Scientists just imaged the hidden quantum shape of a molecule - Science Daily

You taste a bowl of soup and reach for the salt. A little more might bring the flavor together. But what if the same amount of salt could deliver a stronger salty taste? Scientists in China have found three tiny fragments of mushroom proteins that did just that in laboratory tests. Added to salt solutions, the molecules made them taste saltier, with the strongest increasing perceived saltiness by about 71 percent. The discovery could help researchers develop seasonings that preserve salty flavor while allowing less sodium. The study in npj Science of Food, led by researchers at Gannan Medical University and Shanxi Medical University, tested peptides from the edible beech mushroom (Hypsizygus marmoreus). Peptides are short chains of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. Some have tastes of their own, including umami, the savory quality associated with mushrooms and other foods. Certain umami peptides can also strengthen the perception of saltiness. That makes them interesting candidates for a familiar problem: reducing salt can change the taste of food, making a healthier formulation harder to enjoy.

A molecule made by bacteria in the digestive system may increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease and accelerate cognitive decline in people with dementia, according to new research. The finding could point scientists toward a potential treatment strategy aimed at lowering Alzheimer's risk. Nearly a decade ago, a research team led by University of Wisconsin-Madison professors Barbara Bendlin and Federico Rey found that the mix of microorganisms living in the intestines differs between people with Alzheimer's disease and healthy individuals.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher Isaiah Santistevan led the development of three-dimensional simulations exploring how a nuclear device could deflect or disrupt an asteroid threatening Earth. Credit: Blaise Douros/LLNL Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers are developing three-dimensional simulations to examine how a nuclear device could be used to deflect or potentially disrupt an asteroid threatening Earth.

Milky Way’s first microblazar candidate sits 12,000 light-years away, offering a rare ground-level lab for studying relativistic jetsA black hole 12,000 light-years away is firing a jet of plasma almost directly toward Earth. At that distance, no known or expected danger to Earth has been identified by the researchers or the institutions involved. What astronomers have actually found is rarer and more interesting than a threat. Researchers have identified IRAS 18293-0941 as a compelling candidate for the Milky Way’s first microblazar, a class of object that gives astrophysicists a close-up laboratory for studying some of the most violent physics in the galaxy. What Astronomers FoundThe discovery centers on a binary system whose black hole expels plasma jets at close to three-quarters the speed of light, pointed almost directly toward Earth. The system pairs a hot, massive star with a black hole that completes a full orbit roughly every 11.38 days. Material drawn from the companion star feeds the black hole, and some of that matter gets expelled outward as opposing jets traveling at approximately three-quarters the speed of light. Terminology matters here.

Forests that stood on Mozambique's coast thousands of years ago now lie beneath shallow seas, and they have become fish-filled "peat reefs" with marine life comparable to coral reefs, researchers report in Scientific Reports. A team from the Bazaruto Center for Scientific Studies (BCSS) Ocean Observatory, led by Mario Lebrato, documented the submerged peat in the Bazaruto Archipelago in the Western Indian Ocean. BCSS, founded in 2017, describes itself as Africa's first permanent ocean observatory. Working with universities and institutions in the U. K., U. S. and Canada, the team believes it has carried out the first ecological study of peat reefs anywhere in the tropics. Old forests, new seafloorRadiocarbon dating shows the peat formed between about 300 and 5,000 years ago, and chemical analysis indicates it came mostly from coastal land plants and trees. Some samples contain up to 40% organic carbon by dry weight. Lebrato said the coastline has very little natural hard seabed, mostly shifting sand. As rising seas expose the old peat layers, they create rare solid habitat where marine life can settle, hide and feed.