264 articles from MONDAY 16.12.2019
Would a deep-Earth water cycle change our understanding of planetary evolution?
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/16 23:37
Every school child learns about the water cycle -- evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection. But what if there were a deep Earth component of this process happening on geologic timescales that makes our planet ideal for sustaining life as we know it?
A new gene therapy strategy, courtesy of nature
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/16 23:37
Scientists have developed a new gene-therapy technique by transforming human cells into mass producers of tiny nano-sized particles full of genetic material that has the potential to reverse disease processes.
The effect of taking antidepressants during pregnancy
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/16 23:36
Exposure to antidepressants during pregnancy and the first weeks of life can alter sensory processing well into adulthood, according to research in mice.
How mysterious circular DNA causes cancer in children
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/16 23:36
Why do children develop cancer? An international team of researchers, led by Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, now reveal that mysterious rings of DNA known as extrachromosomal circular DNA can contribute to cancer development in children. Producing the first detailed map of circular DNA, the scientists have shed new unanticipated...
Blue light may not be as disruptive to our sleep patterns as originally thought
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/16 23:36
Contrary to common belief, blue light may not be as disruptive to our sleep patterns as originally thought -- according to scientists. According to the team, using dim, cooler, lights in the evening and bright warmer lights in the day may be more beneficial to our health.
Simple test could prevent fluoride-related disease
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/16 23:36
Synthetic biologists developed a simple, inexpensive new test that can detect dangerous levels of fluoride in drinking water.
Visual neurons don't work the way scientists thought
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/16 23:36
A new survey of the activity of nearly 60,000 neurons in the mouse visual system reveals how far we have to go to understand how the brain computes. The analysis reveals that more than 90% of neurons in the visual cortex, the part of the brain that process our visual world, don't work the way scientists thought -- and it's not yet clear how they do work.
Birds' seasonal migrations shift earlier as climate changes
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/16 23:36
In what the authors believe is one of the first studies to examine climate change impact on the timing of bird migration on a continental scale, researchers report that spring migrants were likely to pass certain stops earlier now than they would have 20 years ago. Also, temperature and migration timing were closely aligned, with the greatest changes in migration timing occurring in the regions...
Home hospital reduces costs, improves care
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/16 23:36
The results of the investigators' randomized controlled trial with more patients strengthens the evidence, showing that home hospital care reduced cost, utilization, and readmissions while increasing physical activity compared with usual hospital care.
Ancient events are still impacting mammals worldwide
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/16 23:36
In the first study of its kind, researchers have discovered that events from 20,000 years ago or more are still impacting the diversity and distribution of mammal species worldwide.
Chile blames 'big polluters' for 'insufficient' agreements out of climate summit
Chile's president is defending his nation in the wake of the international climate change negotiations at COP25, saying it did all it could, but four big polluting countries got in the...
See the best microscopic footage of Nikon's 2019 Small World in Motion competition
Every year Nikon shows us the best images of the unseen world. Incredible videos under a microscope revealing life as we have never seen...
See the best microscopic footage of Nikon's 2019 Small World in Motion competition
Every year Nikon shows us the best images of the unseen world. Incredible videos under a microscope revealing life as we have never seen...
How we transport water in our bodies inspires new water filtration method
A multidisciplinary group of engineers and scientists has discovered a new method for water filtration that could have implications for a variety of technologies, such as desalination plants, breathable and protective fabrics, and carbon capture in gas separations. The research team, led by Manish Kumar in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, published their...
Dozens potentially exposed to toxic mercury in Houston spill
Dozens of people in Houston potentially were exposed to the toxic metal mercury after it was spilled outside a Walmart, a Sonic Drive-In and a gas station, officials said. Federal and local investigators were trying to determine if the spills were intentional. Fire Chief Sam Pena said up to 60 people were asked to take decontamination showers and a pregnant woman was taken to a hospital as a...
Underwater pile driving noise causes alarm responses in squid
Exposure to underwater pile driving noise, which can be associated with the construction of docks, piers, and offshore wind farms, causes squid to exhibit strong alarm behaviors, according to a study by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) researchers published Dec. 16, 2019, in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin.
Suomi NPP satellite views New South Wales fires raging on
NOAA-NASA's Suomi NPP satellite flew over the New South Wales fires in Australia on December 16, 2019 and found devastation from the ongoing fires. The New South Wales Rural Fire Service is reporting 96 fires are burning and to date the size of the area burned is 1.5 times the size of the state of Connecticut (approximately 5.3 million acres of land). These fires are largely the result of an...
With Second Warmest November, 2019 is Likely to Be Second Warmest Year Ever Recorded
Greta Thunberg might have been been named TIME’s Person of the Year for drawing global attention to climate change, but the climate continues to speak for itself. Last month was the second-hottest November in recorded history, and 2019 is likely to be the second warmest year ever.
Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Monday that last month was 1.66...
New methods promise to speed up development of new plant varieties
A University of Minnesota research team recently developed new methods that will make it significantly faster to produce gene-edited plants. They hope to alleviate a long-standing bottleneck in gene editing and, in the process, make it easier and faster to develop and test new crop varieties with two new approaches described in a paper recently published in Nature Biotechnology.
How do silt and sand differ when going with the flow?
The river may rage or gently roll, but in the end the sand and silt will have their way.
Simple test could prevent fluoride-related disease
Northwestern University synthetic biologists developed a simple, inexpensive new test that can detect dangerous levels of fluoride in drinking water.
Blue pigment discoverer makes key design advance for future durable, vivid pigments
An Oregon State University chemistry researcher who made history a decade ago with the accidental discovery of the first new blue inorganic pigment in more than two centuries is again pushing forward the science of color.
3-D print a piece of Mars for the holidays
There's a galaxy of gifts out there for space nerds. Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin may have just the thing to set your present apart: a model of Jezero Crater, the landing site of NASA's upcoming Mars 2020 Rover mission, that you can 3-D print yourself.
The uncertain role of natural gas in the transition to clean energy
A new MIT study examines the opposing roles of natural gas in the battle against climate change—as a bridge toward a lower-emissions future, but also a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.
Collaboration yields insights into mosquito reproduction
As carriers for diseases like dengue and Zika, mosquitoes kill more than 1 million people each year and sicken hundreds of millions more. But a better understanding of mosquito reproduction can help humans combat outbreaks of these diseases, which are worsening as the climate warms.
Researchers built AI technology that uses algae to fight climate change, and they're planning on releasing the design so anyone can build one
Algae absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. With help from AI, a new bioreactor could draw out more greenhouse gas than...
November 2019 was 2nd hottest on record for the planet
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/16 21:15
November 2019 was the second-hottest November for the planet in the 140-year global climate record, according to scientists at NOAA.
Unveiling a new map that reveals the hidden personalities of jobs
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/16 21:15
It's been long been believed that different personalities align better with different jobs. Large-scale evidence now exists of the distinctive personality profiles that occur across occupations and how, using social media, they can be matched to an individual for the near-perfect fit.
Radiation breaks connections in the brain
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/16 21:14
One of the potentially life-altering side effects that patients experience after cranial radiotherapy for brain cancer is cognitive impairment. Researchers now believe that they have pinpointed why this occurs and these findings could point the way for new therapies to protect the brain from the damage caused by radiation.
Robots made from self-folding kirigami materials
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/16 21:14
Researchers have demonstrated how kirigami-inspired techniques allow them to design thin sheets of material that automatically reconfigure into new two-dimensional (2D) shapes and three-dimensional (3D) structures in response to environmental stimuli. The researchers created a variety of robotic devices as a proof of concept for the approach.
Resident orcas' appetite likely reason for decline of big Chinook salmon
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/16 21:14
Large, old Chinook salmon have mostly disappeared from the West Coast. A new study points to the recent rise of resident killer whales, and their insatiable appetite for large Chinook salmon, as the main driver behind the decline of the big fish.
Hard as a rock? Maybe not, say bacteria that help form soil
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/16 21:14
Scientists show how bacteria can degrade solid bedrock, jump-starting a long process of alteration that creates the mineral portion of soil.
Dating app based on genetic matching not eugenics, scientist says
A Harvard academic says the app he designed can prevent rare, hereditary diseases – and sinister interpretations are ‘ridiculous’A Harvard academic who designed a dating app based on gene-matching has said it was “ridiculous” to compare it to eugenics.George Church’s dating app proposes to match users based on their DNA in an attempt to eliminate genetic diseases. In a 60 Minutes...
What happens to gold nanoparticles in cells?
Gold nanoparticles, which are supposed to be stable in biological environments, can be degraded inside cells. This research, conducted by teams from the CNRS, l'Université de Paris, Sorbonne Université, and l'Université de Strasbourg, will be published in PNAS on December 16, 2019, and reveals the ability of cells to metabolize gold, which is not essential for their functioning. This study...
Hard as a rock? Maybe not, say bacteria that help form soil
Research published this week by University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists shows how bacteria can degrade solid bedrock, jump-starting a long process of alteration that creates the mineral portion of soil.