RSS feed source: National Science Foundation
A new computational tool developed with support from the U.S. National Science Foundation could greatly speed up determining the 3D structure of RNAs, a critical step in developing new RNA-based drugs, identifying drug-binding sites and using RNAs in other biotechnology and biomedicine applications.
The tool, NuFold, leverages state-of-the-art machine learning techniques to predict the structure of a wide variety of RNA molecules from their sequences. This new capability will allow researchers to visualize what a given RNA structure could look like based on its sequence and identify its potential use in drug delivery, disease treatment and other applications. The research leading to NuFold was published in Nature Communications.
RNAs are critical biological molecules — encoding information, like DNA, and performing cellular functions, like proteins — but relatively few RNA structures have been determined through experimentation thus far, which severely limits understanding of their functions. For example, RNAs in the NSF-funded Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank (RCSB PDB) represent only about 3% of total entries. Experimentally determining RNA structures is often time-consuming and costly. By providing a path to reliably predicting RNA structure from sequence, NuFold could greatly expedite the discovery of RNA function and enable quicker development of RNA-based therapeutics and technologies.
RSS feed source: National Science Foundation
In-brief analysis
May 7, 2025
Data source: FracFocus
Note: To calculate the number of wells completed per location, we grouped wells within a 50-foot radius into single locations. We then identified wells completed by their completion start and end dates, counting concurrent completions when their completion periods overlapped.
We estimate that the average number of wells completed simultaneously at the same location in the Lower 48 states has more than doubled, increasing from 1.5 wells in December 2014 to more than 3.0 wells in June 2024. By completing multiple wells at once rather than sequentially, operators can accelerate their production timeline and reduce their cost per well. The increasing number of simultaneous completions reflects significant technological advances in hydraulic fracturing operations, particularly in equipment capabilities and operational strategies.
Using data from FracFocus to estimate simultaneous
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RSS feed source: National Science Foundation
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RSS feed source: National Science Foundation
Researchers supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation have discovered four tiny exoplanets orbiting Barnard’s star, a red dwarf at the center of the nearest single-star system to Earth. Using a specialized instrument mounted on the NSF-supported Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii, the team detected “wobbles” in the motion of Barnard’s star by observing subtle shifts in the color of its light, indicating the gravitational pull from nearby exoplanets. The planets’ surfaces are too hot to support life as we know it.
The researchers made their discovery using the M-dwarf Advanced Radial velocity Observer Of Neighboring eXoplanets (MAROON-X) spectrometer, which is designed to detect exoplanets. Their results were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters and show promise for finding and confirming more small planets around other red dwarf stars, which are numerous in the universe.
“The U.S. National Science Foundation is collaborating with the astronomy community on an adventure to look deeper into the universe to detect planets with environments that might resemble Earth’s,” says Martin Still, NSF program director for the International Gemini Observatory. “The planet discoveries provided by MAROON-X mounted on Gemini North provide a significant step along that journey.”
Most of the planets previously discovered in the Milky Way galaxy are much larger than Earth, making detecting these relatively tiny planets a fundamental step towards a more complete understanding of planet populations.
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