Science & Technology

From a collection of molecules inspired by anti-parasitic medicines comes a potential drug candidate against COVID-19.

Last year, researchers reported that reductive stress — an imbalance in the normal oxidation/reduction homeostasis — caused pathological changes associated with heart failure in a mouse model. Now, researchers describe the putative molecular regulato…

Researchers have revealed how the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) obtains the essential nutrient, manganese, from our bodies, which could lead to better therapies to target what is a life-threatening, antibiotic-resistant pathogen.

New research published in EPJ D combines mass spectroscopy with a range of other simulation and analytical techniques, allowing researchers to distinguish between two chiral forms of a dipeptide biomolecule.

In a new study published in EPJ D, researchers have clearly identified particular areas where discrepancies arise between theoretical and experimental measurements of helium ionization by an impacting proton.

A new special edition of EPJ Special Topics brings together several papers that detail our understanding of Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) and the processes that transformed it into the baryonic matter we around us on an everyday basis.

A gene called DOT1L appears to play a role in progression and severity of ovarian cancer, and inhibitors of the DOT1L enzyme may offer a new therapeutic approach for the disease, researchers say in a new study. The need is clear — despite decades of w…

Wearable technology seems all poised to take over next-generation electronics, yet most wireless communication techniques are not up to the task. To tackle this issue, scientists have delved deep into human-body communications, in which human tissue is…

A new scientific article outlines how to undertake the much-needed expansion and modernization of Africa’s electricity sector. The article highlights the crucial role that international partnerships such as the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative hav…

Researchers have discovered a critical new factor in regulating metabolism of the amino acid phenylalanine and, therefore, in preventing the inherited metabolic disorder phenylketonuria. The research suggests a possible avenue for new treatments.

A new study details the genomes of 26 lines of corn from across the globe. The genomes can help scientists piece together the puzzle of corn genetics. Using these new genomes as references, plant scientists can better select for genes likely to lead to…

A new study shows that wearable sensor technology can be used to reliably assess the occurrence of myoclonic jerks in patients with epilepsy also in the home environment.

Researchers fabricated a brain-inspired highly scalable neuromorphic hardware by co-integrating single transistor neurons and synapses. Using standard silicon complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology, the neuromorphic hardware is expec…

The structure adopted by lead sulphide nanoparticles changes surprisingly often as they assemble to form ordered superlattices. This is revealed by an experimental study that has been conducted at DESY’s X-ray source PETRA III.

For a cell to grow and divide, it needs to produce new proteins. This also applies to cancer cells. Researchers have now investigated the protein eIF4A3 and its role in the growth of cancer cells. The study shows that by blocking or reducing the produc…

Scientists have grown beating heart cells in the lab and shown how they are vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection. In a new study, they used this system to show that an experimental peptide drug called DX600 can prevent the virus entering the heart cells.

Tests of glass samples gathered on Apollo missions show magnetization may result from impacts of objects like meteors, not as a result of magnetization from the presence of a magnetic shield.

Two new molecules that generate minute amounts of the gas hydrogen sulfide have been found to prevent skin from aging after being exposed to ultraviolet light found in sunlight. Sunburn is a major cause of premature aging in skin, and a primary risk fa…

Patients with vitamin D deficiency who received vitamin D supplements had a reduced need for pain relief and lower levels of fatigue in palliative cancer treatment, a randomized and placebo-controlled study shows.

Using observations from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), astronomers have identified an unprecedented collection of pulsating red giant stars all across the sky. These stars, whose rhythms arise from internal sound waves, provide th…