A new way to fine-tune exotic materials: Thin, stretch and clamp
One way to change the properties of a material is to stretch it just a wee bit, so its atoms are farther apart but the bonds between them don't break. This extra distance affects the behavior of electrons, which determine whether the material is an insulator or a conductor of electricity, for instance.
Most people consider becoming vegetarian for their health
Researchers know that people are motivated to be vegetarian for different reasons—the most common in western cultures being health, the environment and animal rights. But how compelling are these different factors for nonvegetarians?
Smaller scale solutions needed for rapid progress towards emissions targets
Low-carbon technologies that are smaller scale, more affordable, and can be mass deployed are more likely to enable a faster transition to net-zero emissions, according to a new study by an international team of researchers.
Experiments lead to slip law for better forecasts of glacier speed, sea-level rise
Backed by experimental data from a laboratory machine that simulates the huge forces involved in glacier flow, glaciologists have written an equation that accounts for the motion of ice that rests on the soft, deformable ground underneath unusually fast-moving parts of ice sheets.
Direct human ancestor Homo erectus is older than we thought
An unusual skullcap and thousands of clues have created a southern twist to the story of human ancestors, in research published in Science on 3 April.
Turning cells into computers with protein logic gates
The same basic tools that allow computers to function are now being used to control life at the molecular level. The advances have implications for future medicines and synthetic biology.
3-D reconstructions of individual nanoparticles
What do you see in the picture above? Merely a precisely-drawn three-dimensional picture of nanoparticles? Far more than that, nanotechnologists will say, due to a new study published in the journal Science. Whether a material catalyzes chemical reactions or impedes any molecular response is all about how its atoms are arranged. The ultimate goal of nanotechnology is centered around the ability to...
The face of a mouse reveals its emotions: study
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology are the first to describe emotional facial expressions for mice. Similar to humans, mouse facial expressions change when it tastes something sweet or bitter, or when it becomes anxious. With this new possibility of measuring the emotions of mice, neurobiologists can investigate the basic mechanisms of how emotions are generated and processed...
NASA finds heavy rain potential in new Tropical Cyclone Irondro
NASA analyzed the cloud top temperatures in the newly formed Tropical Cyclone Irondro using infrared light to determine where the strongest storms were located.
Using chemistry to unlock the difference between cold- and hot-brew coffee
Cold brew may be the hottest trend in coffee-making, but not a lot is known about how this process alters the drink's chemical characteristics. Scientists now report that the content of potentially health-promoting antioxidants in coffee brewed without heat can significantly differ from a cup of joe prepared with the same beans in the traditional way, particularly for dark roasts.
Whooping cranes form larger flocks as wetlands are lost—and it may put them at risk
Over the past few decades, the critically endangered whooping crane (Grus Americana) has experienced considerable recovery. However, in a report appearing April 2 in the journal Heliyon, researchers found that habitat loss and within-species attraction have led whooping cranes to gather in unusually large groups during migration. While larger groups are a positive sign of species recovery, the...
Six million-year-old bird skeleton points to arid past of Tibetan plateau
Researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have found a new species of sandgrouse in six to nine million-year-old rocks in Gansu Province in western China. The newly discovered species points to dry, arid habitats near the edge of the Tibetan Plateau as it rose to its current extreme altitude.
Decrypting cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies have been treated as a financial terra incognita—they have enjoyed growing interest but also raised concerns due to their virtuality. The use of statistical methods utilizing correlation matrices to analyze the hundred most-traded virtual currencies shows that the cryptocurrency market in the last two years is less and less different from the mature global currency market...
Gender bias in commenting poses barriers to women scholars
Women academics are less likely than men to comment on published research, limiting scholarly debate, a new study co-authored by York University sociologist Professor Cary Wu, shows. According to the study, women are also relatively less likely to comment on their male counterparts, published research.
Extracellular forces help epithelial cells stick together
Different surfaces and organs of the body are covered by epithelial tissue, which is composed of cells tightly connected to each other. The cells can be attached through junctions that are in direct contact with the cytoskeletal network inside the cells.
The Arctic may influence Eurasian extreme weather events in just two to three weeks
Previous research studies have revealed how rising temperatures and melting ice in the Arctic may impact the rest of Earth's climate over seasons, years and even longer. Now, two researchers from Fudan University in Shanghai, China, are making the argument that the effects may actually be felt in a matter of weeks, but more robust, observational-based analysis is needed to fully understand how...
Repair instead of renew: Damaged powerhouses of cells have their own 'workshop mode'
If the energy supply of a cell is disturbed by damage, it can protect itself from functional losses and repair itself in a kind of workshop mode. That is the result of a new study conducted by Professor Dr. Aleksandra Trifunovic and Dr. Karolina Szcepanowska as a leading scientist in her team, at the CECAD Cluster of Excellence in Aging Research at the University of Cologne. The findings have been...
Scientists find a fluctuating rising trend of open agricultural straw burning in Northeast China
Open biomass burning (OBB) has a significant impact on regional air quality, especially on the heavy haze pollution in Northeast China (NEC) in recent years. Recent research published in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters provides scholars and decision-makers with a more comprehensive and long-term analysis of the spatiotemporal patterns of OBB in NEC.
New supramolecular copolymers driven by self-sorting of molecules
Researchers in Japan have succeeded in creating a new type of helicoidal supramolecular polymer. The process and mechanism of the generation of its structure were observed using atomic force microscopy (AFM); the helicoidal structure grew spontaneously after two different monomers were mixed. The findings of the study, which was published in Nature Communications on April 1st, 2020 may lead to the...
Does relativity lie at the source of quantum exoticism?
Since its beginnings, quantum mechanics hasn't ceased to amaze us with its peculiarity, so difficult to understand. Why does one particle seem to pass through two slits simultaneously? Why, instead of specific predictions, can we only talk about evolution of probabilities? According to theorists from universities in Warsaw and Oxford, the most important features of the quantum world may result...
Representation of driving behavior as a statistical model
A joint research team from Toyohashi University of Technology, Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Toyota Transportation Research Institute, and Daido University has established a method to represent driving behaviors and their changes that differ among drivers in a single statistical model, taking into account the effect of various external factors such as road structure. This...
Fossil trove sheds light on ancient antipodean ecology
The oldest known animals and plants preserved in amber from Southern Gondwana are reported in Scientific Reports this week. Gondwana, the supercontinent made up of South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, Antarctica and Australia, broke away from the Pangea supercontinent around 200 million years ago. The findings further our understanding of ecology in Australia and New Zealand during the Late...
Genetic self-activation maintains plant stem cells
Branching allows plants to occupy space in three dimensions, an innovation considered essential for their adaption. Stem cells are key to this process because they promote the establishment of new growth axes. But where do these stem cells come from?
Climate-related disasters increase risks of conflict in vulnerable countries, research shows
Lead author Tobias Ide from the University of Melbourne said the disasters include storms, floods and droughts—the frequency and intensity of which will increase in the future, due to climate change.
Researchers forecast longer, more extreme wildfire seasons
In California, a changing climate has made autumn feel more like summer, with hotter, drier weather that increases the risk of longer, more dangerous wildfire seasons, according to a new Stanford-led study.