'Lost crops' could have fed as many as maize
Make some room in the garden, you storied three sisters: the winter squash, climbing beans and the vegetable we know as corn. Grown together, newly examined "lost crops" could have produced enough seed to feed as many indigenous people as traditionally grown maize, according to new research from Washington University in St. Louis.
Rhino poaching rises in Botswana despite government crackdown
Thirteen rhinos have been poached in Botswana in the last two months, the tourism ministry said, as the government tries to crackdown on hunting of the endangered species.
Powder, not gas: A safer, more effective way to create a star on Earth
A major issue with operating ring-shaped fusion facilities known as tokamaks is keeping the plasma that fuels fusion reactions free of impurities that could reduce the efficiency of the reactions. Now, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have found that sprinkling a type of powder into the plasma could aid in harnessing the ultra-hot gas...
'Tweezer clock' may help tell time more precisely
Atomic clocks are used around the world to precisely tell time. Each "tick" of the clock depends on atomic vibrations and their effects on surrounding electromagnetic fields. Standard atomic clocks in use today, based on the atom cesium, tell time by "counting" radio frequencies. These clocks can measure time to a precision of one second per every hundreds of millions of years. Newer atomic clocks...
The global reef expedition: French Polynesia
Scientists have released their findings from the largest coral reef survey and mapping expedition ever conducted in French Polynesia. The Global Reef Expedition: French Polynesia Final Report provides a comprehensive summary of the research findings from the expedition, an assessment of the health and resiliency of French Polynesia's coral reefs, and recommendations for preserving French...
NASA analyzes Tropical Cyclone Phanfone's water vapor concentration
When NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the Northwestern Pacific Ocean, water vapor data provided information about the intensity of Tropical Cyclone Phanfone. In the Philippines, the storm is known locally as Ursula.
Cultural evolution caused broad-scale historical declines of large mammals across China
Cultural evolution has been the dominant driver of range contractions in megafauna taxa across China since the beginning of the Common Era, with little or no direct importance of climate. A research team led by Aarhus University along with collaborators from Nanjing University analyzed maps of megafauna distribution dynamics and societal development based on Chinese archival records alongside data...
Chimpanzees more likely to share tools, teach skills when task is complex
Teach a chimpanzee to fish for insects to eat, and you feed her for a lifetime. Teach her a better way to use tools in gathering prey, and you may change the course of evolution.
2-D materials: Arrangement of atoms measured in silicene
Silicene consists of a single layer of silicon atoms. In contrast to the ultra-flat material graphene, which is made of carbon, silicene shows surface irregularities that influence its electronic properties. Now, physicists from the University of Basel have been able to precisely determine this corrugated structure. As they report in the journal PNAS, their method is also suitable for analyzing...
A fast and inexpensive device to capture and identify viruses
A device to quickly capture and identify various strains of virus has been developed, according to researchers at Penn State and New York University.
Study reveals a role for jumping genes during times of stress
Only percent of human DNA codes for proteins, and approximately half of the rest of the genome is made up of what used to be called "junk" sequences that can copy themselves into RNA or DNA and jump from one location to another. Previous research led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) had revealed a critical role for one of these jumping genes during times of stress. In new...
Study finds whales use stealth to feed on fish
Small fish are speedy and easy to scare. So how is it that a giant humpback whale, attacking at speeds about as fast as a person jogs, is able to eat enough fish to sustain itself? Combining field studies, laboratory experiments and mathematical modeling, researchers at Stanford University have found a surprising answer to this seemingly paradoxical feat: Whales capture fish using stealth and...
For CRISPR, tweaking DNA fragments before inserting yields highest efficiency rates yet
University of Illinois researchers achieved the highest reported rates of inserting genes into human cells with the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing system, a necessary step for harnessing CRISPR for clinical gene-therapy applications.
Computing with molecules: A big step in molecular spintronics
Spintronics or spin electronics in contrast to conventional electronics uses the spin of electrons for sensing, information storage, transport, and processing. Potential advantages are nonvolatility, increased data processing speed, decreased electric power consumption, and higher integration densities compared to conventional semiconductor devices. Molecular spintronics aims for the ultimate step...
Scientists develop gentle, microscopic hands to study tiny, soft materials
Handling very soft, delicate items without damaging them is hard enough with human hands, let alone doing it at the microscopic scale with laboratory instruments. Three new studies show how scientists have honed a technique for handling tiny, soft particles using precisely controlled fluid flows that act as gentle microscopic hands. The technique allows researchers to test the physical limits of...
New rules illuminate how objects absorb and emit light
Princeton researchers have uncovered new rules governing how objects absorb and emit light, fine-tuning scientists' control over light and boosting research into next-generation solar and optical devices.
Geoscientists document the role of atmospheric dust on marine ecosystems 300 million years ago
Dust plays a crucial role in the life and health of our planet. In our modern world, dust-borne nutrients traveling in great dust storms from the Saharan Desert fertilize the soil in the Amazon Rainforest and feed photosynthetic organisms like algae in the Atlantic Ocean. In turn, it is those organisms that breathe in carbon dioxide and expel oxygen.
Chesapeake Bay oysters get more attention at pivotal time
Robert T. Brown pulled an oyster shell from a pile freshly harvested by a dredger from the Chesapeake Bay and talked enthusiastically about the larvae attached—a sign of a future generation critical to the health of the nation's largest estuary.
Buckyballs release electron-positron pairs in forward directions
When electrons collide with positrons, their antimatter counterparts, unstable pairs can form in which both types of particle orbit around each other. Named 'positronium,' physicists have now produced this intriguing structure using a diverse range of positron targets—from atomic gases to metal films. However, they have yet to achieve the same result from vapours of nanoparticles, whose unique...
Asian black bears' smart strategy for seasonal energy balance
A collaboration led by scientists at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT), Japan, has discovered that daily energy balance of Asian black bears (Ursus thibetanus) exhibited seasonal change with a twin-peak pattern: up in spring, down to the lowest point in summer, and up again in autumn. From spring to summer, the energy balance is surprisingly negative. Interestingly, bears...
Where do baby sea turtles go? New research technique may provide answers
A team of Florida researchers and their collaborators created a first-of-its-kind computer model that tracks where sea turtle hatchlings go after they leave Florida's shores, giving scientists a new tool to figure out where young turtles spend their "lost years."
Overuse of herbicides costing UK economy GBP400 million per year
Scientists from international conservation charity ZSL (Zoological Society of London) have for the first time put an economic figure on the herbicidal resistance of a major agricultural weed that is decimating winter-wheat farms across the UK.
Electronics at the speed of light
A European team of researchers including physicists from the University of Konstanz has found a way of transporting electrons at times below the femtosecond range by manipulating them with light. This could have major implications for the future of data processing and computing.
As climate change melts Alaska's permafrost, roads sink, bridges tilt and greenhouse gases release
An unpaved highway runs north out of Nome, carving through more than 70 lonely miles of tundra before dead-ending at this Inupiaq village.
Gone fishin'—for proteins
Using a new microscopic "fishing" technique, scientists at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM) and Université de Montréal have successfully snagged thousands of proteins key to the formation of the cell skeleton.