News by Subject Chemistry & Physics

To better understand subsurface processes associated with earthquakes and eruptions of Mount Aso, Kyushu University researchers investigated a very long period (VLP) seismicity dataset collected over two years. A new technique was developed to locate VLP events, and two clusters of such events were detected. Changes in the locations of VLP events were closely associated with earthquake and eruption occurrences. This method advances understanding of seismic and volcanic processes and could contribute to disaster mitigation.

Last fall, the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) convened a National Science Foundation workshop to identify the bottlenecks that stymie innovation in microscopy and imaging, and recommend approaches for transforming how imaging technologies are developed and deployed. The conclusions of the 79 workshop participants are summarized in a Commentary in the August issue of Nature Methods.

Many forms of vision loss stem from a common source: impaired communication between the eye and the brain. And at the root of that communication are hundreds of proteins generated by the retina's nerve cells. A new study examines these proteins in unprecedented detail, providing surprising new insights into how visual signals are distributed to different regions of the brain.

One way biological compounds inside cells stay organized is through membrane-less organelles (MLOs) -- wall-less liquid droplets made from proteins and RNA that clump together and stay separate from the rest of the cellular stew. In a paper in Scientific Reports, scientists report that MLOs may be highly sensitive to the level of divalent cations inside cells. This matters because divalent calcium and magnesium ions aid in cellular signaling and are vital to life.

A team of scientists from Weill Cornell Medicine and The Rockefeller University has illuminated the basic mechanism of Piezo proteins, which function as sensors in the body for mechanical stimuli such as touch, bladder fullness, and blood pressure. The discovery is a feat of basic science that also opens up many new paths of investigation into the roles of Piezo proteins in human diseases and potential new therapeutic strategies.

In an article published in the peer-reviewed SPIE publication Neurophotonics, 'High density functional diffuse optical tomography based on frequency domain measurements improves image quality and spatial resolution,' researchers demonstrate critical improvements to functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS)-based optical imaging in the brain.

The research explains how random fluctuations affect the operation of microscopic machines like this tiny motor. In the future, such devices could be incorporated into other technologies to recycle waste heat and thus improve energy efficiency.