Why are the offspring of older mothers less fit to live long and prosper?
The offspring of older mothers don't fare as well as those of younger mothers, in humans and many other species. They aren't as healthy, or they don't live as long, or they have fewer offspring themselves. A longstanding puzzle is why evolution would maintain this maternal effect in so many species, since these late-born offspring are less fit to survive and reproduce.
US says leaking nuclear waste dome is safe; Marshall Islands leaders don't believe it
In response to a directive from Congress, the Department of Energy released a report this week assessing the risks of a 50-year-old cracking and crumbling concrete nuclear waste repository in the Marshall Islands, but the findings did little to ease the concerns of Marshallese leaders in the Central Pacific.
New light-based method for faster 'green' production of building blocks for medicines
In industry, gaseous hydrocarbons such as ethane and methane are frequently changed into molecules that can act as building blocks for pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. Typically, these processes take place at high temperatures and pressures, and can also produce large amounts of pollutants. Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) have developed a new method for the immediate...
Rising water temperatures could endanger the mating of many fish species
In a new meta-study, experts from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) have published groundbreaking findings on the effects of climate change for fish stocks around the globe. As they report, the risks for fish are much higher than previously assumed, especially given that in certain developmental stages, they are especially sensitive to rising water...
Anaplasmosis bacterium tinkers with tick's gene expression to spread to new hosts
For the first time, scientists have shown that the bacterium that causes the tick-borne disease anaplasmosis interferes with tick gene expression for its survival inside cells and to spread to a new vertebrate host. Girish Neelakanta of Old Dominion University and colleagues report these findings in a study published July 2nd in PLOS Genetics.
Crystal structure discovered almost 200 years ago could hold key to solar cell revolution
Solar energy researchers at Oregon State University are shining their scientific spotlight on materials with a crystal structure discovered nearly two centuries ago.
Scientists dissociate water apart efficiently with new catalysts
University of Oregon chemists have made substantial gains in enhancing the catalytic water dissociation reaction in electrochemical reactors, called bipolar membrane electrolyzers, to more efficiently rip apart water molecules into positively charged protons and negatively charged hydroxide ions.
Scientists reveal why tummy bugs are so good at swimming through your gut
Researchers have solved the mystery of why a species of bacteria that causes food poisoning can swim faster in stickier liquids, such as within guts.
Plastic-tracking yacht adds splash of environmentalism to ocean racing
When he sets sail alone for a gruelling round-the-world yacht race this year Fabrice Amedeo will have a scientific mission to add to his sporting goal: collecting microplastics.
Carbon-loving materials designed to reduce industrial emissions
Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, are advancing gas membrane materials to expand practical technology options for reducing industrial carbon emissions.
How that preprint about a 'more contagious strain' of coronavirus changed in peer review
On May 5, 2020, news broke about a reportedly more contagious variant of SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19—based on a preliminary paper posted to the preprint server bioRxiv. The preprint stated that a variant of the virus with a particular mutation leading to an amino acid change, D614G, in its spike protein was "more transmissible" than other forms and represented an "urgent concern"...
Researchers examine refugee children's academic, social, and emotional learning outcomes
Researchers at Global TIES for Children, an international research center based at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU New York, examined a variety of post-migration risks faced by Syrian refugee children enrolled in Lebanese public schools and found that students being older than expected for the grade in which they were placed was most consistently and strongly associated with developmental and learning...
Algae as living biocatalysts for a green industry
Many substances that we use every day only work in the right 3-D structure. Natural enzymes could produce these in an environmentally friendly way—if they didn't need a co-substrate that is expensive to produce to date. A research team at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) has discovered exactly the necessary enzymes in unicellular green algae. Better still: living algae can be used as biocatalysts...
Scientists detect rapid changes in a black hole that may explain gamma-ray bursts
Some of the most massive and distant black holes in the universe emit an enormous amount of extraordinarily energetic radiation called gamma rays. This type of radiation occurs, for example, when mass is converted into energy during fission reactions that run nuclear reactors on Earth. But in the case of black holes, gamma radiation is even more energetic than that produced in nuclear reactors and...
Unprecedented ground-based discovery of two strongly interacting exoplanets
Several interacting exoplanets have already been spotted by satellites. But a new breakthrough has been achieved with, for the first time, the detection directly from the ground of an extrasolar system of this type.
Most significant changes in UK air quality during lockdown have been in urban areas, review confirms
The lockdown led to a significant drop in some pollutants in the UK's towns and cities, mainly as a result of less traffic, a new report reveals.
Researchers uncover an ancient Aboriginal archaeological site preserved on the seabed
For most of the human history of Australia, sea levels were much lower than they are today, and there was extra dry land where people lived.
New candidate for raw material synthesis through gene transfer
Cyanobacteria hardly need any nutrients and use the energy of sunlight. Bathers are familiar with these microorganisms—often incorrectly called "blue-green algae"—as they often occur in waters. A group of researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has discovered that the multicellular species Phormidium lacuna can be genetically modified by natural transformation and could thus...
Magnonic nano-fibers opens the way towards new type of computers
Magnetism offers new ways to create more powerful and energy-efficient computers, but the realization of magnetic computing on the nanoscale is a challenging task. A critical advancement in the field of ultralow power computation using magnetic waves is reported by a joint team from Kaiserslautern, Jena and Vienna in the journal Nano Letters.
New technique in which drugs make bacteria glow could help fight antibiotic resistance
A new technique could help reduce antibiotic prescribing by predicting which drugs could be effective in fighting bacteria within minutes.
New method measures temperature within 3-D objects
University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers have made it possible to remotely determine the temperature beneath the surface of certain materials using a new technique they call depth thermography. The method may be useful in applications where traditional temperature probes won't work, like monitoring semiconductor performance or next-generation nuclear reactors.
Moss protein corrects genetic defects of other plants
Almost all land plants employ an army of molecular editors who correct errors in their genetic information. Together with colleagues from Hanover, Ulm and Kyoto (Japan), researchers from the University of Bonn have now transferred one of these proofreaders from the moss Physcomitrium patens (previously known as Physcomitrella patens) into a flowering plant. Surprisingly, it performs its work there...
Stellar fireworks celebrate birth of giant cluster
Astronomers created a stunning new image showing celestial fireworks in star cluster G286.21+0.17.
Prospective teachers misperceive Black children as angry
Prospective teachers appear more likely to misperceive Black children as angry than white children, which may undermine the education of Black youth, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.
New sequencing technology will help scientists decipher disease mechanisms
New technologies capable of sequencing single molecules in fine detail will help scientists better understand the mechanisms of rare nucleotides thought to play an important role in the progression of some diseases.