Source: Science and Technology Daily, China Science News, Global Science, Scientific Research Circle, Lilac Academic, Xinhua News Agency, etc
Reprogram regeneration of cardiomyocytes using iPS technology to repair damaged hearts
Source: Science
On September 24, a study published in Science showed that the mandatory expression of the reprogramming factors Oct4 (O), Sox2(S), Klf4 (K) and C-Myc (M) four transcription factors can induce somatic cell dedifferentiation, oskm expression has the ability to induce somatic reprogramming and the production of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), can induce the dedifferentiation of adult CMs, promote their proliferation in vivo, and give the heart the ability to regenerate. This study provides a new research perspective and therapeutic direction for heart regeneration.
Experiments have shown that OSKM relies on the programming and de-differentiation of CMs determined by their developmental stages: in neonatal CMs, OSKM expression maintains an immature, proliferative state; in immature CMs, it prevents cells from maturing and mitosis exit; and in fully differentiated adult CMs, cells are allowed to acquire mitosis capacity. In addition, transient expression of OSKM in adult CMs can repair partially damaged adult hearts through the proliferation of CMs.
Volatile organic compounds emitted by forests can help slow climate warming
Source: Nature Communications
On September 24, a study published in Nature Communications estimated the effects of volatile organic compounds emitted from forests in northern Finland on aerosol concentrations and cloud properties.
The results showed that bioaerosols formed from volatile organic compounds reduced solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface by scattering more radiation back into space. In addition, the aerosol increases the number of droplets in the cloud, making the cloud brighter and more reflective, and both processes enhance with increasing temperatures, suggesting that natural gas sols formed by organic compounds released by vegetation help slow climate warming.
The radiation effects of these processes are similar in magnitude, and their combined effects are significant compared to the radiation effects of anthropogenic aerosols in the northern region, and this natural mechanism needs to be considered in more detail in the simulation of climate models in the future.
A genetic mutant type helped human ancestors survive
Source: Science Advances
A Study published Sept. 24 in Science Advances found that a mutant type of GHRd3, a gene that expresses growth hormone receptors, helps humans survive in resource-poor environments.
The mutant was formed about 2 million to 1 million years ago, was a highly expressed gene in Neanderthals, Denisovans, and modern human ancestors, and its expression began to decrease in the last 50,000 years, even from 85% to 15% in East Asian populations.
The researchers believe that this mutant may reduce the organism's response to growth hormone, giving it a smaller body size and a lower need for food. Such genes, which are closely related to survival, are generally retained in the evolution of animals, and their absence in modern populations may be related to the development of agricultural civilization and the more abundant food supply.
Heavy elements in the early interstellar universe may have originated from feedback from massive galaxies
Source: Nature Astronomy
On September 27, in a work published in Nature Astronomy, researchers used millimeter-wave array observations to discover that heavy elements in the early interstellar universe may have originated from the feedback of huge galaxies with 100 million times the luminosity of the Sun, a discovery that challenges existing international theories of galaxy formation.
The team targeted the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Telescope Array (ALMA) at an oxygen absorber located in the early universe, where the oxygen enriched in the absorber originated from surrounding galaxies, further finding a candidate galaxy about 60,000 light-years away from the oxygen absorber. The galaxy has a luminosity of 100 million times the luminosity of the Sun, and the total mass of the dark matter halo reaches 400 billion solar masses, and the mass of the galaxy discovered this time is 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than the theoretical prediction.
China plans to launch its first solar exploration satellite this year
Source: China International Aviation & Aerospace Expo website
On September 28th, the 13th China International Aeronautics and Space Expo was opened, at which the solar exploration science and technology test satellite developed by the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation was exhibited. The satellite is scheduled to be launched this year, as China's first solar exploration satellite, the successful launch of the satellite will mark China's official entry into the "era of sun exploration".
It is reported that the main scientific payload of the satellite is the solar Hα imaging spectrometer, which will realize the spectral imaging detection of the space solar Hα band for the first time. Through the analysis of this spectral line, the changes in atmospheric temperature, speed and other physical quantities during the solar eruption can be obtained, and the dynamic process and physical mechanism of the solar eruption can be studied, which significantly enhances China's international influence in the field of solar physics.
New progress has been made in the field of solar cell interface regulation
Source: Joule
In a work published in Joule on September 28, the research team used atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based PFQNM technology to characterize the nanoscale surface energy distribution of the surface of the hole transport layer of organic solar cells, and made important progress in the nanoscale surface energy distribution regulation of the interface layer of organic solar cells.
By integrating two-dimensional MoS2 nanosheets in organic solar cells (OSCs), the researchers regulated the composition distribution, molecular orientation and phase separation between the BHJs layers of the bulk heterojunction, inhibited charge recombination, enhanced charge extraction efficiency, and obtained a stable photovoltaic device with enhanced energy conversion efficiency (PCE).
For the first time in China, fossils of mixed-winged horseshoe crabs were found
Source: Science Bulletin
On September 28, a study published in Science Bulletin found a new genus of Terropterus xiushanensis from the early Silurian period in South China, the Terropterus xiushanensis.
Based on morphological and phylogenetic analysis, the researchers reconstructed the morphology of the Xiushan crab. It is understood that the horseshoe crab is larger, up to a meter long, and is likely to play the role of a top predator in the shallow sea areas of the early Silurian period in South China. The well-preserved appendages of the new material, as well as the features of reproductive appendages, tails, and body surface ornaments, provide many new evidence for the discussion of morphological diversity of the family Hybridopterae, and their morphological characteristics indicate the more complex evolutionary history of the mixed-winged crab taxa.
The new mirror coating improves the sensitivity of gravitational wave detectors
Source: Physical Review Letters
In a paper published Sept. 29 in the Physical Review Letters, a team of researchers at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) developed a new reflective coating made of titanium oxide and germanium oxide that could halve the background noise in the LIGO detector mirrors, thereby increasing the volume of space ligo can detect by a factor of eight.
The researchers say the new coating could be used for LIGO's fifth observational run, which is expected to begin within the next decade, with upgraded instruments detecting more and more extreme cosmic events.
AI-driven dynamic masks make it easier for the wearer to breathe
Source: ACS Nano
On Sept. 29, in a work published in the American Chemical Society Nano, researchers developed a dynamic respirator that adjusts its aperture based on changing conditions, such as exercise or air pollution levels, making it easier for the wearer to breathe without the need for the highest level of filtration.
This dynamic air filter has micropores that expand when the filter is stretched, allowing more air to pass through. The air permeability of filters made of electrospun nanofibers is greatly increased, and the filtration efficiency is only lost by about 6%. Further, the research team placed a tensioner around the filter to connect the filter to a lightweight portable device containing sensors, air pumps, and microcontroller chips.
The device communicates wirelessly with an external computer running artificial intelligence (AI) software that responds to particles in the air and changes in the wearer's breathing patterns during exercise.
"Electron crystals" are "seen" for the first time
Source: Nature
On September 29, in a work published in Nature, researchers successfully imaged "Wigner crystals" for the first time. Wigner crystal refers to the crystal state formed by the regular arrangement of electrons under certain conditions, when the repulsion force between electrons dominates relative to their own kinetic energy and is arranged in a regular manner to maintain the lowest energy of the system.
The researchers constructed an interface consisting of a two-dimensional material of tungsten disulfide and tungsten diselenide, using an electric field to regulate the free electron density between the interfaces, and covering it with a layer of graphene on top to protect the crystal structure. After cooling the system to just a few degrees above absolute zero, the researchers used a scanning tunneling microscope to observe the neat arrangement of electrons in the Wigner crystal. Due to the lattice mismatch of the heterojunction, the energy of a particular region is low, and the electrons are arranged in a regular honeycomb pattern.
The surplus funds of the Natural Science Foundation projects concluded in 2018 and subsequent years will not be recovered
Source: National Natural Science Foundation of China website
On September 30, the National Natural Science Foundation of China issued the Notice of the National Natural Science Foundation of China on the Balance Of Funds for Finalized Projects, which clarified the matters related to the balance funds of final projects.
The notice pointed out that in order to encourage the rational and compliant use of project funds by relying units and scientific researchers, the balance ratio of funds at the expiration of the funding period for natural science fund projects concluded in 2021 will no longer be required; for natural science fund projects concluded in 2018 and subsequent years, the balance funds that have been left to the relying units for use in accordance with regulations will no longer be implemented for two years.