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280,444 articles from PhysOrg
Key protein regulates immune response to viruses in mammal cells
Researchers have revealed the regulatory mechanism of a specific protein that plays a key role in balancing the immune response triggered by viral infections in mammal cells. These findings could help drive the development of antiviral therapies and nucleic acid medicines to treat genetic disorders. The research is published in the journal Nucleic Acids Research.
THURSDAY 18. APRIL 2024
Bike Bus gains supporters as a way to promote sustainable and safe mobility
The Bike Bus movement has emerged as a powerful tool to promote road safety, sustainability and community. According to a global survey carried out by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), the phenomenon has gained momentum globally in recent years, with more than 470 Bike Bus routes worldwide, transporting 32,000 children to...
Study presents new perspective on morality based on nuances in values among different political ideologies
While social psychology has long been interested in learning more about how one's moral values relate to one's political views, most of the research to date has used quite the same perspective.
Marine microbial populations: Potential sensors of the global change in the ocean
Animal and plant populations have been extensively studied, which has helped to elucidate ecosystem processes and evolutionary adaptations. However, this has not been the case with microbial populations, due to the impossibility of isolating, culturing and analyzing the genetic content of the different species and their individuals in the laboratory. Therefore, although it is known that...
Unraveling the mysteries of consecutive atmospheric river events
In California's 2022-2023 winter season, the state faced nine atmospheric rivers (ARs) that led to extreme flooding, landslides, and power outages—the longest duration of continuous AR conditions in the past 70 years. Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) recently conducted a study using machine learning to understand these complex weather systems better, finding...
Research team resolves decades-long problem in microscopy
When viewing biological samples with a microscope, the light beam is disturbed if the lens of the objective is in a different medium than the sample. For example, when looking at a watery sample with a lens surrounded by air, the light rays bend more sharply in the air around the lens than in the water.
Research suggests ways to ensure more sustainability in global agricultural trade
The EU wants to ensure greater sustainability in agricultural trade with the Global South—with the aim of minimizing the environmental and climate-damaging effects of importing crops such as soya, palm oil, coffee, and cocoa. However, this aspiration is often not fulfilled in practice.
Using deep learning to image the Earth's planetary boundary layer
Although the troposphere is often thought of as the closest layer of the atmosphere to the Earth's surface, the planetary boundary layer (PBL)—the lowest layer of the troposphere—is actually the part that most significantly influences weather near the surface. In the 2018 planetary science decadal survey, the PBL was raised as an important scientific issue that has the potential to enhance...
Stars vs. numbers: How consumers perceive online rating formats
Mathematically speaking, scoring 3.5 out of 5 is the same as receiving three and a half stars on a five-star scale. But visually speaking, the numbers don't add up.
RNA's hidden potential: New study unveils its role in early life and future bioengineering
The beginning of life on Earth and its evolution over billions of years continue to intrigue researchers worldwide. The central dogma or the directional flow of genetic information from a deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA) template to a ribose nucleic acid (RNA) transcript, and finally into a functional protein, is fundamental to cellular structure and functions.
New study shows how quickly surface water moves to groundwater reservoirs across Australia
A new study from Charles Darwin University (CDU), Monash University and The University of Newcastle has presented almost 100,000 estimates of groundwater recharge rates across Australia, by far the largest known database of its kind.
Q&A: Why are we drowning in single-use plastics, and what can we do about it?
Plastic is ubiquitous. It's in the clothes we wear, wrapped around the food we eat and in the toothpaste we use. It floats in the oceans and litters the snow on Mount Everest.
Respiratory stress response that stunts temperate fish also affects coral reef fish
Coral reef fish, like the fish in other marine and freshwater ecosystems, are likely to reach smaller maximum sizes and start reproducing earlier with smaller and fewer eggs as climate change continues to warm up the ocean.
Fourteen years after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, endemic fishes face an uncertain future
The 2010 Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon was the largest accidental oil spill in history. With almost 100 million gallons (379 million liters) of oil combined with dispersants suggested to remain in the Gulf, it is one of the worst pollution events ever. More than a decade later, its long-term effects are still not fully understood.
Smoother surfaces make for better accelerators
With every new particle accelerator built for research, scientists have an opportunity to push the limits of discovery. But this is only true if new particle accelerators deliver the desired performance—no small feat in a world where each new machine is a first of its particular kind. At each project opportunity, researchers try to refine the preparation methods of key components so as to get a...
Could fish ponds help with Hawaiʻi's food sustainability?
Indigenous aquaculture systems in Hawaiʻi, known as loko iʻa or fish ponds, can increase the amount of fish and fisheries harvested both inside and outside of the pond. This is the focus of a study published by a team of researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB). Today, aquaculture supplies less than 1% of Hawaiʻi's 70 million pounds of...
Scientists reveal hydroclimatic changes on multiple timescales in Central Asia over the past 7,800 years
A recent study published in the PNAS shows that western Central Asia has experienced a long-term drying trend over the past 7,800 years. This discovery, based on the analysis of a stalagmite from the Fergana Valley in Kyrgyzstan, adds a critical piece to the understanding of westerly-influenced hydroclimatic patterns in Central Asia.
Access to burgeoning quantum technology field could be widened by educational model
Quantum technology is based on the engineering of devices that make use of the quantum properties of matter. One of the most prominent avenues of this technology is quantum computing, which may be able to leverage quantum bits (qubits) to perform calculations more efficiently than classical computers. Technology with this "quantum advantage" will also operate in the background of our lives,...
Describing growing tissues in the language of thermodynamics
A key feature of biological tissues is their inhomogeneity and their ability to grow via cell reproduction. To study this behavior, it is important to describe it using equations, which account for factors including growth rates, chemical signaling, and tissue structure.
Reevaluation of Colorado's iconic summits is part of a national remapping project
Derek van Westrum, a physicist with NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), didn't want to be responsible for taking one of Colorado's beloved "Fourteeners" off the books.
Researchers quantify the ideal in situ construction method for lunar habitats
As the lunar exploration mission evolves from exploration to construction and utilization, in situ lunar construction becomes an imperative requirement. The key is regolith solidification and formation, aiming to maximize local resource utilization while minimizing transportation and maintenance costs.
Mapping plant functional diversity from space: Ecosystem monitoring with novel field-satellite integration
An international team of researchers, led by Professor Jin Wu from the School of Biological Sciences at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), has made a promising advancement in mapping plant functional traits from space using time-series satellite data. The study, published in Remote Sensing of Environment, showcases the innovative combination of the Sentinel-2 satellite mission and its dynamic...
Research reveals a surprising topological reversal in quantum systems
In principle, one shouldn't compare apples to oranges. However, in topology, which is a branch of mathematics, one must do just that. Apples and oranges, it turns out, are said to be topologically the same since they both lack a hole—in contrast to doughnuts or coffee cups, for instance, which both have one (the handle in the case of the cup), and thus are topologically equal.
Coal train pollution increases health risks and disparities, research warns
Trains carrying loads of coal bring with them higher rates of asthma, heart disease, hospitalization and death for residents living nearest the rail lines, according to a new study from the University of California, Davis.
Study finds that providing housing and support benefits homeless
Being supported to find a home and then receiving ongoing specialized support services are the key combination in significantly improving the well-being of people who have experienced homelessness, researchers say.