Alec Baldwin feels “blindsided” by today’s charges, his attorney says

Many other actors have said they “always check their guns or have someone check it front of them,” New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies told CNN shortly after announcing her intention of charging actor Alec Baldwin and film armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed with involuntary manslaughter. She noted that…

Bioenergy: Precision gene editing in miscanthus: Results will accelerate efforts to tap the huge bioenergy potential of this highly productive but genetically complex perennial grass

For the first time, researchers have successfully demonstrated precision gene editing in miscanthus, a promising perennial crop for sustainable bioenergy production. A team at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI), a Bioenergy Research Center (BRC) funded by the U. S. Department of Energy, edited the genomes of…

Rare opportunity to study short-lived volcanic island reveals sulfur-metabolizing microbes: Unique microbial community living on former island Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai

On the short-lived island of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai, researchers discovered a unique microbial community that metabolizes sulfur and atmospheric gases, similar to organisms found in deep sea vents or hot springs. In 2015, a submarine volcano in the South Pacific erupted, forming the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai island, destined…

Nearly 50-meter laser experiment sets record in university hallway

It’s not at every university that laser pulses powerful enough to burn paper and skin are sent blazing down a hallway. But that’s what happened in UMD’s Energy Research Facility, an unremarkable looking building on the northeast corner of campus. If you visit the utilitarian white and gray hall now,…

New nanoparticles deliver therapy brain-wide, edit Alzheimer’s gene in mice

Gene therapies have the potential to treat neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, but they face a common barrier — the blood-brain barrier. Now, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a way to move therapies across the brain’s protective membrane to deliver brain-wide therapy with a range…

Using cancer cells as logic gates to determine what makes them move

Cancer cells migrate through the body for multiple reasons; some are simply following the flow of a fluid, while others are actively following specific chemical trails. So how do you determine which cells are moving and why? Purdue University researchers have reverse-engineered a cellular signal processing system and used it…

Netflix founder Reed Hastings stepping down as co-CEO | CNN Business

New York CNN  —  Netflix announced Thursday that its founder Reed Hastings is stepping down as co-CEO at the company and will serve as executive chairman. Hastings will be replaced by co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters. “Our board has been discussing succession planning for many years (even founders need…

Live updates: Alec Baldwin to be charged in fatal ‘Rust’ shooting

Many other actors have said they “always check their guns or have someone check it front of them,” New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies told CNN shortly after announcing her intention of charging actor Alec Baldwin and film armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed with involuntary manslaughter. She noted that…

Squirrels that gamble win big when it comes to evolutionary fitness

Imagine overhearing the Powerball lottery winning numbers, but you didn’t know when those numbers would be called — just that at some point in the next 10 years or so, they would be. Despite the financial cost of playing those numbers daily for that period, the payoff is big enough…

Genes that cause rare hidden cancer revealed

Several genes that cause sarcoma have been identified in the first comprehensive genetic map of sarcomas, generated by research led by Omico, the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and UNSW Sydney. The research has wide implications for people living with sarcoma and their families — allowing detection of the cancer…

Tracing the flow of water with DNA

Environmental DNA analysis of microbial communities can help us understand how a particular region’s water cycle works. Basel hydrogeologist Oliver Schilling recently used this method to examine the water cycle on Mount Fuji. His results have implications for other regions worldwide. Where does the water come from that provides drinking…

Massive fuel-hungry black holes feed off intergalactic gas

Research led by the University of Southampton has revealed how supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are feeding off gas clouds which reach them by travelling hundreds of thousands of light years from one galaxy to another. An international team of scientists has shown there is a crucial link between the interaction…

How pancreatic cancer defies treatment

Pancreatic cancer is the third deadliest cancer in the United States, after lung and colorectal, though far less common. It is also among the hardest to effectively treat, with pancreatic cancer stem cells quickly developing resistance to conventional and targeted treatments, such as chemotherapy and emerging immunotherapies. As a result,…

How to push, wiggle, or drill an object through sand

Pushing a shovel through snow, planting an umbrella on the beach, wading through a ball pit, and driving over gravel all have one thing in common: They all are exercises in intrusion, with an intruding object exerting some force to move through a soft and granular material. Predicting what it…

Discovery of anti-cancer chemistry makes skullcap fit for modern medicine

The evolutionary secrets that enable the medicinal herb known as barbed skullcap to produce cancer fighting compounds have been unlocked by a collaboration of UK and Chinese researchers. The CEPAMS collaboration used DNA sequencing technology to assemble the genomic sequence of skullcap (Scutellaria barbata) known in China as banzhilian. This…