In these single-celled parasites, known as trypanosomes, each reproductive cell splits off in turn from the parental germline cell, which is responsible for passing on genes. Conventional germline cells divide twice to produce all four sex cells – or gametes – simultaneously. In humans, four sperms are produced from a single germline cell. So, these strange parasite cells are doing their own thing rather than sticking to the biology rulebook....

Innovative nanosheets made from equal parts of hydrogen and boron have a greater capacity to store and release hydrogen compared with conventional metal-based materials. This finding by researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), the University of Tsukuba, Kochi University of Technology, and the University of Tokyo reinforces the view that hydrogen boride nanosheets (HB sheets) could go beyond graphene as a nano-sized multifunctional material. Their study, published today (October 25, 2019) in Nature Communications, found that hydrogen can be released in significant amounts (up to eight weight percent) from HB sheets under ultraviolet light, even under mild conditions — that is, at ambient room temperature and pressure....

For years, scientists have been looking for a good source of heart cells that can be used to study cardiac function in the lab, or perhaps even to replace diseased or damaged tissue in heart disease patients. To do this, many are looking to stem cells. Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, the Human BioMolecular Research Institute, and ChemRegen, Inc. have been searching for molecules that convert stem cells to heart cells for about eight years—and now they’ve found one....

The discovery will help scientists further understand Jupiter’s interior structure — including atmospheric dynamics — as well as changes in Earth’s magnetic field. A paper on the discovery was published today in the journal Nature Astronomy. “Secular variation has been on the wish list of planetary scientists for decades,” said Scott Bolton, Juno principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. “This discovery could only take place due to Juno’s extremely accurate science instruments and the unique nature of Juno’s orbit, which carries it low over the planet as it travels from pole to pole....

Every second, lasers mounted on the International Space Station send 242 rapid pulses of light down to Earth. These harmless beams from NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) instrument bounce off Earth’s natural and human-made surfaces and are reflected back to the instrument. By measuring the time it takes for the signals to come back, scientists can derive the height of the surface below. Scientists use these light detection and ranging, or lidar, measurements to create three-dimensional profiles of Earth’s surface....

Leaded gasoline calculated to have stolen more than 800 million cumulative IQ points since the 1940s. In 1923, lead was first added to gasoline to help keep car engines healthy. However, automotive health came at the great expense of our own well-being. A new study calculates that exposure to car exhaust from leaded gas during childhood stole a collective 824 million IQ points from more than 170 million Americans alive today, about half the population of the United States....

Researchers simulated Mars’ harsh ionizing radiation conditions to see how long dried, frozen bacteria and fungi could survive.Previous studies found ‘Conan the Bacterium’ (Deinococcus radiodurans) could survive over a million years in Mars’ harsh ionizing radiation.A new study shatters that record, finding the hearty bacterium could survive 280 million years if buried.This means evidence of life could still be dormant and buried below Mars’ surface. When the first samples from Mars are returned to Earth, scientists should be on the lookout for ancient sleeping bacteria, according to the findings of a new study....

The study was led by researchers from the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute (CSCI) and the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Cambridge. Breast tissue is dynamic, changing over time during puberty, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and aging. The paper, published today (January 28, 2022) in the journal Nature Communications, focuses on the changes that take place during lactation by investigating cells found in human milk. This research, led by Dr....

Scientists using the Mini-RF radar on NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) have estimated the maximum amount of ice likely to be found inside a permanently shadowed lunar crater located near the Moon’s South Pole. As much as five to ten percent of material, by weight, could be patchy ice, according to the team of researchers led by Bradley Thomson at Boston University’s Center for Remote Sensing, in Massachusetts. “These terrific results from the Mini-RF team contribute to the evolving story of water on the Moon,” says LRO’s deputy project scientist, John Keller of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland....

Dr. Jonny Kim was selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class. He reported for duty in August 2017 and completed two years of training as an Astronaut Candidate. A U.S. Navy SEAL, Kim completed more than 100 combat operations and is the recipient of the Silver Star and Bronze Star with Combat “V.” Kim was commissioned as a naval officer through an enlisted-to-officer program and earned his degree in mathematics at the University of San Diego and a doctorate of medicine at Harvard Medical School....

In this image, north is up. The southern portion of the left inset above shows the cratered plateau uplands informally named Vega Terra (note that all feature names are informal). A jagged scarp, or wall of cliffs, known as Piri Rupes borders the young, nearly crater-free plains of Piri Planitia. The cliffs break up into isolated mesas in several places. Cutting diagonally across the mottled plans is the long extensional fault of Inanna Fossa, which stretches eastward 370 miles (600 kilometers) from here to the western edge of the great nitrogen ice plains of Sputnik Planum....

MIT researchers have developed a new way to precisely control the amount of a particular protein that is produced in mammalian cells using an approach based on CRISPR proteins. This technique could be used to precisely tune the production of useful proteins, including the monoclonal antibodies used to treat cancer and other diseases. It could also precisely calibrate other aspects of cellular behavior. In their new study, the researchers showed that this system can work in a variety of mammalian cells, with very consistent results....

Current devices for data storage, such as optical media, magnetic media and flash memory, typically last less than 20 years, and they require substantial energy to maintain stored information. Scientists have explored using different molecules, such as DNA or other polymers, to store information at high density and without power, for thousands of years or longer. But these approaches are limited by factors such as high relative cost and slow read/write speeds....

Compound eyes, found in most arthropods, consist of many microscopic lenses organized on a curved array. Each tiny lens captures an individual image, and the mosquito’s brain integrates all of the images to achieve peripheral vision without head or eye movement. The simplicity and multifunctionality of compound eyes make them good candidates for miniaturized vision systems, which could be used by drones or robots to rapidly image their surroundings. Joelle Frechette and colleagues wanted to develop a liquid manufacturing process to make compound lenses with most of the features of the mosquito eye....

Astronomers at Cardiff University have identified a strange twisting motion in the orbits of two colliding black holes. This exotic phenomenon is predicted by Einstein’s theory of gravity. Their study reports that this is the first time this effect, known as precession, has been seen in black holes, where the twisting is 10 billion times faster than in previous observations. Led by Professor Mark Hannam, Dr. Charlie Hoy, and Dr....

A mysterious small marine reptile dating from 150 million years ago has been identified as a new species that may have been capable of diving very deeply. The well-preserved specimen was found in a Late Jurassic deep marine deposit along the English Channel coastline in Dorset, England. The aquatic reptile has been determined to be part of the group known as ichthyosaurs, which were streamlined marine predators from the Late Jurassic period, according to paleontologist Megan L....

Launched in December 2021, IXPE has detected polarized X-rays from three of its first six targets. Polarized X-rays carry unique details about where the light comes from and what it passes through. By combining these details with measurements of X-rays’ energy and how they change over time, we get a fuller picture of an object and how it works. Prior to IXPE, the only cosmic object with polarized X-ray measurements was the Crab Nebula, the wreckage of a massive, exploded star whose light swept past Earth nearly 1,000 years ago....

Known as a Comprehensive Systems Test or CST, this was the first full systems evaluation that has ever been run on the assembled observatory, and one of the final first-time activities the team will perform. Similar performance evaluations have been completed in Webb’s history, using simulations and surrogates to infer data about pieces of the spacecraft that had not yet been assembled. Now that Webb is fully built, simulations and simulators are no longer needed, and engineers can confidently assess both its software and electronic performance....

Before NuSTAR launched in 2012, it promised to explore supermassive black holes hidden inside of galaxies. Now, a decade after launch, it has succeeded in illuminating black holes, as well as achieving many other cosmological discoveries. NuSTAR studies the universe in high-energy X-rays, detecting hard X-rays at energies of 5 to 80 kiloelectronvolts. This range in the electromagnetic spectrum is useful for studying the dynamics of black holes, extreme active galaxies, and exploding stars....

As jets and winds flow out from these active galactic nuclei (AGN), they “regulate the gas in the center of the galaxy and affect things like the star-formation rate and how the gas mixes with the surrounding galactic environment,” explained study lead Ryan Tanner, a postdoc in NASA Goddard’s X-ray Astrophysics Laboratory. New simulations carried out on the NASA Center for Climate Simulation (NCCS) Discover supercomputer show how weaker, low-luminosity jets produced by a galaxy’s monster black hole interact with their galactic environment....