Lifeboat Foundation

Coccolithophores, a globally ubiquitous type of phytoplankton, play an essential role in the cycling of carbon between the ocean and atmosphere. New research from Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences shows that these vital microbes can survive in low-light conditions by taking up dissolved organic forms of carbon, forcing researchers to reconsider the processes that drive carbon cycling in the ocean. The findings were published this week in Science Advances.

The ability to extract carbon from the direct absorption of dissolved organic carbon is known as osmotrophy. Though scientists had previously observed osmotrophy by coccolithophores using lab-grown cultures, this is the first evidence of this phenomenon in nature.

The team, led by Senior Research Scientist William Balch, undertook their experiments in populations of coccolithophores across the northwest Atlantic Ocean. They measured the rate at which phytoplankton fed on three different organic compounds, each labeled with chemical markers to track them. The dissolved compounds were used by the coccolithophores as a carbon source for both the organic tissues that comprise their single cells as well as the inorganic mineral plates, called coccoliths, which they secrete around themselves. Uptake of the organic compounds was slow compared to the rate at which phytoplankton can take up carbon through photosynthesis. But it wasn’t negligible.

When most people think of crystals, they picture suncatchers that act as rainbow prisms or the semi-transparent stones that some believe hold healing powers. However, to scientists and engineers, crystals are a form of materials in which their constituents—atoms, molecules, or nanoparticles—are arranged regularly in space. In other words, crystals are defined by the regular arrangement of their constituents. Common examples are diamonds, table salt, or sugar cubes.

However, in research just published in Soft Matter, a team led by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Sangwoo Lee, associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, discovered that crystal structures are not necessarily always regularly arranged. The discovery advances the field of materials science and has unrealized implications for the materials used for semiconductors, solar panels, and electric vehicle technologies.

One of the most common and important classes of crystal structures is the close-packed structures of regular spheres constructed by stacking layers of spheres in a honeycomb arrangement. There are many ways to stack the layers to construct close-packed structures, and how nature selects specific stacking is an important question in materials and physics research. In the close-packing construction, there is a very unusual structure with irregularly spaced constituents known as the random stacking of two-dimensional hexagonal layers (RHCP). This structure was first observed from cobalt metal in 1942, but it has been regarded as a transitional and energetically unpreferred state.

Scientists from the Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE FHAIVE) and Tampere University have uncovered a novel response mechanism related to nanoparticle exposure that’s shared across various 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.

Biosensors are artificial molecular complexes designed to detect the presence of target chemicals or even biomolecules. Consequently, biosensors have become important in diagnostics and synthetic cell biology. However, typical methods for engineering biosensors focus on optimizing the interactions between static binding surfaces, and current biosensor designs can only recognize structurally well-defined molecules, which can be too rigid for “real-life” biology.

“We developed a novel computational approach for designing protein-peptide ligand binding and applied it to engineer cell-surface chemotactic receptors that reprogrammed cell migration,” says EPFL professor Patrick Barth. “We think that our work could broadly impact the design of protein binding and cell engineering applications.”

The new biosensors developed by Barth’s group can sense flexible compounds and trigger complex cellular responses, which open up new possibilities for biosensor applications. The researchers created a computational framework, which is a computer-based system, for designing protein complexes that can change their shape and function dynamically—as opposed to the conventional static approaches. The framework can look at previously unexplored protein sequences to come up with new ways for the protein’s groups to be activated, even in ways that are different to their natural function.

California NanoSystems Institute News Member News May 15, 2023 | Quantum physics proposes a new way to study biology – and the results could revolutionize our understanding of how life works.

Exploring the potential of ChatGPT in the fields of biology and environmental science, this research paper investigates the implications and applications of using ChatGPT for advancing knowledge and understanding in these domains.

Including space.

The DARPA Biomanufacturing: Survival, Utility, and Reliability beyond Earth (B-SURE) program aims to address foundational scientific questions to determine how well industrial bio-manufacturing microorganisms perform in space conditions. http://ow.ly/3Nya50On2za

Coating implantable electronics in the polymer PEDOT can extend their life, which could make cyborgs more common in the future.

Researchers have developed a special polymer coating for electronics implants that make them less abrasive to biological tissue.

In January 2019, China made history by becoming the first country to land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon. As part of this mission, the Chang’e-4 lunar rover carried a small biosphere with six living organisms, including cotton seeds. While the other plants in the biosphere died quickly, the cotton seeds produced a small plant, which grew two leaves before it died. Researchers then created a 3D simulation of the cotton plant using data from the experiment, which revealed that the cotton plant grew much better than expected before it died from the cold.

This experiment marked the first time that humans have attempted to grow plants on the moon. Growing plants in space is an important part of NASA’s vision of long-term space travel. If astronauts are to embark on missions lasting months or years, they will need fresh produce to supplement their diet. While vitamins and other supplements are effective for short-term missions, the nutrients in supplements and ready-made meals can break down over time. Radiation in space can speed up this process. In addition, fresh vegetables would give astronauts more nutrients and improve the taste of their food. Furthermore, growing plants in space would enable astronauts to have access to fresh, uncooked food, reducing their reliance on pre-cooked meals.

However, growing plants in space is not just about ensuring astronauts have access to fresh food. NASA is also interested in how growing plants can impact the psychological well-being of astronauts. Studies have shown that access to plants and green spaces can have a positive impact on mental health, and astronauts on the International Space Station have reported that fresh flowers and gardens can create a beautiful atmosphere and make them feel more connected to Earth.