259 articles from TUESDAY 16.6.2020
Hurricane season combined with COVID-19 pandemic could create perfect storm
When extreme climate conditions interact with stressors to social systems, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the consequences could be severe unless experts from diverse backgrounds work together to develop comprehensive solutions to combat their negative impacts.
If there is life out there, can we detect it?
Instruments aboard future space missions are capable of detecting amino acids, fatty acids and peptides, and can even identify ongoing biological processes on ocean moons in our solar system. These are the exciting conclusions reached by two studies from an international team led by scientists of the Planetary Sciences research group at Freie Universität Berlin. The two studies were published in...
Scientists grow optical chips in a petri dish
The modern photonics industry is constantly working on making its devices more compact, be it computing systems or sensors and lidars. For this, it is necessary to make lasers, transistors and other elements smaller. A team of scientists led by ITMO researchers proposed a quick and affordable method to create optical chips right in a Petri dish. The research was published in ACS Nano.
How plants' vascular cells turn into holes
Theoretical biologists have solved a unique puzzle in the structure of plants' vascular tissue. Two mutations that had opposite effects appear to lead to the same result. Professor of Computational Developmental Biology Kirsten ten Tusscher has shown that both accelerating or delaying the transport of auxin through the plant's vascular tissue result in the creation of a Swiss-cheese-like pattern...
Need for better approaches to tackle multiple stressors in European lakes and rivers
A newly released Nature paper highlights a continued management need for reduction of nutrient stress in lakes. It also shows that river management requires more complicated approaches to tackle several stressors simultaneously.
A small protein transports electrons between the two photosystems involved in plant photosynthesis
The emergence of oxygenic photosynthesis made it possible for complex multicellular life-forms to evolve on Earth. By utilizing solar energy to turn carbon dioxide into sugars, while also generating molecular oxygen from water, photosynthesis provides the basis for both plant and animal life. These two processes are carried out by distinct, but functionally connected complexes called photosystems...
The smallest motor in the world
A research team from Empa and EPFL has developed a molecular motor which consists of only 16 atoms and rotates reliably in one direction. It could allow energy harvesting at the atomic level. The special feature of the motor is that it moves exactly at the boundary between classical motion and quantum tunneling - and has revealed puzzling phenomena to researchers in the quantum realm.
A 'pause button' for light particles
How do you stop something that is faster than anything else, intangible and always in motion by nature? A team led by physicists Dr. Thorsten Peters and Professor Thomas Halfmann is doing the seemingly impossible: stopping light for tiny fractions of a second. They then end the stopover at the push of a button letting the light pulse continue its journey. The researchers are even stopping...
Hurricane season combined with COVID-19 pandemic could create perfect storm
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/16 17:39
When extreme climate conditions interact with stressors to social systems, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the consequences could be severe unless experts from diverse backgrounds work together to develop comprehensive solutions to combat their negative impacts.
Could the cure for IBD be inside your mouth?
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/16 17:39
A new collaborative study reveals that inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may be the latest condition made worse by poor oral health via a clash between the mouth and gut microbiomes.
Persistent DNA damage in the placenta affects pregnancy outcomes
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/16 17:39
Scientists have shown that a dysfunctional placenta can play a previously unrecognized role during the earliest stages of development in mouse models of Cornelia de Lange syndrome. People with this rare genetic disorder often harbor mutations in cohesins, ring-like proteins that help DNA organize and repair itself.
How does our brain trigger different sighs? New findings could provide answers
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/16 17:39
One group of neurons controls various types of sighing, but they receive their instructions from different areas of the brain depending on the reason for the sigh, according to a new study.
Brain research sheds light on the molecular mechanisms of depression
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/16 17:39
A new study reveals how symptoms indicating depression and anxiety are linked to brain function changes already in healthy individuals.
New species extinction target proposed for global nature rescue plan
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/16 17:39
A scientist proposes a prominent political target to give discussions of species conservation more vigor. Together with a group of experts from other research institutions, he proposes to limit species extinctions to 20 per year.
Study settles the score on whether the modern world is less violent
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/16 17:39
A study by mathematicians has used new techniques to address the long-running debate over whether battle deaths have been declining globally since the end of the Second World War.
Quantum material research facilitates discovery of better materials
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/16 17:39
By means of the state-of-art quantum many-body simulations, performed on the world's fastest supercomputers, researchers have achieved accurate model calculations for a rare-earth magnet TmMgGaO4 (TMGO). They found that the material, under the correct temperature regime, could realize the the long-sought-after two-dimensional topological Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT) phase, which completed the pursuit...
Endogenous insulin production is preserved in Type 1 diabetes with anti-TNF drug
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/16 17:39
A study found that a drug called golimumab preserved beta-cell function in children and young adults with newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetes, according to findings from a Phase 2 study.
Simulated sea slug gets addicted to drug
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/16 17:39
Scientists built a computer model of a simple brain network based on that of a sea slug, taught it how to get food, gave it an appetite and the ability to experience reward, added a dash of something called homeostatic plasticity and then exposed it to a very intoxicating drug. To no one's surprise, the creature became addicted.
As many as six billion Earth-like planets in our galaxy, according to new estimates
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/16 16:08
There may be as many as one Earth-like planet for every five Sun-like stars in the Milky way Galaxy, according to new estimates.
Researchers uncover mysterious tanaids
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/16 16:08
Biologists are on a quest to discover more of the still nameless tanaids, specifically in the relatively species-rich but poorly studied tropical Indo-Pacific.
Borrowing from robotics, scientists automate mapping of quantum systems
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/16 16:08
A scientist has taken an algorithm used for autonomous vehicles and adapted it to help characterize and stabilize quantum technology.
Susceptibility to carcinogens varies due to genetics
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/16 16:08
A new study looks into how and why certain individuals develop cancer and others do not.
Irregular findings common in knees of young competitive alpine skiers
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/16 16:08
Bony lesions on the lower part of the thigh bone near the knee are a common but benign finding on MRI in young alpine skiers and should not be confused with more serious conditions, according to a new study.
Origins of the beloved guinea pig
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/16 16:08
New research sheds light on guinea pig domestication and how and why the small, furry animals became distributed around the world.
Depression associated with greater risk of cardiovascular disease
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/16 16:08
A new study provides further evidence of the link between depressive symptoms and an increased risk of heart disease and early death.