Hidden Layer of Information in Our DNA Revealed and Others

#HappyMonday! And we’re back with more future science and technology news for the day. Don’t miss the latest digest for today.

Hidden Layer of Information in Our DNA Revealed

We all know that everything about us is defined in our genes – genetic code that affects our body from the time we are born. In an effort to understand DNA and make genetic modification better, theoretical physicists from Leiden University (Netherlands) have just confirmed that there is a second layer of information hidden in our DNA – the mechanical properties of the DNA, that is, the way DNA folds itself, controls which genes are going to be affected in our body.

“Eukaryotic DNA is strongly bent inside fundamental packaging units: the nucleosomes. It is known that their positions are strongly influenced by the mechanical properties of the underlying DNA sequence. Here we discuss the possibility that these mechanical properties and the concomitant nucleosome positions are not just a side product of the given DNA sequence, e.g. that of the genes, but that a mechanical evolution of DNA molecules might have taken place,” reads their study.

You Can Wear This Phone on Your Wrist

Lenovo unveiled a non-functional prototype of a bendable smartphone, called CPlus, at Lenovo’s Tech World 2016 expo. The Android phone’s display measures 4.26 inches, and will come in 12 colors.

“The Lenovo CPlus and Folio concepts highlight how flexible screens and components can enable dual-devices and multiple usage scenarios like never before. We’ve also refined our connected Smart Shoes technology based now on the Intel® CurieTM module and featuring wireless charging. With Smart Shoes, users can track fitness data, play motion controlled games and receive customized news and information based on their activity data pushed to their smartphone”, the company says.

Enhancing the Performance of Solar Energy Harvesting

In science, there is a theoretical limit as to how much sunlight can be converted into electricity. Called Shockley-Queisser Limit, it allows us to set a benchmark for solar cell conversion. Now, researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology have come up with a way to increase the output by using solar photovoltaics, or STPVs.

According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology website: “While all research in traditional photovoltaics faces the same underlying theoretical limitations. With solar thermophotovoltaics, you have the possibility to exceed that. In fact, theory predicts that in principle this method, which involves pairing conventional solar cells with added layers of high-tech materials, could more than double the theoretical limit of efficiency, potentially making it possible to deliver twice as much power from a given area of panels.

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