Genetic disorders compromise the welfare of farm animals and have impacts on the production and management of these animals. One such way of reducing this risk is to map the genes responsible for different syndromes. However, until now, this has been a reactive process, with farmers alerting vets or breeding companies once a genetic disorder […]

Researchers from Zurich have developed a compact, energy-efficient device made from artificial neurons that is capable of decoding brainwaves. The chip uses data recorded from the brainwaves of epilepsy patients to identify which regions of the brain cause epileptic seizures. This opens up new perspectives for treatment. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J https://ift.tt/3wyT3tx

Urgent investment in new tools is needed to address major global losses of wheat crops which cost £22 billion per year. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J https://ift.tt/2QTLKgI

A University of North Texas College of Science professor has moved researchers across the globe closer to understanding how to make condensed tannins in forage crops such as alfalfa, not only making food more nutritious for animals, but potentially improving food supply and limiting global warming. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J https://ift.tt/3bWsDdf

A team of international scientists have identified key cellular factors that are crucial for the infection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J https://ift.tt/3wCgCBL

In vitro fertilization fulfills the wishes of half a million parents each year, yet the fertility treatment leaves plenty of room for improvement. A majority of potential embryos are ruled out for implantation, flagged by a genetic test designed to root out abnormalities early on. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J https://ift.tt/3yA6pY9

Carbonic anhydrases are essential enzymes that are present in virtually all living things; all eight classes of carbonic anhydrases that have been identified to date need a metal ion to function. But now, researchers from Japan have discovered that metal is not crucial for all carbonic anhydrases. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J https://ift.tt/3fgbnBI

Rubisco is arguably the most abundant—and most important—protein on Earth. This enzyme drives photosynthesis, the process that plants use to convert sunlight into energy to fuel crop growth and yield. Rubisco’s role is to capture and fix carbon dioxide (CO2) into sugar that fuels the plant’s activities. However, as much as Rubisco benefits plant growth, […]

Mosquitoes are one of humanity’s greatest nemeses, estimated to spread infections to nearly 700 million people per year and cause more than one million deaths. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J https://ift.tt/2Sm85nx

Researchers from Skoltech and their colleagues from Russia and the U.S. have shown that the two components of the bacterial CRISPR-Cas immunity system, one that destroys foreign genetic elements such as viruses and another that creates “memories” of foreign genetic elements by storing fragments of their DNA in a special location of bacterial genome, are […]