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    Cat-ching Criminals with DNA from Pet Hairs

    November 1, 2023, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Cat hair could be the purr-fect way to catch criminals, according to researchers from the University of Leicester. They have shown that a single cat hair contains DNA which could link a suspect and a crime-scene, or a victim.

    Around 26 per cent of UK householders own a cat and with the average feline shedding thousands of hairs annually, it’s inevitable that once you leave, you’ll bear evidence of the furry resident. This is potentially useful in the forensic investigation of criminal activity.

    While a human perpetrator may take pains not to leave their own DNA behind, transferred cat hair contains its own DNA that could provide a link between a suspect and a crime-scene, or a victim.

    In a paper published in the journal Forensic Science International: Genetics earlier this mo...

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    Researchers solve protein mystery

    November 1, 2023, Categories  Biology/Biotechnology

    Figur 1, se bildetekst for mer informasjon
    N-terminal acetylation by NatC shields proteins from degradation

    Researchers have uncovered that proteins use a common chemical label as a shield to protect them from degradation, which in turn affects motility and aging. Proteins are key to all processes in our cells and understanding their functions and regulation is of major importance.

    “For many years, we have known that nearly all human proteins are modified by a specific chemical group, but its functional impact has remained undefined,” says professor Thomas Arnesen at the Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen.

    He explains:

    “One of the most common protein modifications in human cells is N-terminal acetylation, which is an addition of a small chemical group (acetyl) at the starting tip (N-terminus) of a protein...

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    Deep Learning Speeds up Galactic Calculations

    November 1, 2023, Categories  Physics, Astronomy/Space

    Four square images showing dark backgrounds with stars and galaxies
    Divide and conquer. The upper images show a wide area of a galaxy being simulated. The time resolution is very low, in which each “step” of the simulation is around 100,000 years. The lower images show the specific area affected by a supernova explosion and have a finer time resolution where each step is under 10,000 years. These regions are combined with the more general simulation to improve the overall accuracy and efficiency of the simulation. ©2023 Hirashima et al., NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESO/R. Hunt/Hubble/L. Calçada CC-BY-ND

    A new way to simulate supernovae may help shed light on our cosmic origins. Supernovae, exploding stars, play a critical role in the formation and evolution of galaxies...

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    Data from NASA’s WISE used to preview Lucy Mission’s Asteroid Dinkinesh

    November 1, 2023, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Two artist’s concepts show the WISE spacecraft, left, in front of an image of the infrared sky it observed during its prime mission, and NASA’s Lucy mission, right, during its Nov. 1 encounter with asteroid Dinkinesh.
    NASA/JPL-Caltech and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

    NASA’s Lucy mission will soon have its first asteroid encounter as the spacecraft travels through deep space en route to Jupiter’s orbit. But before the spacecraft passes 265 miles (425 kilometers) from the surface of the small asteroid Dinkinesh, researchers have used 13-year-old infrared data from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) to support the mission’s flyby...

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