Researchers have made a breakthrough in THz frequency conversion using graphene.
Graphene is an allotrope of carbon in the form of a single layer of atoms in a two-dimensional hexagonal lattice in which one atom forms each vertex. It is the basic structural element of other allotropes of carbon, including graphite, charcoal, carbon nanotubes, and fullerenes. In proportion to its thickness, it is about 100 times stronger than the strongest steel.
The first step in this process is determining where in the brain the BCI should record from to decode someone’s intended speech.
Currently, BCI devices are only used on individuals with paralysis from ALS or stroke in the brainstem, which leaves them unable to move or communicate. In these patients, BCIs record signals from the frontal lobe. But Broca’s aphasia, which most often affects people after a stroke or brain tumor, results from damage to the frontal lobe of the brain, where speech production and parts of language are processed. So, to help patients with Broca’s aphasia, scientists would likely need to record signals from other areas of the brain.
Synthetic biologists from Yale successfully rewrote the genetic code of an organism—a novel genomically recoded organism (GRO) with a single stop codon—using a cellular platform they developed that enables the production of new classes of synthetic proteins. Researchers say these synthetic proteins offer the promise of innumerable medical and industrial applications that can benefit society and human health.
A new study published in the journal Nature describes the creation of the landmark GRO, known as “Ochre,” which fully compresses redundant (or “degenerate”) codons into a single codon. A codon is a sequence of three nucleotides in DNA
DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a molecule composed of two long strands of nucleotides that coil around each other to form a double helix. It is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms that carries genetic instructions for development, functioning, growth, and reproduction. Nearly every cell in a person’s body has the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA).
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have enrolled the first participants in an international clinical trial designed to prevent Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder that primarily affects older adults, leading to memory loss, cognitive decline, and behavioral changes. It is the most common cause of dementia. The disease is characterized by the buildup of amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brain, which disrupt cell function and communication. There is currently no cure, and treatments focus on managing symptoms and improving quality of life.
A new study suggests that creativity maps onto a common brain circuit and that injury and neurological disease have the potential to unleash creativity. Researchers analyzed 857 participants across 36 fMRI brain imaging studies to identify a common brain circuit for creativity.
Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, spewed lava for over 22 hours this week. It’s been erupting intermittently since December.
Many foods are marketed for their antioxidant benefits, which help neutralize reactive oxygen species.
A species is a group of living organisms that share a set of common characteristics and are able to breed and produce fertile offspring. The concept of a species is important in biology as it is used to classify and organize the diversity of life. There are different ways to define a species, but the most widely accepted one is the biological species concept, which defines a species as a group of organisms that can interbreed and produce viable offspring in nature. This definition is widely used in evolutionary biology and ecology to identify and classify living organisms.
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An international team of physicists has successfully measured the size of a certain type of neutrino to a certain degree. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes experiments they conducted that involved measuring the radioactive decay of the element beryllium.
Neutrinos are subatomic particles with a mass very close to zero. They also have a half-integral spin and rarely react with normal matter. To date, three kinds of neutrinos have been identified, each by association with an electron, muon or tau particle. Physicists have become more interested in neutrinos over the past several years because it is thought better understanding them may lead to a better understanding of why there is more matter than antimatter in the known universe.
One of the first questions that needs to be answered about neutrinos is their size. This is important because it allows building the right size and shape of neutrino detectors. Currently, they are very large, which allows for what is believed to be their largest possible theoretical size—several meters—though it is believed they are smaller. In this new effort, the research team conducted experiments with beryllium to measure the size of an electron-associated neutrino.
