Jekyll2023-03-25T15:23:08+00:00https://data-1.science/feed.xmldata-1.scienceScience and Technology Articles{"name"=>nil, "avatar"=>nil, "bio"=>nil, "location"=>nil}Environmentally friendly farming practices used by nearly one third of world’s farms: Less developed countries tend to see the largest improvements in productivity2018-08-28T00:00:00+00:002018-08-28T00:00:00+00:00https://data-1.science/environmentally-friendly-farming-practices-used-by-nearly-one-third-of-world-s-farms-less-developed-countries-tend-to-see-the-largest-improvements-in-productivityThey have seen that the new practices can improve productivity, biodiversity and ecosystem services while lowering farmer costs. While the word intensification typically applies to environmentally harmful agriculture, Pretty used the term to indicate that desirable outcomes, such as more food and better ecosystem services, need not be mutually exclusive. The changes include an advanced form of Integrated Pest Management that involves Farmer Field Schools teaching farmers agroecological practices, such as building the soil, in more than 90 countries. Sustainable intensification has been shown to increase productivity, raise system diversity, reduce farmer costs, reduce negative externalities and improve ecosystem services, the researchers write. Stronger government policies across the globe are now needed to support the greater adoption of sustainable intensification farming systems so that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals endorsed by all members of the UN are met by 2030, said Reganold.
]]>Washington State UniversityLinux Commands - Complete Guide2018-08-28T00:00:00+00:002018-08-28T00:00:00+00:00https://data-1.science/linux-commands-complete-guideThe following uname command with a option displays all information about the operating system. Last command displays a list of all user logged in (and out) from ‘/var/log/wtmp’ since the file was created. 27. who Who command is a tool print information about users who are currently logged in. File Related Linux Commands These commands are used to handle files and directories. By default, running mkdir without any option, it will create a directory under the current directory.
]]>Nishali WijesingheNew immunotherapy inhibits tumor growth and protects against metastases2018-08-28T00:00:00+00:002018-08-28T00:00:00+00:00https://data-1.science/new-immunotherapy-inhibits-tumor-growth-and-protects-against-metastasesThe research team developed a treatment in mice that destroys part of the tumor and stimulates the immune system to attack persistent surviving cancer cells. Previous VIB research has demonstrated that when cells die from necroptosis, the immune system is alarmed. PhD student Lien Van Hoecke (VIB-UGent Center for Medical Biotechnology): This phenomenon is also called immunogenic cell death, as the dying cells become examples for the immune system, which then learns and remembers which cells to search for and attack. Publication Treatment with mRNA coding for the necroptosis mediator MLKL induces antitumor immunity directed against neo-epitopes, Van Hoecke et al., Nature Communications 2018 Questions from patients A breakthrough in research is not the same as a breakthrough in medicine. Everyone can submit questions concerning this and other medically-oriented research directly to VIB via this address ###
]]>VIB (the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology)One step closer to bioengineered replacements for vessels and ducts2018-08-28T00:00:00+00:002018-08-28T00:00:00+00:00https://data-1.science/one-step-closer-to-bioengineered-replacements-for-vessels-and-ductsThe 3-D bioprinting technique allows fine-tuning of the printed tissues’ properties, such as number of layers and ability to transport nutrients. Many disorders damage tubular tissues: arteritis, atherosclerosis and thrombosis damage blood vessels, while urothelial tissue can suffer inflammatory lesions and deleterious congenital anomalies. They fitted the bioprinter with a custom nozzle that would allow them to continuously print tubular structures with up to three layers. The researchers found that they could print tissues mimicking both vascular tissue and urothelial tissue. According to Zhang, structural complexity of bioprinted tissue is critical to its viability as a replacement for native tissue.
]]>Brigham and Women's HospitalWhy are tropical forests so diverse? New study examines role of ‘natural enemies’: Analysis contradicts commonly held hypothesis of community ecology2018-08-28T00:00:00+00:002018-08-28T00:00:00+00:00https://data-1.science/why-are-tropical-forests-so-diverse-new-study-examines-role-of-natural-enemies-analysis-contradicts-commonly-held-hypothesis-of-community-ecologyA new study by Yale researchers finds that this phenomenon, known as the Janzen-Connell hypothesis, does indeed promote coexistence of tropical species – except when it doesn’t. The study was co-authored by Liza Comita, an assistant professor of tropical forest ecology at F&ES. According to their findings, communities are less stable if rare plant species are more susceptible to natural enemies, particularly when dispersal is low. In a previous analysis of long-term data on seedling survival in the Barro Colorado Island forest, Comita and colleagues reported in the journal Science that rare species tend to be more susceptible to conspecific negative density dependence compared to more common species in the community. Thus, contrary to the commonly held assumption that conspecific negative density dependence always promotes tree diversity, our new theoretical study suggests that it may actually reduce the number of species that coexist, she said.
]]>Yale School of Forestry & Environmental StudiesA timescale for the origin and evolution of all of life on Earth2018-08-22T00:00:00+00:002018-08-22T00:00:00+00:00https://data-1.science/a-timescale-for-the-origin-and-evolution-of-all-of-life-on-earthPalaeontologists have long sought to understand ancient life and the shared evolutionary history of life as a whole. Fossil evidence for the early history of life is so fragmented and difficult to evaluate that new discoveries and reinterpretations of known fossils have led to a proliferation of conflicting ideas about the timescale of the early history of life. Co-author Dr Tom Williams, from Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences, said: Combining fossil and genomic information, we can use an approach called the ‘molecular clock’ which is loosely based on the idea that the number of differences in the genomes of two living species (say a human and a bacterium) are proportional to the time since they shared a common ancestor. Co-author Professor Davide Pisani said: Using this approach we were able to show that the Last Universal Common Ancestor all cellular life forms, ‘LUCA’, existed very early in Earth’s history, almost 4.5 Billion years ago – not long after Earth was impacted by the planet Theia, the event which sterilised Earth and led to the formation of the Moon. Professor Pisani added: It is rather humbling to think we belong to a lineage that is billions of years younger than life itself.
]]>University of BristolApe parasite genomes reveal origin, evolution of leading cause of malaria outside Africa: New insights on the origins of deadly infectious diseases vital to understanding emergence of human pathogens2018-08-22T00:00:00+00:002018-08-22T00:00:00+00:00https://data-1.science/ape-parasite-genomes-reveal-origin-evolution-of-leading-cause-of-malaria-outside-africa-new-insights-on-the-origins-of-deadly-infectious-diseases-vital-to-understanding-emergence-of-human-pathogensIn this study, researchers compared almost-full-length genomes of ape parasites with sequences of P. vivax strains infecting humans worldwide. After generating sequences of parasites infecting chimpanzees and gorillas, the team found that ape P. vivax show very different patterns of genetic diversity, compared to their human counterparts. This once-small parasite population subsequently underwent a rapid population expansion as it dispersed over much of the globe, while the spread of the malaria-protective mutation eliminated P. vivax from people in most of sub-Saharan Africa. Since parasites very similar to human P. vivax infect a large number of wild-living apes, we need to be aware that there could be spillover into humans, said co-senior author Paul Sharp, PhD, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Edinburgh. The team cautions that malaria monitoring programs should keep a watch to see if the genetic diversity of the ape parasites is infiltrating human-infecting strains.
]]>University of Pennsylvania School of MedicineBioengineered tooth replacement opens doors to new therapies2018-08-22T00:00:00+00:002018-08-22T00:00:00+00:00https://data-1.science/bioengineered-tooth-replacement-opens-doors-to-new-therapiesWhile artificial dental implants are the existing standard tooth replacement therapy, they do not exhibit many properties of natural teeth and can be associated with complications leading to implant failure. Two articles published in the September 2018 issue of the Journal of Dental Research share recent advances in bioengineering teeth. This is the first report that describes the use of postnatal dental cells to create bioengineered tooth buds that exhibit evidence of these features of natural tooth development, pointing to future bioengineered tooth buds as a promising, clinically relevant tooth replacement therapy. ### About the Journal of Dental Research The IADR/AADR Journal of Dental Research (JDR) is a multidisciplinary journal dedicated to the dissemination of new knowledge in all sciences relevant to dentistry and the oral cavity and associated structures in health and disease. About the International and American Associations for Dental Research The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) is a nonprofit organization with over 11,000 individual members worldwide, dedicated to: (1) advancing research and increasing knowledge for the improvement of oral health worldwide, (2) supporting and representing the oral health research community, and (3) facilitating the communication and application of research findings.
]]>International Association for Dental ResearchCasPER – a new method for diversification of enzymes2018-08-22T00:00:00+00:002018-08-22T00:00:00+00:00https://data-1.science/casper-a-new-method-for-diversification-of-enzymesHowever, the new tool enables scientists to engineer enzymes or their active domains by integrating much longer diversified fragments providing the opportunity to target every single nucleotide in a specific region. Discovery of enzymes variants In depth characterisation of the new method concludes that the main difference between already existing CRISPR/Cas9 methods is that CasPER allows very efficient integration and in multiplex manner of large DNA fragments bearing various mutations to generate pools of cells with hundreds of thousands of enzymes variants. You need to produce a certain amount of product to make it commercially relevant, and a tool like CasPER will definitely help to speed up and upscale this process, says Tadas Jakociunas. To prove the applicability and efficiency of CasPER scientists targeted two essential enzymes in the mevalonate pathway and were able to select cell factories with up to 11-fold increased production of carotenoids. Although the main application of the method was to speed up and lower the costs for engineering and optimizing cell factories, the method can also be applied for any experiment where diversification of DNA is needed.
]]>Technical University of DenmarkFree Software vs Open Source vs Freeware: What’s the Difference?2018-08-22T00:00:00+00:002018-08-22T00:00:00+00:00https://data-1.science/free-software-vs-open-source-vs-freeware-what-s-the-differenceFree software, open source, freeware, and shareware are some of the most commonly confused software terms in the industry. Here are three of the most popular type of licenses that define free software: The MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) License: This is a permissive license that places limited restrictions on software reuse. The GNU General Public License v2: This copyleft license gives users the freedom to run, study, and make improvements to the software. To minimize misunderstandings and avoid the terminology debate between free software and open source software, other terms such as FOSS (free and open source software) and FLOSS (free, libre, and open source software) may be used to describe the concepts. For example, if you want to release your created program freely to the open source community, ensure you do sufficient research to understand the limitations and responsibilities of the licensing you select.