NGOs accuse Bayer of hiding glyphosate risk data
An NGO grouping said Wednesday it had filed claims in an Austrian court alleging that chemicals firm Bayer withheld data showing health risks from exposure to its herbicide glyphosate, which the EU has proposed to keep using for 10 more years.
How secondary mathematics teachers' beliefs and knowledge influence their teaching in mainland China
Past research on Chinese mathematics teaching has focused mainly on the role of teacher's beliefs and professional knowledge separately in teaching approaches, or examined three variables—teacher's beliefs, professional knowledge and teaching approaches—in correlational studies. How teaching beliefs and professional knowledge specifically influence teaching approaches remained largely unclear....
Study identifies trend toward larger and fewer eyespot patterns on butterflies
Eye spots, color patterns that resemble the eyes of vertebrates, on butterfly wings are common in nature. A research team involving the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) and researchers in Mexico, Brazil and the U.S., have now identified a trend towards fewer and bigger eyespots in a group of tropical butterflies in a DNA-based study.
SpaceX aims for its 50th Space Coast launch this year
SpaceX is targeting its 50th Space Coast launch of the year with another Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Diagnosing anthropogenic carbon emissions: A 'carbon dioxide checkup' of Earth's health
Since 2020, many countries have pledged their plans for "carbon peak and carbon neutrality". Managing anthropogenic emissions, especially from major industries, is crucial for addressing global warming and promoting sustainable growth. However, existing emission records lack transparency and accuracy due to limited knowledge of CO2 emissions from cities and key sectors, leading to uncertainty in...
How llamas help mitigate effects of climate change
Introducing llamas (Llama glama) into land exposed by retreating glaciers can speed the establishment of stable soils and ecosystem formation, mitigating some of the harmful effects of climate change, according to experimental research conducted by scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and partner institutions in Peru.
Climate change emerges as major driver of amphibian declines, new research finds
Amphibians are in trouble and in desperate need of conservation action, according to a new global assessment of the world's amphibian population.
Climate scientist 'could lose job' for refusing to fly
A climate scientist on Wednesday said he was being threatened with the sack for refusing to fly back to Germany from a research trip in Papua New Guinea.
Climate change primary driver of amphibian decline: Study
Climate change has become the main factor driving amphibians towards extinction as they remained the most threatened vertebrates over the past two decades, according to research published on Wednesday.
Advancing biodiversity research: New initiative bridges biodiversity and omics data standards
Biodiversity observation and research rely more and more on biomolecular data. The standardization of this data, encompassing both primary and contextual information (metadata), is crucial for enabling data (re-)use, integration, and knowledge generation. While both the biodiversity and the omics research communities have recognized the urgent need for (meta)data standards, they each have...
Humans increasingly settling in high-risk flood zones, study warns
Humans are increasingly settling in areas highly exposed to dangerous flooding, a study warned Wednesday, with China helping drive the rise in risky urban expansion into exposed areas.
Nobel chemistry winner flunked first college chemistry exam
Talk about bouncing back. MIT professor Moungi Bawendi is a co-winner of this year's Nobel chemistry prize for helping develop "quantum dots"—nanoparticles that are now found in next generation TV screens and help illuminate tumors within the body.
Microplastics in the mud: Finnish lake sediments help us get to the bottom of plastic pollution
The sun is shining, and air feels surprisingly warm when we walk on a 35cm ice that covers a frozen lake in central Finland. The heavy sledges move nicely, because there is not much snow on the ice today. The journey isn't far either, as we're by the city of Kuopio, which is surrounded by Finland's 10th largest lake. Despite the temperature of -10˚, I need to take off my hat—the sun in early...
Quantum dots: the tiny 'rainbow' crystals behind chemistry Nobel
Quantum dots are tiny crystals that scientists can tune to different colors, giving an extra-vivid pop to next-generation TV screens or illuminating tumors inside bodies so surgeons can hunt them down.
AI-generated misinformation: 3 teachable skills to help address it
In my digital studies class, I asked students to pose a query to ChatGPT and discuss the results. To my surprise, some asked ChatGPT about my biography.
Researcher working to revitalize an Indigenous language and bring it into the future
Language is foundational to Indigenous communities, including my own, and a vital connection to our cultures.
Scientists discover how the SARS-CoV-2 virus initiates replication program in infected cells
How SARS-CoV-2 initiates its replication process during infection is not yet fully understood. Researchers from the Helmholtz Institute Würzburg have now shown for the first time in the journal Cell that it is the human protein SND1 that works together with the viral protein NSP9 to stimulate the virus's genetic replication program in infected cells.
A precise test of quantum electrodynamics: Measuring the g factor of electrons in hydrogen-like tin
Quantum electrodynamics is the best-tested theory in physics. It describes all electrical and magnetic interactions of light and matter. Scientists at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik in Heidelberg (MPIK) have now used precision measurements on their Alphatrap experiment to investigate the magnetic properties of electrons bound to highly ionized tin atoms. Such tests provide insights into...
Hubble records rare radio galaxy NGC 612
A striking orange and blue streak fills this new image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble's visible and infrared capabilities captured this edge-on view of lenticular galaxy NGC 612. Lenticular galaxies have a central bulge and disk much like spiral galaxies, but they lack the characteristic arms. They typically have older star populations and little ongoing star formation. In NGC 612,...
NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft views sample return capsule's departure
After years of anticipation and hard work by NASA's OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security—Regolith Explorer) team, a capsule of rocks and dust collected from asteroid Bennu returned to Earth on Sept. 24 in a targeted area of the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range near Salt Lake City.
Learning is easier with a positive attitude, finds meta-study
Students who think positively about their own abilities and their subject are more likely to achieve the goals they have set for themselves. Conversely, a lack of confidence in one's own abilities can lead to goals being missed. This is shown by a meta-study conducted by the DIPF | Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education and other institutions.
The cat larynx can produce purring sounds without cyclical neural input
A recent investigation led by voice scientist Christian T. Herbst from the University of Vienna, published in Current Biology, delivers novel insights into how cats produce their purring sounds. A special "pad" embedded in the vocal folds might explain why the cats can produce these low-frequency sounds.
Study: Climate, population structure impact oakleaf hydrangea genetic diversity
Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) is an understory shrub native to the southeastern United States. The species occupies a small native range, and little is known about its demography, genetic diversity, or needs for conservation.
Study uses social media and machine learning to show environmental injustices in Philadelphia's urban parks
In urban areas throughout the United States, it is imperative for all communities to have equal access to high quality parks. These parks can have many benefits for the physical and mental well-being of the residents who live in close proximity to the urban green spaces. For instance, they are a place to socialize and exercise outdoors while also providing vegetation nearby, which can help reduce...
Life-size images of extinct camel species found carved into stones in Saudi Arabia
An international team of archaeologists has discovered life-size images of an extinct camel species carved into rock formations in Saudia Arabia. In their project, reported in the journal Archaeological Research in Asia, the group discovered the carvings on a rock outcropping in the Nefud desert.
Filling the data gap for volcanic ash effects on Earth systems
Volcanic ash is no ordinary dust: It gets injected into the atmosphere, climbs to the stratosphere, impacts climate, powders roadways and clogs jet engines.
Science hasn’t gone ‘woke’ – the only people meddling with it are the Tories | Philip Ball
Michelle Donelan’s plan to “depoliticise” science with new guidelines on sex and gender research is a chilling moveThe science secretary, Michelle Donelan, told the Conservative party conference this week that the Tories are “depoliticising science”. Or as a Conservative party announcement later put it, in case you didn’t get the culture-war reference, they are “kicking woke ideology...
Molecular knots, left and right: How molecules form knots
Helical molecules, similarly to a corkscrew, have a spiral shape that can be either left- or right-turning. Such "chiral molecules" can collectively organize (assemble) into large left- or right-handed twisted structures. These exhibit special optical properties and produce splendid colors, for example, in some insects.
Nationwide test of Wireless Emergency Alert system could test people's patience—or rebuild trust in the system
The Wireless Emergency Alert system is scheduled to have its third nationwide test on Oct. 4, 2023. The Wireless Emergency Alert system is a public safety system that allows authorities to alert people via their mobile devices of dangerous weather, missing children and other situations requiring public attention.
Superconductivity at room temperature remains elusive a century after Nobel Prize for landmark discovery
On April 8, 1911, Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes scribbled in pencil an almost unintelligible note into a kitchen notebook: "near enough null."
Nobel prize in physics awarded for work unveiling the secrets of electrons
The 2023 Nobel prize in physics has been awarded to a trio of scientists for pioneering tools used to study the world of electrons.
Have some economists severely underestimated the financial hit from climate change? Recent evidence suggests yes
Scientists say severe climate change is now the greatest threat to humanity. Extreme weather is expected to upend lives and livelihoods, intensifying wildfires and pushing ecosystems towards collapse as ocean heat waves savage coral reefs. The threats are far-reaching and widespread.
'Emotionally, he's destroyed me': Why intimate partner sexual violence needs to be taken as seriously as stranger rape
Last month, "That 70s Show" actor Danny Masterson was found guilty of raping two women in the early 2000s. However, the jury could not reach a verdict on a third allegation of rape involving Masterson's former girlfriend. The case, along with countless others, points to the challenges in understanding and responding to cases of intimate partner sexual violence.
Irrigating Australia's deserts won't increase rainfall, new modeling shows
,For generations, Australians have been fascinated with the idea of turning our inland deserts green with lush vegetation.
What is an attosecond? A physical chemist explains the tiny time scale behind Nobel Prize-winning research
A group of three researchers earned the 2023 Nobel Prize in physics for work that has revolutionized how scientists study the electron—by illuminating molecules with attosecond-long flashes of light. But how long is an attosecond, and what can these infinitesimally short pulses tell researchers about the nature of matter?