Understanding cooperation and conflict in plant symbionts
Peer-Reviewed Publication
The traditional idea of symbiosis—long-term interactions between two organisms—is that the participants mutually benefit each other. However, researchers have debated whether the interests of the symbionts always line up with the hosts they inhabit, or whether genes that benefit symbionts might come at the expense of their hosts. A new study investigates this question through genomic sequencing and infecting plant hosts with their microbial symbionts.
Researchers from institutions around the world have charted the the distribution of known and unknown ant species in the largest global map of insect diversity ever created.
A Purdue University chemical engineer has improved upon traditional methods to produce off-the-shelf human immune cells that show strong antitumor activity, according to a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Cell Reports.
MIT researchers find much of the damage inside nuclear reactors is so small that it has eluded previous tests. Their new tool provides a way to directly measure this damage, potentially opening a path for the safe operation of nuclear power plants far beyond their present licensed lifetimes.
UC San Diego scientists are using new technologies to obtain unprecedented looks inside viruses and their unique abilities to infect and destroy bacteria. Using cryo-EM and other technologies, the researchers found that jumbo phage cells feature a compartment that is surprisingly similar to the human cell nucleus.
For the first time, scientists have recorded millimeter-wavelength light from a fiery explosion caused by the merger of a neutron star with another star. The team also confirmed this flash as one of the most energetic short-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) ever observed, leaving behind one of the most luminous afterglows on record.
A multidisciplinary team of researchers at Boston University will work towards predicting and preventing future pandemics as part of a new $1 million project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Faculty members from the Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering, the Center for Information & Systems Engineering (CISE), the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Policy and Research (CEID), the Bioengineering Technology & Entrepreneurship Center (BTEC), and the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) will work with researchers from EcoHealth Alliance to develop a set of models that can predict disease emergence and spread, and to devise effective pandemic mitigation strategies.
Using single calcite crystals with varying surface roughness allows engineers to simplify the complex physics that describes fault movement. In a new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, researchers show how this simplification may lead to better earthquake prediction.
As warming ocean temperatures threaten the existence of coral reefs, scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) have successfully used an extremely high-resolution computer simulation of ocean circulation to identify possible “thermal refugia” where these biodiverse ecosystems are more likely to survive.
A new computer vision system watches the 3D printing process and adjusts velocity and printing path to avoid errors. Training the system in simulation, researchers from MIT and elsewhere avoid the costly trial-and-error associated with setting 3D printing parameters for new materials.