New research proves theoretically that the Weak Equivalence Principle can be violated by quantum particles in gravitational waves — the ripples in spacetime caused by colossal events such as merging black holes. As well as resolving a long-standing debate in quantum theory, Quach’s findings could lead to the development of advanced new materials, including fluids…

A natural food colorant called phycocyanin provides a fun, vivid blue in soft drinks, but it is unstable on grocery shelves. A synchrotron is helping to steady it. A fun food colorant with a scientific name — phycocyanin — provides a vivid blue pigment that food companies crave, but it can be unstable when placed…

Histones are tiny proteins that bind to DNA and hold information that can help turn on or off individual genes. Researchers have developed a technique that makes it possible to examine how different versions of histones bind to the genome in tens of thousands of individual cells simultaneously. The technique was applied to the mouse…

Scientists have developed a highly efficient method to address a major challenge in biology — identifying the genetic ‘switches’ that regulate gene expression. Researchers used the system to identify dozens of DNA regulatory elements that act together to orchestrate the switch from fetal to adult hemoglobin expression. The method can also be used to study…

An influenza vaccine that is made of nanoparticles and administered through the nose enhances the body’s immune response to influenza virus infection and offers broad protection against different viral strains, according to new research. Recurring seasonal flu epidemics and potential pandemics are among the most severe threats to public health. Current seasonal influenza vaccines induce…

The remarkable genetic scissors called CRISPR/Cas9, the discovery that won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, sometimes cut in places that they are not designed to target. To use CRISPR enzymes to edit gene sequences, scientists can tailor them to target a specific sequence within the three billion DNA base pairs in the human genome.…

Researchers discover enzyme prototype for formation of ecologically and pharmaceutically important tropone compounds. Previously unknown enzyme type Bacteria found in terrestrial and marine environments produce tropone natural products, among other things, when they interact symbiotically with plants, algae or lower animals, for example as presumed protective substances against microbial pathogens in corals and sponges. The…

Researchers have optimized a special X-ray process — known as soft X-ray tomography — to deliver high-resolution three-dimensional images of entire cells and their molecular structure in just a few minutes. «Scanning electron microscopes are preferred in cell imaging because they provide extremely sharp nanoscale images,» explains Venera Weinhardt, a post-doc at the COS and…

Shifting to a new food freezing method could make for safer and better quality frozen foods while saving energy and reducing carbon emissions, according to a new study. A complete change over to this new method of food freezing worldwide could cut energy use by as much as 6.5 billion kilowatt-hours each year while reducing…

Researchers report the ability to improve safety and efficacy using a CRISPR-Cas9 variant known as miCas9. Those two key problems — safety and efficacy — are what continue to hold CRISPR-Cas9 gene targeting back from its full clinical potential, explains co-senior author Y. Eugene Chen, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of internal medicine, cardiac surgery, physiology,…