Bacterial cytokinesis is mediated by the Z-ring, which is formed by the prokaryotic tubulin homolog FtsZ. Recent data indicate that the Z-ring is composed of small patches of FtsZ protofilaments that travel around the bacterial cell by treadmilling. Treadmilling involves a switch from a relaxed (R) state, favored for monomers, to a tense (T) conformation, which is favored upon association into filaments. The R conformation has been observed in numerous monomeric FtsZ crystal structures and the T conformation in Staphylococcus aureus FtsZ crystallized as assembled filaments. However, while Escherichia coli has served as a main model system for the study of the Z-ring and the associated divisome, a structure has not yet been reported for E. coli FtsZ. To address this gap, structures were determined of the E. coli FtsZ mutant FtsZ(L178E) with GDP and GTP bound to 1.35 and 1.40 Å resolution, respectively. The E. coli FtsZ(L178E) structures both crystallized as straight filaments with subunits in the R conformation. These high-resolution structures can be employed to facilitate experimental cell-division studies and their interpretation in E. coli.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has made available to the public a new online collection of images that capture the excitement of planetary exploration and the journey to understand the origin and evolution of the solar system.

The post Stunning high-resolution NASA images available online for public exhibits appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Today, astronomers are releasing the highest-resolution images ever taken of the Sun's corona, or million-degree outer atmosphere, in an extreme-ultraviolet wavelength of light.

The post Astronomers release highest-resolution images ever of the Sun’s corona appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Clearly visible connecting the dark-purple cephalopods was the white “terminal organ” or penis of the male, extending out through the male’s funnel.

The post First detailed sex video of deep-sea squid resolves long-standing mysteries as to how these animals mate appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Xian Hu, Salma Jalal, Michael Sheetz, Oddmund Bakke, and Felix Margadant

Despite progress made in confocal microscopy, even fast systems still have insufficient temporal resolution for detailed live cell volume imaging, such as tracking rapid movement of membrane vesicles in three-dimensional space. Depending on the shortfall, this may result in undersampling and/or motion artifacts that ultimately limit the quality of the imaging data. By sacrificing detailed information in the Z-direction, we propose a new imaging modality that involves capturing fast "projections" from the field of depth which shortens imaging time by approximately an order of magnitude as compared to standard volumetric confocal imaging. With faster imaging, radiation exposure to the sample is reduced, resulting in less fluorophore photobleaching and potential photodamage. The implementation minimally requires two synchronized control signals that drive a piezo stage and trigger the camera exposure. The device generating the signals has been tested on spinning disk confocals and instant structured-illumination-microscopy (iSIM) microscopes. Our calibration images show that the approach provides highly repeatable and stable imaging conditions that enable photometric measurements of the acquired data, in both standard live imaging and super-resolution modes.

Björn Eismann, Teresa G. Krieger, Jürgen Beneke, Ruben Bulkescher, Lukas Adam, Holger Erfle, Carl Herrmann, Roland Eils, and Christian Conrad

3D cell cultures enable the in vitro study of dynamic biological processes such as the cell cycle, but their use in high-throughput screens remains impractical with conventional fluorescent microscopy. Here, we present a screening workflow for the automated evaluation of mitotic phenotypes in 3D cell cultures by light-sheet microscopy. After sample preparation by a liquid handling robot, cell spheroids are imaged for 24 hours in toto with a dual-view inverted selective plane illumination microscope (diSPIM) with a much improved signal-to-noise ratio, higher imaging speed, isotropic resolution and reduced light exposure compared to a spinning disc confocal microscope. A dedicated high-content image processing pipeline implements convolutional neural network based phenotype classification. We illustrate the potential of our approach by siRNA knock-down and epigenetic modification of 28 mitotic target genes for assessing their phenotypic role in mitosis. By rendering light-sheet microscopy operational for high-throughput screening applications, this workflow enables target gene characterization or drug candidate evaluation in tissue-like 3D cell culture models.

Here are some of the many resources the Smithsonian Libraries have to offer for Exploration, Encounter, Exchange in History

The post On-line resources for Smithsonian Libraries appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Latinus 9333 is the Latin translation of the so-called Tacuinum sanitatis, a medieval handbook on wellness written in Arabic by the 11th-century physician ibn Butlan. It deals with factors influencing human health: from the air, the environment and food, to physical exercise and sexual activity.

The post Medieval book is important resource for how plants were once collected, treated and used appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Named for Charles Darwin, the only known specimen of a newly discovered beetle, Darwinylus marcosi, died in a sticky battle in a gob of tree […]

The post Beetle and pollen trapped in 105 million-year-old amber reveal fourth major pollination mode in mid-Mesozoic appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The enanti­opure monopyrrolidine derivative (2S)-methyl (Z)-5-(2-tert-but­oxy-1-cyano-2-oxo­ethyl­idene)pyrrolidine-2-carboxyl­ate, C13H18N2O4, (1), represents a potential ligand and an attractive inter­mediate for the synthesis of chiral metal com­plexes. At the mol­ecular level, the com­pound features an intra­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bond; neighbouring mol­ecules inter­act via N—H⋯N contacts to form chains along [100]. Due to its elemental com­position, resonant scattering of the target com­pound is entirely insignificant for diffraction experiments with Mo Kα and small even for Cu Kα radiation. A preliminary study with the harder radiation type confirmed the chiral space group and the suitability of the single crystal chosen; as expected, the results concerning the absolute structure remained com­pletely inconclusive. A second data collection with the longer wavelength gave satisfactory quality indicators for the correct handedness of the mol­ecule, albeit with high standard uncertainties. The absolute configuration has been assessed independently: CD spectra for both enanti­omers of the target mol­ecule were calculated and the spectrum for the S-configured stereoisomer was in agreement with the experiment. The Cotton effect of (1) may be ascribed to π–π* transitions from HOMO to LUMO and from HOMO to LUMO+1. As both independent techniques agree with respect to the handedness of the target mol­ecule, the absolute structure may be assigned with a high degree of confidence.

Björn Eismann
Apr 15, 2020; 0:jcs.245043v1-jcs.245043
TOOLS AND RESOURCES

Evidence exists that people who lived or worked at Camp Lejeune Marine Base in North Carolina between the 1950s and 1985 were exposed to the industrial solvents tricholorethylene (TCE) or perchloroethylene (PCE) in their water supply, but strong scientific evidence is not available to determine whether health problems among those exposed are due to the contaminants, says a new report from the National Research Council.

Higher education leaders, policymakers, and the private sector should take a range of actions to strengthen STEM programs and degree attainment in the nation’s Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The immersive Haus of Creep opens at ROW DTLA this weekend.; Credit: Courtesy of Just Fix It Productions

Read the full article at LAist

When "Offramp" host John Rabe's father, Bill, created the list at Lake Superior State University in Michigan he likely didn't know it would thrive nearly 40 years later.  As language evolves there should never be a shortage of words and phrases we want to "kick to the curb."

This morning on "AirTalk," I asked listeners to pick the ones they "hate on."  We got some good ones, including my overused "unpack," as in "let's unpack that idea."  Falling into word patterns can happen so subtly that we don't even know it until someone points it out.

My nomination for the list -- "it is what it is."   What are yours?

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

4 awesome discoveries you probably didn't hear about this week -- Episode 31

4 awesome discoveries you probably didn't hear about this week -- Episode 32

With the recent 22% rise in the price of uranium, Peter Epstein of Epstein Research considers the upside for Skyharbour's holdings in the Athabasca Basin.

4 awesome discoveries you probably didn't hear about this week -- Episode 32

Source: Streetwise Reports   04/24/2020

Mesoblast Ltd. (MESO:NASDAQ; MSB:ASX) today announced that it had achieved an "83% survival in ventilator-dependent COVID-19 patients (10/12) with moderate/severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) treated during the period March-April 2020 with two intravenous infusions of Mesoblast's allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell product candidate remestemcel-L within the first five days." The company stated that of the 12 patients treated, 75% (9/12) successfully came off ventilator support after a median timeframe of 10 days. The firm advised that all of the patients were treated under an emergency Investigational New Drug (IDA) application or expanded access protocol at Mt. Sinai hospital in New York City and so far seven of the patients have been discharged from the hospital. The company noted that each of the patients had received a variety of experimental agents prior to being treated with remestemcel-L.

The firm explained that until now only about 9% (38/445) of ventilator-dependent COVID-19 patients at a major referral hospital network in New York City were able to come off ventilator support when treated with existing standard of care treatments during March and April 2020. The company reported that at a second major referral hospital network in New York City over the same period, there was 88% mortality with only 12% survival (38/320) among ventilator-dependent COVID-19 patients.

The company's CEO Dr. Silviu Itescu commented, "The remarkable clinical outcomes in these critically ill patients continue to underscore the potential benefits of remestemcel-L as an anti-inflammatory agent in cytokine release syndromes associated with high mortality, including acute graft versus host disease and COVID-19 ARDS. We intend to rapidly complete the randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2/3 trial in COVID-19 ARDS patients to rigorously confirm that remestemcel-L improves survival in these critically ill patients."

Dr. Fred Grossman, Mesoblast's Chief Medical Officer, added, "There is a significant need to improve the dismal survival outcomes in COVID-19 patients who progress to ARDS and require ventilators. We have implemented robust statistical analyses in our Phase 2/3 trial as recommended by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in order to maximize our ability to evaluate whether remestemcel-L provides a survival benefit in moderate/severe COVID-19 ARDS."

Mesoblast Ltd. is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, and is a developer of industrial-scale, cryopreserved, off-the-shelf allogeneic cellular medicines. The company utilizes its proprietary mesenchymal lineage cell therapy technology platform in order to create a wide portfolio of commercial products and late-stage product candidates. The firm indicated that "the Biologics License Application to seek approval of its product candidate RYONCIL™ (remestemcel-L) for steroid-refractory acute graft versus host disease has been accepted for priority review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration." The company has offices in Australia, the U.S. and Singapore.

Mesoblast began the day with a market capitalization of around $687.9 million with approximately 106.7 million shares outstanding. MESO shares opened nearly 142% higher today at $15.59 (+$9.14, +141.71%) over yesterday's $6.45 closing price and reached a new 52-week high price this morning of $20.57. The stock has traded today between $13.01 and $20.57 per share and is presently trading at $14.76 (+$8.30, +128.76%).

Disclosure:
1) Stephen Hytha compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor. He or members of his household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. He or members of his household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.
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( Companies Mentioned: MESO:NASDAQ; MSB:ASX, )

With the recent 22% rise in the price of uranium, Peter Epstein of Epstein Research considers the upside for Skyharbour's holdings in the Athabasca Basin.

Under pressure from rising food prices, many nations have begun to acquire large tracts of agricultural land in foreign countries, a practice known as ‘land grabbing’. New research has now quantified current levels of land grabbing and demonstrated that it is accompanied by concerning levels of ‘water grabbing’ which could affect water supply in the ‘grabbed’ countries.

The ability of the Earth’s living systems to store carbon could play a vital role in the mitigation of climate change. A new report suggests that, in coming decades, safeguarding and restoring carbon in ecosystems has the potential to prevent well over 50 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon entering the atmosphere.

Global population growth since 1850 has been largely enabled by commercial phosphorus and nitrogen fertilisers. The availability of these nutrients for food production relies upon steadily diminishing resources of natural gas and phosphorus rock. A recent study suggests that to secure a long-term affordable food supply, policy intervention is needed to conserve these essential resources.

Humanity is demanding ever greater economic productivity at a time when natural resources, the input that feeds this productivity, are dwindling. To reduce pressure on key assets, such as water, minerals, fuel and land, we must use less of them, and we need to increase the efficiency and productivity of resources that we do use, to achieve more output per input. Put simply, we must do more with less. This thematic issue reports on research which helps guide the way to a more resource efficient society.

Energy efficiency is at the centre of EU policy for achieving a fundamental transformation of Europe’s energy systems by 2030. This Thematic Issue reveals the complexity of the issue of energy efficiency, its links with resource efficiency and the wide range of factors influencing it, from technology to social practices.

Italian researchers have demonstrated low-cost techniques which may transform fly ash produced by Municipal Solid Waste Incineration from hazardous landfill into potentially the world's fifth largest raw material resource. The initial results have prompted European Commission funding for a demonstration project under LIFE+.

A recent study has investigated how taxes on virgin raw materials used in construction, such as gravel and sand, have reduced the use of these resources, based on experiences in Denmark, Sweden and the UK. However, greater incentives to recycle these materials are still needed, says the study.

A recent study has found that improved management of phosphorus in the EU would reduce reliance on imported phosphorus, in addition to reducing damage from excess phosphorus in the environment. This could be achieved through the appropriate use of fertilisers and greater recovery and recycling of phosphorus from all waste sources.

Flat screen televisions and computer monitors should be designed so they can be quickly dismantled for recycling, a recent study says. The researchers calculated that in order to ensure the recycling process remains economically viable, it must be possible to disassemble small screens in less than 11 minutes. Good design could lower the costs of recycling and enable near-total recovery of precious metals from the waste screens.

Recycled waste material could play a major role in the construction of roads in Europe, bringing both environmental and economic benefits. A new study proposes a scenario where 50% of the asphalt for Europe’s roads consists of recycled materials, leading to significant reductions in costs, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

The design and implementation of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes could benefit from lessons learned from the management of common pool resources (CPR). By examining previous research into CPR, an international team of researchers has demonstrated that six sustainable management characteristics of CPRs also hold lessons for PES practitioners.

In the Mediterranean region the demand for natural resources and ecological services is two and half times greater than ecosystems’ capacity to provide them, recent research has found. To meet this demand, countries rely on imports, exposing themselves to price volatility and potential resource shortages. According to the authors, a 10% increase in global prices would particularly impact vulnerable countries such as Jordan, which would see its trade balance worsening by 2.4% of its gross domestic product.

New research highlights that potential to use forest materials as bioenergy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuel use must be balanced against the role played by forest stocks as carbon storage facilities.

The Spanish coast is a popular destination for tourists. A recent study has assessed the sustainability of tourism in these areas and the results can be used to guide future planning decisions.

Ambiguity arises in a decision-making process when there is more than one way of interpreting a problematic situation. A new study has explored five possible strategies to overcome ambiguity in natural resources management – rational problem solving, persuasive communication, learning through dialogue, negotiation and opposition. A case study of water management in Spain is given to illustrate how these strategies have been used.

Better and more efficient management of materials is an important EU policy goal. New research has analysed what drives resource use and the productive use of materials across Europe and indicated that energy efficiency and construction of buildings and roads are the main policy areas to address.

Resource productivity has become a popular indicator of environmental sustainability. However, new research has demonstrated that it is influenced by national income and its current use tends to support a simultaneous growth in economic productivity and resource consumption. In order to shape policy effectively, the study suggests that targets should directly emphasise resource consumption and emissions.

A number of EU policy targets and indicators exist to improve the efficiency of natural resource use. A new report produced for the European Commission concludes that although indicators of resource use need improvement, they are still a valuable policy tool to monitor progress towards sustainable material, energy, water and land use.

A Portuguese waste management system for packaging has brought a range of environmental, economic and social benefits, according to a recent study. One of the scheme’s main achievements was that it avoided around 116 kilotons (kt) of CO2 equivalent emissions in a single year, equal to the emissions associated with the electricity use of 124 000 households. These emissions were largely circumvented because the system recovers large amounts of energy and materials from the waste packaging.

Improving the efficiency of industries and products has not led to overall reductions in the consumption of goods and services, a new study has found. The research looked at the historical relationship between efficiency improvements and resource consumption across 10 different activities, including electricity generation and passenger air travel. However, shorter decade-long periods, where efficiency improvements outpaced resource consumption, suggested that legislation and price pressures could be effective at reducing resource consumption.

A new five-step method has been developed for assessing the resource efficiency of products and improving the reuse, recycling and recovery of material at a product’s end of life. The Resource Efficiency Assessment of Products (REAPro) method allows the identification and testing of practical measures to improve resource efficiency at both the product and policy level.

The drive to increase renewable energy production can sometimes be at loggerheads with the desire to preserve natural landscapes. In this study, researchers from across Europe assessed the environmental impacts of renewable energies in the Alps, making key recommendations to resolve conflicts between different users of habitats.

International trade has increasingly relied on material resources since the 1990s, according to a new study. The research used the most detailed global computer model available for capturing the effects of international trade on the environment and on the efficiency of resource use between 1995–2011. Sharp increases in the trade of cheap ‘fast fashion’ and mass market electronics are highlighted as two of the fastest growing drivers of this change in material inefficiency.

Researchers have developed a ‘watershed economics approach’ which could help water managers balance competing uses for water and understand the impact of different policies. To demonstrate the approach, it was applied to a watershed in Cyprus.

A new study has concluded that the benefits of carbon capture and storage (CCS) to human health and ecosystems from reduced climate change related impacts considerably outweigh any negative impacts from using the technology in power plants. However, CCS has a large impact on the depletion of natural resources.

Under pressure from rising food prices, many nations have begun to acquire large tracts of agricultural land in foreign countries, a practice known as ‘land grabbing’. New research has now quantified current levels of land grabbing and demonstrated that it is accompanied by concerning levels of ‘water grabbing’ which could affect water supply in the ‘grabbed’ countries.

Population growth of any country is ultimately dependent on that country’s access to freshwater resources, which also determines its capacity to produce food. A new study shows that population growth is expected to decline in countries with low water resources, as water-rich countries reduce food exports in order to feed their own growing populations.