A joint research team from KAIST and UCSD has developed a deep neural network named DeepTFactor that predicts transcription factors from protein sequences. DeepTFactor will serve as a useful tool for understanding the regulatory systems of organisms, accelerating the use of deep learning for solving biological problems. A transcription factor is a protein that specifically … [Read more...] about Deep neural network predicts transcription factors: A deep learning-based tool predicts transcription factors using protein sequences as inputs
Computers
Supercapacitors challenge batteries: Powerful graphene hybrid material for highly efficient supercapacitors
A team working with Roland Fischer, Professor of Inorganic and Metal-Organic Chemistry at the Technical University Munich (TUM) has developed a highly efficient supercapacitor. The basis of the energy storage device is a novel, powerful and also sustainable graphene hybrid material that has comparable performance data to currently utilized batteries. Usually, energy storage is … [Read more...] about Supercapacitors challenge batteries: Powerful graphene hybrid material for highly efficient supercapacitors
Spontaneous robot dances highlight a new kind of order in active matter
Predicting when and how collections of particles, robots, or animals become orderly remains a challenge across science and engineering. In the 19th century, scientists and engineers developed the discipline of statistical mechanics, which predicts how groups of simple particles transition between order and disorder, as when a collection of randomly colliding atoms freezes to … [Read more...] about Spontaneous robot dances highlight a new kind of order in active matter
A high order for a low dimension: Novel crystal confines electrons to one dimension for spintronic applications
Spintronics refers to a suite of physical systems which may one day replace many electronic systems. To realize this generational leap, material components that confine electrons in one dimension are highly sought after. For the first time, researchers created such a material in the form of a special bismuth-based crystal known as a high-order topological insulator. To create … [Read more...] about A high order for a low dimension: Novel crystal confines electrons to one dimension for spintronic applications
Using artificial intelligence to find new uses for existing medications
Scientists have developed a machine-learning method that crunches massive amounts of data to help determine which existing medications could improve outcomes in diseases for which they are not prescribed. The intent of this work is to speed up drug repurposing, which is not a new concept -- think Botox injections, first approved to treat crossed eyes and now a migraine … [Read more...] about Using artificial intelligence to find new uses for existing medications
New virtual screening strategy identifies existing drug that inhibits COVID-19 virus: In lab experiments, pralatrexate outperforms remdesivir against SARS-CoV-2
A novel computational drug screening strategy combined with lab experiments suggest that pralatrexate, a chemotherapy medication originally developed to treat lymphoma, could potentially be repurposed to treat Covid-19. Haiping Zhang of the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology in Shenzhen, China, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS … [Read more...] about New virtual screening strategy identifies existing drug that inhibits COVID-19 virus: In lab experiments, pralatrexate outperforms remdesivir against SARS-CoV-2
Stretching diamond for next-generation microelectronics
Diamond is the hardest material in nature. But out of many expectations, it also has great potential as an excellent electronic material. A joint research team led by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has demonstrated for the first time the large, uniform tensile elastic straining of microfabricated diamond arrays through the nanomechanical approach. Their findings have … [Read more...] about Stretching diamond for next-generation microelectronics
Desalination breakthrough could lead to cheaper water filtration
Producing clean water at a lower cost could be on the horizon after researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and Penn State solved a complex problem that has baffled scientists for decades, until now. Desalination membranes remove salt and other chemicals from water, a process critical to the health of society, cleaning billions of gallons of water for agriculture, … [Read more...] about Desalination breakthrough could lead to cheaper water filtration
A pursuit of better testing to sort out the complexities of ADHD: Review of cognitive testing studies reveals how adding computer simulations could help
The introduction of computer simulation to the identification of symptoms in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has potential to provide an additional objective tool to gauge the presence and severity of behavioral problems, Ohio State University researchers suggest in a new publication. Most mental health disorders are diagnosed and treated based on … [Read more...] about A pursuit of better testing to sort out the complexities of ADHD: Review of cognitive testing studies reveals how adding computer simulations could help
Development of fusion energy
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is collaborating with private industry on cutting-edge fusion research aimed at achieving commercial fusion energy. This work, enabled through a public-private DOE grant program, supports efforts to develop high-performance fusion grade plasmas. In one such project PPPL is working in coordination … [Read more...] about Development of fusion energy