1. Combined analysis of protein and transcript expression of GPCRs in the gastrointestinal tract. Links between GPCR, N-acyl amide, bacterial genus and the site where these co-occur in the gastrointestinal tract (coloured) are shown.
2. Proposed two-step biosynthesis of N-acyl serinol using the two domains encoded by the hm-NAS N-acyl serinol synthase gene.

Scientists developed a method to genetically engineer gut bacteria to produce molecules that have the potential to treat certain disorders by altering human metabolism. We have a symbiotic relationship with the trillions of bacteria that live in our bodies – they help us, we help them. It turns out that they even speak the same language based on molecules called ligands...

Fibers of a corn-derived, biodegradable plastic developed at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Nebraska researchers and their colleagues have demonstrated a new technique for improving the properties of bio-plastic that could also streamline its manufacturing, making it more competitive with petroleum-based counterparts. Credit: Craig Chandler, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Introducing a simple step to the production of plant-derived, biodegradable plastic could improve its properties while overcoming obstacles to manufacturing it commercially, says new research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Jiangnan University...

This cartoon shows how gas falling into distant starburst galaxies ends up in vast turbulent reservoirs of cool gas extending 30 000 light-years from the central regions. ALMA has been used to detect these turbulent reservoirs of cold gas surrounding similar distant starburst galaxies. By detecting CH+ for the first time in the distant Universe, this research opens up a new window of exploration into a critical epoch of star formation. Credit: ESO/L. Benassi

5 of 6 distant starburst galaxies were found by ALMA to be surrounded by turbulent reservoirs of hydrogen gas, the fuel for future star formation. In the early universe, brilliant starburst galaxies converted vast stores of hydrogen gas into new stars at a furious pace...

The earliest known galaxies in the universe. Some of these galaxies formed just 600 million years after the Big Bang. Credit: ESA/NASA

Soon after the Big Bang, the universe went completely dark. The intense, seminal event that created the cosmos churned up so much hot, thick gas that light was completely trapped. Much later – perhaps as many as one billion years after the Big Bang -the universe expanded, became more transparent, and eventually filled up with galaxies, planets, stars, and other objects that give off visible light. That’s the universe we know today. How it emerged from the cosmic dark ages to a clearer, light-filled state remains a mystery.

In a new study, researchers at the University of Iowa offer a theory of how that happened...