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70 articles from ScienceDaily

Quantum diamond sensing

Researchers report a new quantum sensing technique that allows high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy on small molecules in dilute solution in a 10 picoliter sample volume -- roughly equivalent to a single cell.

NASA's IBEX charts 11 years of change at boundary to interstellar space

Now, for the first time, scientists have used an entire solar cycle of data from NASA's IBEX spacecraft to study how the heliosphere changes over time. Solar cycles last roughly 11 years, as the Sun swings from seasons of high to low activity, and back to high again. The results show the shifting outer heliosphere in great detail and hint at processes behind one of its most puzzling features.

New insights into Alzheimer's disease

Researchers looking at mouse models found impaired functional interactions between the hippocampus and the parietal cortex during the memory replay period, which may yield new insights into Alzheimer's Disease.

Seeing corneal degeneration in a new light

The molecular changes that lead to Fuchs' endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) occur decades before the disease causes blurry vision and other noticeable symptoms in patients, new research shows. This insight into this earliest stage of FECD may eventually lead to new ways of screening for and treating the common condition, which affects an estimated 4 percent of U.S. adults over the age of 40.

A step forward in solving the reactor-neutrino flux problem

A nuclear theory group experiment paves the way for solving the reactor antineutrino flux problems. The experiment is designed to measure the mass of the neutrino. As a by product of the calibration efforts of the experiment the electron spectral shape of the beta decay of Xe-137 could be measured.

Manipulating tiny skyrmions with small electric currents

A research group has managed to manipulate and track the movement of individual magnetic vortices called skyrmions, which have been touted as strong candidates to act as information carriers in next-generation storage devices and as synapses for neuromorphic computing.

Soap bubbles pollinated a pear orchard without damaging delicate flowers

Soap bubbles facilitated the pollination of a pear orchard by delivering pollen grains to targeted flowers, demonstrating that this whimsical technique can successfully pollinate fruit-bearing plants. The study suggests that soap bubbles may present a low-tech complement to robotic pollination technology designed to supplement the work of vanishing bees.

Shift in how we build computers: Photonics

Information technology continues to progress at a rapid pace. However, the growing demands of data centers have pushed electrical input-output systems to their physical limit, which has created a bottleneck. Maintaining this growth will require a shift in how we built computers. The future is optical.

Quasar jets are particle accelerators thousands of light-years long

An international collaboration bringing together over 200 scientists from 13 countries has shown that the very high-energy gamma-ray emission from quasars is not concentrated in the region close to their central black hole but in fact extends over several thousand light-years along jets of plasma. This discovery shakes up current scenarios for the behaviour of such plasma jets.

First dinosaur eggs were soft like a turtle's

New research suggests that the first dinosaurs laid soft-shelled eggs -- a finding that contradicts established thought. The study analyzed the eggs of two vastly different non-avian dinosaurs and found that they resembled those of turtles in their microstructure, composition, and mechanical properties. The research also suggests that hard-shelled eggs evolved at least three times independently in...

Knock-knock? Who's there? How coral let symbiotic algae in

Biologists have solved a longstanding marine science mystery that could aid coral conservation. The researchers identified the type of cell that enables a soft coral to recognize and take up the photosynthetic algae with which it maintains a symbiotic relationship, as well as the genes responsible for this transaction.

Earth's species have more in common than previously believed

In the largest mapping of proteins ever to be conducted across different species, an international team of researchers have analysed and compared the proteins of 100 animal, plant and bacterial species. The different life forms appear to have remarkable similarities when looking at their proteins. The new study has also doubled the number of experimentally confirmed proteins.

Brainsourcing automatically identifies human preferences

Researchers have developed a technique, using artificial intelligence, to analyze opinions and draw conclusions using the brain activity of groups of people. This technique, which the researchers call ''brainsourcing'', can be used to classify images or recommend content, something that has not been demonstrated before.

Wind farms on the Black Sea coast could endanger bat populations in Eastern Europe

The Via Pontica, an important migration route for birds in Eastern Europe, runs along the Black Sea coast of Romania and Bulgaria. Bats also use this route. In this region, numerous wind farms have been installed in recent years because of good wind conditions. A research team has now demonstrated that this leads to high death rates of migrating bats and potentially large declines even in...

RNA structures by the thousands

Researchers have developed a new method to determine the structures of all RNA molecules in a bacterial cell at once. In the past, this had to be done individually for each molecule. Besides their exact composition, their structure is crucial for the function of the RNAs. The team has now described the new high-throughput structure mapping method.