Recent Comments

    HETDEX reveals Galaxy Gold Mine in First Large Survey

    February 14, 2023, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    The Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) announced their first publicly released catalog mapping over 200,000 astronomical objects, which include distant stars and galaxies bursting with star formation. HETDEX tiles the sky, collecting spectroscopic data that is used to pinpoint location of a star or galaxy and its distance from Earth. (Top) Sky coverage of the planned HETDEX Fall field (in red) and the footprint of this catalog release (in blue), with stars, Lyman-alpha emitting (lae), [O II]-emitting (oii), and low-z galaxies of non [OII] emission (lzg) color coded. Credit: Erin Mentuch Cooper et al 2023 ApJ 943 177.

    TACC systems support catalog release of over 200,000 new star and galaxy locations...

    Read More

    Packaged DNA: New Method to Promote Bone Growth

    February 14, 2023, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Researchers develop new method to promote bone growth
    Schematic illustration of the DNA-activated bone-ECM-mimicking surface coating. The lipid components OO4/DOPE were formulated to cationic liposomes. The cationic liposomes were assembled with DNA encoding either of the reporter gene green fluorescent protein (GFP) or the therapeutic gene BMP-2, to LPX. LPX were assembled into DNA-activated surface coatings as tool for in situ transfection using the LbL technique. Credit: Advanced Healthcare Materials (2022). DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202201978

    DNA can help to stimulate bone healing in a localised and targeted manner, for example after a complicated fracture or after severe tissue loss following surgery...

    Read More

    Hubble captures the start of a new Spoke Season at Saturn

    February 14, 2023, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Saturn and its rings fill the view. Saturn has yellow, reddish-brown, and tan stripes. Saturn's rings are tilted slightly, allowing us to see ring bands along with the wide dark band called the Cassini Division.
    NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has observation time devoted to Saturn each year, thanks to the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program, and the dynamic gas giant planet always shows us something new. This latest image heralds the start of Saturn’s “spoke season” with the appearance of two smudgy spokes in the B ring, on the left in the image. The shape and shading of spokes varies – they can appear light or dark, depending on the viewing angle, and sometimes appear more like blobs than classic radial spoke shapes, as seen here. The ephemeral features don’t last long, but as the planet’s autumnal equinox approaches on May 6, 2025, more will appear. Scientists will be looking for clues to explain the cause and nature of the spokes...
    Read More

    Telomeres, Mitochondria, and Inflammation oh my! Three hallmarks of Aging Work Together to Prevent Cancer

    February 10, 2023, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Telomeres protect the ends of chromosomes from damage. This image shows telomeres (green) and DNA (blue) during DNA repair activities.
    Telomeres protect the ends of chromosomes from damage. This image shows telomeres (green) and DNA (blue) during DNA repair activities.

    As we age, the end caps of our chromosomes, called telomeres, gradually shorten. Now, Salk scientists have discovered that when telomeres become very short, they communicate with mitochondria, the cell’s powerhouses. This communication triggers a complex set of signaling pathways and initiates an inflammatory response that destroys cells that could otherwise become cancerous.

    The findings, published in Nature on February 8, 2023, could lead to new ways of preventing and treating cancer as well as designing better interventions to offset the harmful consequences of aging.

    The discovery is the result of a collaboration between co-senior authors ...

    Read More