Kepler-13B, and the third member of the multiple-star system is the orange dwarf star Kepler-13C. Astronomers have detected a precipitation process, called a “cold trap,” on an exoplanet. Without titanium oxide to absorb incoming starlight on the daytime side, the atmospheric temperature grows colder with increasing altitude. Normally, titanium oxide in the atmospheres of hot Jupiters absorbs light and reradiates it as heat, making the atmosphere grow warmer at higher altitudes. The Kepler-13 system is 1,730 light-years from Earth. Credit: NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI)

Hubble has found a blistering-hot giant planet outside our solar system where the atmo...

Abell S1063, a galaxy cluster, was observed by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope as part of the Frontier Fields programme. The huge mass of the cluster acts as a cosmic magnifying glass and enlarges even more distant galaxies, so they become bright enough for Hubble to see. Credit: NASA, ESA, and J. Lotz (STScI)

Observations may hint at nature of dark matter. Using Hubble, astronomers have discovered that the brightest galaxies within galaxy clusters “wobble” relative to the cluster’s centre of mass. This unexpected result is inconsistent with predictions made by the current standard model of dark matter. With further analysis it may provide insights into the nature of dark matter, perhaps even indicating that new physics is at work.

Invisible halos of elusive dark matter enclose galaxie...

Decorating Graphene Oxide with Ionic Liquid Nanodroplets: An Approach Leading to Energy-Dense, High-Voltage Supercapacitors

The ability to charge cellphones in seconds is one step closer after researchers at the University of Waterloo used nanotechnology to significantly improve supercapacitors. Their novel design roughly doubles the amount of electrical energy the rapid-charging devices can hold, helping pave the way for eventual use in everything from smartphones and laptop computers, to electric vehicles and high-powered lasers.

“We’re showing record numbers for the energy-storage capacity of supercapacitors,” said Michael Pope, a professor of chemical engineering who led the Waterloo research. “And the more energy-dense we can make them, the more batteries we can start displacing...