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Neuer Regulator für Fettleibigkeit in Fliegen entdeckt

By Guest PostFebruary 11, 2014Scienceadipositas, adipositas epidemie, biophysikalische chemie, bluthochdruck, deutschland, dicken brummern, drosophila melanogaster, funktion, goettingen, krebs, max planck institut, modellorganismus, netzwerk, protein, regulator fuer fettleibigkeit, ronald kuehnlein, short neuropeptide f, snpf, stim, stromal interaction molecule, taufliege

Forscher vom Max-Planck-Institut für biophysikalische Chemie in Göttingen haben einen neuen Mechanismus in der Taufliege aufgedeckt, der bei den Insekten Heißhunger auslösen kann. Wie sie herausfanden, spielt dabei die Kalziumkonzentration im Fettspeicherorgan der Fliegen eine Schlüsselrolle. War diese niedrig, entwickelten sich die Fliegen zu sichtbar „dicken Brummern“.

Zu fett, zu süß und vor allem zu viel – dies gilt für die Essensgewohnheiten vieler Menschen. Bewegen wir uns dabei auch noch wenig, gerät unser Fettstoffwechsel schnell aus dem Gleichgewicht. Die Folge: Gut 50 Millionen Bundesbürger sind übergewichtig, rund 20 Millionen von ihnen leiden gar unter Fettsucht (Adipositas), so die Zahlen einer aktuellen Studie des Berliner Robert-Koch-Instituts zur Gesundheit Erwachsener in Deutschland. Der Trend zum Übergewicht steigt weltweit weiter an: Die Weltgesundheitsorganisation stuft Fettleibigkeit als das am schnellsten wachsende Gesundheitsproblem ein und spricht bereits von einer globalen Adipositas-Epidemie. Betroffene leiden verstärkt unter Gefäßkrankheiten und Gelenkbeschwerden und haben ein höheres Risiko für Krankheiten wie Diabetes mellitus Typ 2, Bluthochdruck oder Krebs. (more…)

NASA Mars Orbiters See Clues to Possible Water Flows

By Guest PostFebruary 11, 2014Scienceferric component, hirise, iron mineral antifreeze, james wray, lujendra ojha, mars, martian slopes, more oxidized, nasa mars orbiters, red planet, richard zurek, slope lineae, unknown factors, water flows

NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars have returned clues for understanding seasonal features that are the strongest indication of possible liquid water that may exist today on the Red Planet.

The features are dark, finger-like markings that advance down some Martian slopes when temperatures rise. The new clues include corresponding seasonal changes in iron minerals on the same slopes and a survey of ground temperatures and other traits at active sites. These support a suggestion that brines with an iron-mineral antifreeze, such as ferric sulfate, may flow seasonally, though there are still other possible explanations. (more…)

Time capsule of the Big Bang

By Guest PostFebruary 11, 2014Sciencebig bang, time capsule

Using one of the world’s premier telescopes, University of Minnesota astrophysicists Evan Skillman and Kristen McQuinn have discovered a priceless relic of the Big Bang in the Milky Way’s back yard. (more…)

A New Tool in the Search for Extraterrestrial Life: A Tricked-Out Point-and-Shoot

By Guest PostFebruary 10, 2014Scienceastrobiological imager, contextual imaging, other planets, prototype, search for extraterrestrial, search for life

UA engineers have turned an off-the-shelf digital camera into an imaging device that could be key in the search for life forms on other planets.

The next time a NASA rover blasts off to explore Mars or some other planet, it might be equipped with a new type of “do-it-all” camera developed by an engineering team at the University of Arizona.
(more…)

Renewable energy resources

By Guest PostFebruary 10, 2014Scienceenergy storage, nano porous, nanowires, renewable energy, resources, silver electrocatalyst

UD researchers report on new catalyst to convert greenhouse gases into chemicals

A team of researchers at the University of Delaware has developed a highly selective catalyst capable of electrochemically converting carbon dioxide — a greenhouse gas — to carbon monoxide with 92 percent efficiency. The carbon monoxide then can be used to develop useful chemicals. (more…)

New Theory May Lead to More Efficient Solar Cells

By Guest PostFebruary 9, 2014Sciencecarlos silva, efficient solar cells, eric bittner, fullerenes, molecular model, new theory, organic semiconductor materials, organic semiconductors, quantum mechanical effects, robert welch foundation, semiconducting polymers, shockley queisser limit, theoretical model, uh, ultrafast laser spectroscopy, université de montréal, university of houston

A new theoretical model developed by professors at the University of Houston (UH) and Université de Montréal may hold the key to methods for developing better materials for solar cells. Eric Bittner, a John and Rebecca Moores Professor of Chemistry and Physics in UH’s College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and Carlos Silva, an associate professor at the Université de Montréal and Canada Research Chair in Organic Semiconductor Materials, say the model could lead to new solar cell materials made from improved blends of semiconducting polymers and fullerenes.

The researchers describe their findings in a paper titled “Noise-Induced Quantum Coherence Drives Photo-Carrier Generation Dynamics at Polymeric Semiconductor Heterojunctions,” appearing January 29 in Nature Communications, a multidisciplinary journal dedicated to publishing research in the biological, physical and chemical sciences. (more…)

Wenn der Durchschnitt einfach nicht gut genug ist

By Guest PostFebruary 9, 2014Scienceanalyse wissenschaftlicher daten, antonija kuzmanic, atom, bojan zagrovic, campus vienna biocenter, der durchschnitt, England, erc, europaeischen forschungsrate, fachjournal, garib murshudov, kristall, laboratories, max f perutz, mfpl, molekularbiologie, nature communications, navraj s pannu, protein, proteinkristallstruktur, roentgenkristallographie, universitaet cambridge, universitaet wien

Der Durchschnitt wird für viele Dinge ermittelt: die Körpergröße, monatliche Arbeitstage oder die Wohnungsmieten einer Stadt, und spielt auch in der Analyse wissenschaftlicher Daten eine wichtige Rolle. Am Beispiel der Analyse von Proteinkristallstrukturen demonstrieren Computerbiologen der Max F. Perutz Laboratories der Universität Wien und der Medizinischen Universität Wien nun, dass das nicht immer der beste Weg ist. Die Studie des Teams um Bojan Zagrovic, erschienen im Fachjournal Nature Communications, zeigt, dass Proteinstrukturen wahrscheinlich sehr viel dynamischer und heterogener sind, als gängige Methoden zur Röntgenstrukturanalyse nahelegen.

Wann die Ermittlung des Durchschnitts gut ist und wann nicht (more…)

New boron nanomaterial may be possible

By Guest PostFebruary 8, 2014Science36 boron atoms, atom thick, binding energy spectrum, boron clusters, borophene, brown university, electron, electron racetrack, graphene, helium, lai sheng wang, nanomaterial partner, new boron nanomaterial, pnnl, sheet of carbon, symmetrical structure, wie li li, zachary piazza

Graphene, a sheet of carbon one atom thick, may soon have a new nanomaterial partner. In the lab and on supercomputers, chemists have determined that a unique arrangement of 36 boron atoms in a flat disc with a hexagonal hole in the middle may be the preferred building blocks for “borophene.” Findings are reported in Nature Communications.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Researchers from Brown University have shown experimentally that a boron-based competitor to graphene is a very real possibility. (more…)

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