233 articles from TUESDAY 12.11.2019

Scientists advance citrus greening research efforts

To facilitate the scientific community's ability to use L. crescens in citrus greening research, scientists have published an article that outlines, step-by-step, highly reproducible and detailed protocols that they have standardized for culturing L. crescens.

Massive photons in an artificial magnetic field

An international research collaboration from Poland, the UK and Russia has created a two-dimensional system—a thin optical cavity filled with liquid crystal—in which they trapped photons. As the properties of the cavity were modified by an external voltage, the photons behaved like massive quasiparticles endowed with a magnetic moment, called "spin," under the influence of an artificial...

Leader of food security nonprofits to head World Food Prize

The foundation that awards the World Food Prize to individuals who work to improve food security in hopes of ending world hunger announced Tuesday that its new president will be a woman who has led nonprofit organizations focused on global food security, food safety and the impact of climate change on agricultural productivity.

Flooding caused by poor management and floodplain building, says experts

Big floods likely to become more frequent because of climate breakdownPoor management of the rural landscape along with global heating and building on floodplains are the main factors that led to the floods that have engulfed towns in northern England, according to experts.Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster are among the places flooded, 12 years after they were badly hit when the River Don burst...

New pathways in brain's amygdala

Researchers are pioneering an innovative brain study that sheds light on how the amygdala portion of the brain functions and could contribute to a better understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression and Alzheimer's disease.

New exploration method for geothermal energy

Where to drill? This is the basic question in the exploration of underground energy resources, such as geothermal energy. A research team presents a new method for locating potential drilling sites that are covered by water. The new approach combines bathymetry measurements with geochemical profiles.

Epigenetic pathway controls social behavior in carpenter ants

Researchers discovered that a protein called CoRest, a neural repressor that is also found in humans, plays a central role in determining the social behavior of ants. The study also revealed that worker ants called Majors, known as 'brawny' soldiers that protect colonies, can be reprogrammed to perform the foraging role -- generally reserved for their sisters, the Minor ants -- up to five days...

Spray painting fiber bandages onto wounds

Researchers have developed a portable electrospinning device with a confined electric field that can safely deposit bandages and drugs directly onto biological surfaces, using air to spray the fibers out onto the surface, like a can of spray paint. The device can be used to cover wounds and provide controlled drug release over time.

Complementary and alternative therapies to treat colic in babies

A review of the evidence on the use of complementary and alternative (CAM) therapies to treat babies with colic has shown some that some treatments -- including probiotics, fennel extract and spinal manipulation -- do appear to help, but that overall the evidence on the use of these therapies is limited so should be treated with caution.

Robots appear more persuasive when pretending to be human

Recent technological breakthroughs in artificial intelligence have made it possible for machines, or bots, to pass as humans. A team of researchers studied study how people interact with bots they believe to be human, and how such interactions are affected once bots reveal their identity. The researchers found that bots are more efficient than humans at certain human-machine interactions, but only...