Israeli researchers discover cell mechanism for rapid DNA repair
Israeli researchers discovered a mechanism responsible for the rapid repair of broken DNA, the northern Israel Institute of Technology, or Technion, said…reports Asian Lite News
The discovery, included in a new study published in the journal Nature Communications, may have implications for DNA repair in human cells and for understanding disorders in various disease states, the Technion said on Tuesday.
The genome, essential for all organisms, is threatened by many external and internal factors, which cause thousands of DNA damage events in each cell every day, Xinhua news agency reported.
Some damages could be so severe as to cause harmful mutations and cell death. So during evolution, the living cell developed sophisticated repair mechanisms for dangerous breaks.
In bacteria, the repair is initiated by the enzyme RecBCD, which forms the pair of bases that make up the double helix of DNA in the area of damage.
The energy for this process is extracted by the enzyme from ATP molecules, which carry the cell’s energy.
In this process, more than 1,600 base pairs are unwinded in a second, which is a tremendous speed in biological terms. To reach this speed, RecBCD needs thousands of ATP molecules per second.
The Technion researchers found the existence of auxiliary binding sites in RecBCD, which allow the high speed.
“RecBCD achieves its optimised unwinding rate, even when ATP is scarce, by using the auxiliary binding sites to increase the flux of ATP to the required locations,” the researchers explained.
The binding sites create a “funnel” for ATP molecules, which channels the “fuel” toward the two “engines” of RecBCD efficiently and quickly, according to Technion.
Digital analysis showed Amenhotep I’s face resembled his father Ahmose I…reports Asian Lite News
Egyptian researchers have “digitally unwrapped” the mummy of King Amenhotep I for the first time, revealing many secrets about the pharaoh who ruled the country from 1525 to 1504 BC, a top official announced here.
Researchers used advanced x-ray technology, computed tomography (CT) scanning and advanced computer software programs to digitally remove the wrappings on the mummy of King Amenhotep I in a safe, non-invasive method without touching the mummy, Xinhua news agency quoted Zahi Hawass, also the former Minister of State for Antiquities Sffairs, as saying in a statement on Tuesday.
The research team, which included Sahar Saleem, professor of radiology at Faculty of Medicine of Cairo University and experts in antiquities radiology, revealed for the first time “the face of King Amenhotep I, his age, health condition, as well as many secrets about the mummy’s unique mummification and reburial”, Hawass said.
Digital analysis showed Amenhotep I’s face resembled his father Ahmose I.
The king was believed to be in good health when he died at the age of 35, since no disease or injury to the mummy appeared to indicate the cause of his death.
Digital analysis showed Amenhotep I’s face resembled his father Ahmose I
Unlike most of the rulers of the modern kingdoms, such as Tutankhamun and Ramses II whose brains were removed and embalming materials and resins were deposited inside the skull, the brain of King Amenhotep I was intact during the mummification process, the statement added.
The mummy of Amenhotep I was found in 1881 in the Royal cache at Deir-el Bahri in Luxor, where the priests of the 21st dynasty reburied and hid the mummies of many previous kings and queens to protect them from the recurrent tomb theft.
It is the only royal mummy that has not been unwrapped in the modern era in order to preserve the unique beauty of it, which was covered with a funerary mask and garlands.
King Amenhotep I was the son of King Ahmose I, who was conqueror of the Hyksos and founder of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egyptian Civilization.
Transparent ceramics is a new class of advanced materials with unique transparency and excellent mechanical properties…reports Asian Lite News.
Reaching theoretical transparency through a technique called colloidal processing followed by simultaneous application of temperature and pressure, Indian researchers have – for the first time – developed transparent ceramics.
The material can be used for thermal imaging applications, especially in harsh service conditions and personal protection systems such as, helmets, face shields, and goggles, a Ministry of Science & Technology release on Wednesday said.
Transparent ceramics is a new class of advanced materials with unique transparency and excellent mechanical properties. These materials can be designed not only for transparent to visible light but also for ultraviolet, infrared, and radio frequency, giving opportunity for diverse applications.
Though produced by different countries globally, transparent ceramics are restricted in supply as they can be used for strategic applications. Though several attempts were made in the country, the transparent ceramics produced were either on a laboratory scale or low transparency. “Currently developed process is able to produce the sizes usable for several applications and on a pilot scale,” the release claimed.
Generally, prepared from the high purity powders through a line of critically engineered processing steps, transparent ceramics needs preparation processes that will help achieve theoretical transparency by eliminating defects. Chemical vapour deposition, involving reactions of the precursors in the vapour phase at elevated temperatures, and hot isostatic pressing (HIP) involving simultaneous application of temperature and pressure are a few advanced processing techniques generally practiced to address the above challenges. An enhanced diffusion process at high temperature under pressure is suggested as the possible mechanism to eliminate the defects.
Researchers at the ARCI have produced magnesium aluminate spinel ceramics with colloidal processing followed by HIP technique.
Transparent spinel (MgAl2O4) ceramic is used traditionally for applications such as high-energy laser windows because of its excellent transmission in visible wavelengths and mid-wavelength infrared (0.2–5.0 μm) when combined with selected materials (Wikipedia)
“Spinel is currently emerging as a transparent ceramic based on the outstanding optical properties of transmission – more than 75 per cent in the visible and more than 80 per cent in the infrared range. It also has higher strength of 200 megapascal and hardness of more than 13 Gigapascal,” the research regarding the development, published in the journal ‘Materials Chemistry and Physics’ recently, said.
With potential applications in infantry personal protection systems involving thermal imaging such as helmets, face shields, and goggles, these transparent ceramics developed in India is a step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat, the release said.
It eliminates the need for the conventional primary, secondary, and tertiary processes resulting in maximum colour removal and meets the inland water discharge standards…reports Asian Lite News.
Indian researchers have developed an “improved” wastewater treatment solution that can completely reuse dye wastewater from textile industry, eliminating its toxicity and making it suitable for domestic and industrial usage.
It reduces the water treatment costs and facilitate the reuse of the water in dry regions.
The current three-stage treatment process for wastewater consisting of primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment is unable to treat toxic industrial wastewater.
The stand-alone Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) treatment technique for colour and odour properties in industrial effluents (dye-based) may be insufficient to meet set government standards and is also limited due to the high cost of AOPs involving continuous supply of chemical reagents.
“This is because it cannot remove the synthetic industrial dyes and the effervescent colour and odour, which have a long-lasting carcinogenic and toxic effect on the ecological and especially aquatic life. In order to remove this toxicity, an upgraded solution with the AOP technology is the need of the day, a release from the Department of Science & Technology (DST) said.
Working towards this, researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, with Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, and MBM College, Jodhpur, have developed a modified AOP solution.
The completely modified treatment process consists of the primary dosing step followed by the sand filtration step, another AOP and subsequent carbon filtration step.
It eliminates the need for the conventional primary, secondary, and tertiary processes resulting in maximum colour removal and meets the inland water discharge standards.
Department of Science and Technology (DST), Water Technology Initiative (WTI), along with the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) supported the development of this technology at a pilot level in collaboration with Laxmi Textile Prints, Jaipur for the commissioning of this pilot-scale plant at Textile Industrial Park, Jaipur.
The “much-improved” AOP technology targeting zero discharge water management system is being utilized for the complete reuse of industrial dye wastewater for domestic and industrial usage at a rate of 10 Kilo litres/day.
The treatment of toxic and highly carcinogenic industrial dyes of textile effluents is performed using this AOP technology for degrading and mineralizing recalcitrant organic matter from effluent wastewater.
It is a direct replacement of the existing treatment plant processes and consists of a low-cost solution of dye adsorption on acid-modified soil followed by a photochemical reaction step within a photocatalytic visible light filter and a unique carbon and PAN nano-mat fibre filtration process. Having been set up on a pilot basis, it remediates industrial wastewater.
The technology has resulted in the recuperation of 50 per cent of the treatment cost incurred from conventional processes for water treatment (especially due to the high cost of sludge disposability) in the water-scarce regions of Rajasthan.
Further, scaling up of this plant to 100 kilo litres/day capacity to meet the current industrial requirement is underway with automated plant operations, said a release.
