Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are loop-shaped molecules that can influence gene regulation through interactions with microRNAs (miRNAs). This matters because circRNAs can exist as different full-length isoforms, and their back-splice junction (BSJ) connects the two ends of the RNA. Treating a circular RNA like a linear transcript can therefore overlook sequence information near this junction.
Previous accounts of the scientific relationship between communist China and the Soviet Union have depicted it as one of subordination, with the Russians exporting knowledge to the Chinese or scavenging from their bodies of knowledge. A new article in Isis, however, posits that the relationship between Chinese and Soviet scientists was instead one of mutual exchange. In "Brief Encounter: Acupuncture, Pavlov, and Scientific Exchange Between China and the Soviet Union, 1949-1961," authors Liang Wan, Simon Huxtable and Sarah Marks explore the role of acupuncture in uniting the Pavlovian science of the Soviets and traditional Chinese medicine, forming an arena for Sino-Soviet collaboration.
Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is a versatile chemical feedstock whose industrial production relies predominantly on an energy-intensive process with a substantial environmental footprint. One alternative is to produce it using a catalyst activated by light. In an international research project involving the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, researchers have now developed a synthesis strategy that allows them to precisely control the spatial arrangement of ions in a carbon nitride. The resulting photocatalyst is three times as efficient as conventional green production methods. The findings have been published in Advanced Materials.
New research suggests that replacing polyethylene (PE) packaging with paper, glass, aluminum or steel often does not reduce environmental impacts across a product's life cycle.
If you wanted a Nobel Prize, you would do well to study neutrinos. To date, the Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded five times to research related to neutrino detection and discovery. This year, Francis Halzen earned the Nobel "for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin."
Rising temperatures and increasing drought are shortening crop-growing seasons in many parts of the world. Now scientists in Sweden report new advances toward engineering more efficient photosynthesis, work that could eventually contribute to efforts to adapt crops for climate change.
A new design methodology for school playgrounds is demonstrating how children can still enjoy their playtime while being protected from the harmful effects of the sun.
Researchers have observed a molecule in the first instants after it has absorbed light and tracked the coordinated motion of electrons and nuclei with a temporal resolution of three femtoseconds. This is the result achieved by an international research group led by the Politecnico di Milano, which has developed a new apparatus for studying ultrafast photochemical processes.
From photos and videos to documents, vast amounts of data are stored on hard drives in large data centers. These devices use tiny magnetic regions whose orientation determines the information stored. But how could data be stored even faster in the future? One possible approach involves ultrashort laser pulses, which can alter the magnetic order of materials in an extremely short time.
When a major company's CEO goes through a messy divorce or is arrested for drunk driving, investors often get nervous, worried that the executive's personal struggles will dent their returns. But most people hardly notice when a chief marketing officer has similar personal problems.
