Measurement of nuclear reactions at record-low energies opens new pathways for astrophysics research

The old maxim "location, location, location" may be as important in the social media landscape as it is in real estate. When a social media post about a user's personal experiences, feelings or beliefs includes geographic information, that location cue may affect how much readers like and empathize with the poster, according to a study led by Penn State researchers.

Just as the human body relies on organs such as the heart or liver for essential functions, cells depend on their own tiny organs, or organelles, to carry out vital tasks, including transporting nutrients, removing waste, and regulating genetic activity.

When a gene is turned on in a cell, it creates a ripple effect along the DNA strand, changing the physical structure of the strand. A new study by MIT researchers, appearing in Science, shows that these ripples can stimulate or suppress neighboring genes. These effects, which result from the winding or unwinding of neighboring DNA, are determined by the order of genes along a strand of DNA. Genes upstream of the active gene are usually turned up, while those downstream are inhibited.

How do our genes determine our appearance and our susceptibility to disease? This question is central to biomedical research, and today we can sequence thousands of human genomes to identify these genes. However, genes work in complex networks.