Experimental microbially assisted chemolithotrophy provides an opportunity to trace the putative bioalteration processes of the Martian crust. A study on the Noachian Martian breccia Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034, composed of ancient (ca. 4.5 Gyr old) crustal materials from Mars has delivered a unique prototype of microbial life experimentally designed on actual Martian material. As the researchers show in the current issue…
Tag: biochemistry
Drug Reverses Age-Related Mental Decline Within Days
The University of California San Francisco issued this glowing announcement of some new research: Just a few doses of an experimental drug can reverse age-related declines in memory and mental flexibility in mice, according to a new study by UC San Francisco scientists. The drug, called ISRIB, has already been shown in laboratory studies to restore memory function months after traumatic…
Genetically-Engineered Microbe No Longer Needs to Eat Food To Grow
“Synthetic biologists have performed a biochemical switcheroo,” reports Science magazine: They’ve re-engineered a bacterium that normally eats a diet of simple sugars into one that builds its cells by absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2), much like plants. The work could lead to engineered microbes that suck CO2 out of the air and turn it into medicines and other high-value compounds. “The implications…
Why leaves change color in fall
The vivid yellows and oranges of autumn leaves are there throughout spring and summer, but hidden. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/why-do-tree-leaves-turn-red-in-fall…
Scientists Are Building a Real-Life Version of the Starship Enterprise’s Life Scanner
A novel method relying on biochemistry could provide an unambiguous signal of life on other worlds. Source: https://www.livescience.com/corkscrew-light-reveals-alien-life.html
The Fish Is Boneless. (Fishless, Too.)
First, there was the meatless burger. Soon we may have fishless fish. From a report: Impossible Foods, the California company behind the meatless Impossible Whopper now available at Burger King, is joining a crowded field of food companies developing alternatives to traditional seafood with plant-based recipes or laboratory techniques that allow scientists to grow fish from cells. So far, much of…
Penn’s Dr. Susan Davidson on Women in STEM and New Trajectories Into Computer Science
Over the past decade, computer science has gone from a topic for specialists to an essential tool for professionals in nearly every field. Dr. Susan Davidson of the University of Pennsylvania has been at the forefront of this sea change, including co-founding one of the first research centers for bioinformatics in the country. In this […]
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