Gulf coast mollusks rode out past periods of climate change
About 55 million years ago, a rapidly warming climate decimated marine communities around the world. But according to new research, it was a different story for snails, clams and other mollusks living in the shallow waters along what is now the Gulf Coast of the United States. They were able to survive.
Distant giant planets form differently than 'failed stars'
A team of astronomers led by Brendan Bowler of The University of Texas at Austin has probed the formation process of giant exoplanets and brown dwarfs, a class of objects that are more massive than giant planets, but not massive enough to ignite nuclear fusion in their cores to shine like true stars.
Half-a-million insect species face extinction: scientists
Half of the one million animal and plant species on Earth facing extinction are insects, and their disappearance could be catastrophic for humankind, scientists have said in a "warning to humanity".
Chemistry technique is 'warp drive' for creating better synthetic molecules for medicine
In a study with implications for the future of drug discovery, Scripps Research scientists showed they were able to turn simple chemicals into unique 3-D structures resembling those found in nature—structures with desirable properties for medicines.
Chemists develop safer hydrogenation processes
Safe and environmentally-friendly hydrogen gas on demand could be on the horizon following a new "hydrogenation" chemical process in development at The City College of New York. Led by Mahesh K. Lakshman, the research uniquely bypasses the need for an external source of hydrogen gas to accomplish a wide range of hydrogenations. It appears as an inside cover feature in the 2020 issue #1 of journal...
Superior 'bio-ink' for 3-D printing pioneered
Rutgers biomedical engineers have developed a "bio-ink" for 3-D printed materials that could serve as scaffolds for growing human tissues to repair or replace damaged ones in the body.
Study examines the impact of oil contaminated water on tubeworms and brittlestars
A new study published by Dauphin Island Sea Lab researchers adds a new layer to understanding how an oil spill could impact marine life.
Coronavirus outbreak raises question: Why are bat viruses so deadly?
It's no coincidence that some of the worst viral disease outbreaks in recent years—SARS, MERS, Ebola, Marburg and likely the newly arrived 2019-nCoV virus—originated in bats.
Study: It's devastatingly common for African mothers to experience child loss
Experiencing the death of a child is seen as a violation of "the natural order." And yet, despite global health gains, such deaths remain prevalent in many poor countries and regions around the world. But just how often do mothers suffer this almost unfathomable loss?
Scientists show solar system processes control the carbon cycle throughout Earth's history
The world is waking up to the fact that human-driven carbon emissions are responsible for warming our climate, driving unprecedented changes to ecosystems, and placing us on course for the sixth mass extinction event in Earth's history.
Himalayan glacier shows evidence of start of Industrial Revolution
Human beings altered one of the highest peaks in the Himalayas hundreds of years before a person ever set foot there, new research has found.
But what about flow? The effect of hydrodynamics on liquid-liquid transitions
For a long time, the liquid state of pure substances was believed to be a continuous state in which the component atoms or molecules are all equivalent. However, it has now been widely shown that there can be multiple phases within liquids, even those containing only one component. Understanding what causes the components of liquids to switch from one state to another is currently a subject of...
Tropical cyclones: How they contribute to better forecast in the Maritime Continent
Tropical cyclones are important players within the Earth's climate system. While literature usually investigates their role in determining flood events and inducing precipitation, a new study led by the CMCC Foundation—Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change points out for the first time that they can also create drying effects in other regions due to induced zonal wind anomalies.
NASA examines Tropical Storm Uesi's heavy rainfall
NASA analyzed Tropical Storm Uesi's rainfall and found moderate to heavy rainfall around the storm's center and in a large band of thunderstorms south of the center. That heavy rainfall has triggered warnings for Vanuatu in the Southern Pacific Ocean.
Simulations identify missing link to determine carbon in deep Earth reservoirs
Understanding the Earth's carbon cycle has important implications for understanding climate change and the health of biospheres.
Is it hemp or marijuana? New scanner gives instant answer
Hemp is technically legal in Texas, but proving that hemp is not marijuana can be a hurdle, requiring testing in a licensed laboratory. So, when a truck carrying thousands of pounds of hemp was recently detained by law enforcement near Amarillo, the driver spent weeks in jail awaiting confirmation that the cargo was legal.
Oral traditions and volcanic eruptions in Australia
In Australia, the onset of human occupation (about 65,000 years?) and dispersion across the continent are the subjects of intense debate and are critical to understanding global human migration routes. A lack of ceramic artifacts and permanent structures has resulted in a scarcity of dateable archaeological sites older than about 10,000 years.
Camera provides view into Sun's polar regions
The Solar Orbiter mission will use a U.S. Naval Research Laboratory-designed and -built heliospheric camera, known as SoloHI, to provide unique perspectives and unprecedented views of the Sun's North and South poles. The spacecraft, a NASA and European Space Agency collaboration, launched aboard an Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral, Florida, Feb. 9.
Hidden donors play significant role in political campaigns
A new Caltech study reveals that so-called hidden donors in a political campaign—those contributors who donate less than $200—can make up a sizable fraction of a candidate's campaign funds.
The human brain's meticulous interface with the bloodstream now on a precision chip
A scrupulous gatekeeper stands between the brain and its circulatory system to let in the good and keep out the bad, but this porter, called the blood-brain barrier, also blocks trial drugs to treat diseases like Alzheimer's or cancer from getting into the brain.
Lack of transparency in urban sustainability rankings
"The last two decades have seen significant growth in the spread of tools to classify and measure urban performance (rankings, indexes, etc.) across both the public and private institutions that use them, in response to different types of pressures encouraging uniformity. Naturally, all these tools are useful for guiding and assessing the policies implemented by local authorities in various fields...
NASA analyzes ex-Tropical Cyclone Damien's rainfall in Western Australia
Tropical Cyclone Damien made landfall on Feb. 9 along the northern Pilbara coast of Western Australia. On Feb. 10, the GPM or Global Precipitation Measurement mission core satellite analyzed the rainfall generated by the remnants that triggered warnings.
The effects of China's one-child policy on women's education
Women's educational attainment has increased tremendously and even exceeded men's all over the world in the late 20th century. China's One-Child Policy had a beneficial effect on women's education and explains about half of the increase in educational attainment for women born between 1960-1980, according to a review published in Contemporary Economic Policy.
Reimagining the link between geographic space and species could boost conservation and management efforts
In the latest issue of The American Naturalist, University of Kansas investigator Jorge Soberón offers a new method for ecologists to calculate the correlation between geographic space and the number of species inhabiting that space.
Geothermal energy: Drilling a 3,000-meter-deep well
Although stopping climate change is challenging, it is imperative to slow it down as soon as possible by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But how can we meet the growing energy demand while reducing our use of polluting fossil fuels? Geothermal energy is an efficient, non-polluting solution but in certain cases geothermal operations must be handled with care. Reaching the most powerful sources...