Researchers at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering have uncovered a missing link in scientists' understanding of the physical forces that give DNA its famous double helix shape.

"The stability of DNA is so fundamental to life that it's important to understand all factors," said Piotr Marszalek, a professor of mechanical engineering and materials sciences at Duke. "If you want to create accurate models of DNA to study its interaction with proteins or drugs, for example, you need to understand the basic physics of the molecule. For that, you need solid measurements of the forces that stabilize DNA."

One of the major issues associated with longer life expectancy in man and his best friend is an increase in the incidence of cancer.

Dr Ali Mobasheri, an Associate Professor from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at The University of Nottingham, says that studying tumors in dogs and humans could give us a better understanding of their shared pathogenesis.

Cancer is the single biggest cause of death in dogs over the age of 2. The incidence of bone cancers, skin cancers, and lymphomas is increasing in humans and dogs and there are significant similarities between certain types of human and canine cancer – such as breast and prostate cancer.

A team of led by Norwich BioScience Institutes Professor Nick Harberd have discovered how plants evolved the ability to adapt to changes in climate and environment.

Plants adapt their growth, including key steps in their life cycle such as germination and flowering, to take advantage of environmental conditions. They can also repress growth when their environment is not favorable. This involves many complex signalling pathways which are integrated by the plant growth hormone gibberellin.

A semiconductor membrane designed by researchers at the University of Illinois could offer more flexibility and better electrical performance than biological membranes. Built from thin silicon layers doped with different impurities, the solid-state membrane also could be used in applications such as single-molecule detection, protein filtering and DNA sequencing.

“By creating nanopores in the membrane, we can use the membrane to separate charged species or regulate the flow of charged molecules and ions, thereby mimicking the operation of biological ion channels,” said lead researcher Jean-Pierre Leburton, the Stillman Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Illinois.

Current strict environmental legislation demands advanced concepts to reduce the emission of harmful gasses by cars. Reducing the emission of nitrous oxides (NOx) emitted by diesel and lean-burn petrol engines is one of the challenges faced.

These economical engines produce exhaust fumes that are particularly rich in oxygen and therefore the conventional three-way catalytic converter is not suitable for converting the generated NOx into nitrogen. The current trend is therefore to add specific components such as barium to the catalytic converter to store the NOx formed.

Dutch researcher Karen Scholz has taken a careful look at the properties of a new type of catalytic converter.

A new University of Colorado at Boulder study shows people have the ability to suppress emotional memories with practice, which has implications for those suffering from conditions ranging from post-traumatic stress disorder to depression.

The study, which measured brain activity in test subjects who were trained to suppress memories of negative images, indicated two mechanisms in the prefrontal region of the brain were at work, said CU-Boulder doctoral candidate Brendan Depue, lead study author. The study may help clinicians develop new therapies for those unable to suppress emotionally distressing memories associated with disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder, phobias, depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive syndrome, he said.