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Often described as a cell's protein factory, ribosomes translate messenger RNA and link amino acids together to form new proteins. Ribosomes catalyze proteins that are essential for all life. In bacteria, ribosomes can take an inactive form called hibernating 100S ribosome. Because protein synthesis accounts for more than half of a cell's energy costs, the inactive ribosome form helps bacteria survive under stressful conditions. During limited nutrient access, antibiotic stress, host colonization, adaptation to the dark and biofilm formation, bacteria aim to conserve energy by shutting down the protein factory. Scientists have observed that the hibernating form of the ribosome is not a permanent state and that if conditions are favorable, it can "wake up" and return to its active form, called 70S, and begin to initiate new cycles of protein synthesis. "The 100S form is not held together forever," Yap said. "However, until now, the disassociatio...

Those are some takeaways from an extensive new meta-analysis of laboratory debunking studies published in the journal  Psychological Science . The analysis, the first conducted with this collection of debunking data, finds that a detailed counter-message is better at persuading people to change their minds than merely labeling misinformation as wrong. But even after a detailed debunking, misinformation still can be hard to eliminate, the study finds. "The effect of misinformation is very strong," said co-author Dolores Albarracin, professor of psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "When you present it, people buy it. But we also asked whether we are able to correct for misinformation. Generally, some degree of correction is possible but it's very difficult to completely correct." Countering beliefs based on misinformation "Debunking: A Meta-Analysis of the Psychological Efficacy of Messages Countering Misinformation" was...