Evaluating Transformations in Small Metal Finds Following the Black Death

Evolution finds shelter in small spaces.

When RNA is replicated in cell-free systems, a ubiquitous problem is the hijacking of the system by short parasitic RNA sequences. In this issue of Chemistry & Biology, Bansho et al. show that compartmentalization into water-in-oil droplets can ameliorate this problem, but only if the droplets are small. This result helps to both recapitulate abiogenesis and optimize synthetic biology.

Heavy Metal Concentration in Black Tea in Iran

Background & Aims of the Study: Tea is one of the most important beverages that consumes in several parts of the world including Iran. Tea plant can be contaminated during manufacturing processes and growth period by pollutants such as heavy metals. In this study, the concentration of some heavy metals in different brands of both Iranian and imported black tea to Iran was inves...

The Black Death

Towards the middle of .the fourteenth century some Italian merchants who were occupied in trading with China by the overland route were besieged by the Tartars in a small town on the river Don. They were, however, driven out of this town, and many of them, together with their merchandise from China, found refuge in the fortified post of Caff a, in the Crimea. Later they were again besieged in t...

The Black Death in the Middle East

Evaluating the smoothness of color transformations

Multi-dimensional look up tables (LUTs) are widely employed for color transformations due to its high accuracy and general applicability. Using the LUT model generally involves the color measurement of a large number of samples. The precision and uncertainty of the color measurement will be mainly represented in the LUTs, and will affect the smoothness of the color transformation. This, in turn...