Built to full scale, it mimics our anatomy in an incredibly precise way. But it is not yet fully functional.
A muscuskeletal designed for the home.
Semi-Dirac fermions, which are massless in one 2D direction but possess mass in the other, have so far eluded detection in solids. New experiments reveal their defining feature in the nodal-line metal ZrSiS.
Objective: Intermittent energy restriction (IER) is an effective weight loss strategy. However, little is known about the dynamic effects of IER on the brain-gut-microbiome axis.
Methods: In this study, a total of 25 obese individuals successfully lost weight after a 2-month IER intervention. FMRI was used to determine the activity of brain regions. Metagenomic sequencing was performed to identify differentially abundant gut microbes and pathways in from fecal samples.
Results: Our results showed that IER longitudinally reduced the activity of obese-related brain regions at different timepoints, including the inferior frontal orbital gyrus in the cognitive control circuit, the putamen in the emotion and learning circuit, and the anterior cingulate cortex in the sensory circuit. IER longitudinally reduced E. coli abundance across multiple timepoints while elevating the abundance of obesity-related Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Parabacteroides distasonis, and Bacterokles uniformis. Correlation analysis revealed longitudinally correlations between gut bacteria abundance alterations and brain activity changes.
After forty years, the creator of scar theory has observed the phenomenon in real time.
Quantum scarring is a phenomenon in which traveling electrons end up following the same repeating path.
Scars of Chaos: Visualizing Mysteries in Graphene Dots probabilities cluster along the paths of unstable orbits from their classical counterparts. These scars, while predicted, have remained elusive to direct observation—until now.
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Using an innovative combination of graphene dot fabrication and advanced wavefunction mapping via scanning tunneling microscopy, researchers captured stunning images of scars. Within stadium-shaped GQDs, they observed striking lemniscate (∞-shaped) and streak-like probability patterns. These features recur at equal energy intervals, aligning with theoretical predictions for relativistic scars—a fascinating blend of mechanics and relativity.
The researchers further confirmed that these patterns are connected to two specific unstable periodic orbits within the GQD, bridging the chaotic motion of classical systems with the world. Beyond providing the first visual proof of scarring, this work lays the foundation for exploring other exotic scar phenomena, such as those induced by perturbations, chirality, or antiscarring effects.
This sets the stage for new discoveries in [#mechanics](https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/mechanics?__eep__=6&__cft__[0]=AZXPCRQF-knoMxWsHdGuAINl_hxSgWpjd9vUPszcDQDED9B4XtpXqPPhvcrED0NuOfXnWgthLMzgHmb5MWHbg6_KCiMiM3QaLJM2p6zXDiZd5oSUVWZeKR8qhHn2bevNFEnZj4T-bvc595A_jLYg-RLGWJOGrgLefEZI-7CDt6hSLX7CskI28RIoWnxvrZR2Xks&__tn__=*NK-R), [#chaos](https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/chaos?__eep__=6&__cft__[0]=AZXPCRQF-knoMxWsHdGuAINl_hxSgWpjd9vUPszcDQDED9B4XtpXqPPhvcrED0NuOfXnWgthLMzgHmb5MWHbg6_KCiMiM3QaLJM2p6zXDiZd5oSUVWZeKR8qhHn2bevNFEnZj4T-bvc595A_jLYg-RLGWJOGrgLefEZI-7CDt6hSLX7CskI28RIoWnxvrZR2Xks&__tn__=*NK-R) theory, and material science, with potential applications ranging from technologies to our understanding of fundamental physical laws.
A review of chemical exposures across 38 countries finds common plastic products are linked to millions of cases of heart disease and thousands of strokes.
By Grace Wade
Microscopic worms that live their lives in the highly radioactive environment of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) appear to do so completely free of radiation damage.
Nematodes collected from the area have shown no sign of damage to their genomes, contrary to what might be expected for organisms living in such a dangerous place.
The finding, published earlier this year, doesn’t suggest the CEZ is safe, the researchers explain, but rather the worms are resilient and able to adroitly adapt to conditions that might be inhospitable to other species.
A pair of geologists with the U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, has created a model that shows Earth’s subsurface may hold up to 5.6 × 106 million metric tons of natural hydrogen. In their study, published in the journal Science Advances, Geoffrey Ellis and Sarah Gelman added factors to a geological model to produce estimates regarding the likely amount of hydrogen in parts of the Earth.
Prior research has shown that hydrogen can be produced artificially by applying electricity to water molecules to break them apart, leaving oxygen and hydrogen. Hydrogen is also produced naturally, via chemical reactions between rocks when they come into contact with one another. But until relatively recently, it was thought that very little hydrogen was made this way.
When geologists found huge natural reservoirs of hydrogen gas in Albania and West Africa, that thinking changed. Now, researchers believe that there are huge stores of hydrogen below our feet—the question remains, however, how to find it.
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI) at Texas Children’s Hospital and collaborating institutions have gained new insights into the molecular changes leading to Rett syndrome, a severe neurological disorder caused by mutations in the MeCP2 gene encoding methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2).
The team reports in the journal Neuron that loss of MeCP2 in adulthood causes immediate progressive dysregulation of hundreds of genes—some are activated while others are suppressed—and these changes occur well before any measurable deficiencies in neurological function.
The MeCP2 protein is most highly expressed in neurons— brain cells where, like an orchestra conductor, MeCP2 directs the expression of hundreds of genes. When mutations produce a nonfunctional MeCP2 protein, the conductor is no longer present to direct the harmonious expression of genes needed for normal brain function. The resulting discord in gene expression leads to Rett syndrome.
