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86 articles from PhysOrg

Foreign election interference: A global response

The increasing threat of foreign interference in elections has driven six nations to take similar approaches to combat this pervasive threat. A review of the details to their responses brings out valuable differences and insights. These are presented in a forthcoming special issue of the peer-reviewed Election Law Journal.

American Pikas show resiliency in the face of global warming

The American pika is a charismatic, diminutive relative of rabbits that some researchers say is at high risk of extinction due to climate change. Pikas typically live in cool habitats, often in mountains, under rocks and boulders. Because pikas are sensitive to high temperatures, some researchers predict that, as the Earth's temperature rises, pikas will have to move ever higher elevations until...

Enzyme conformation influences the performance of lipase‐powered nanomotors

A study by scientists at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), the Universidad Complutense (UCM), Universidad de Girona (UdG), and the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), working together with other international centers, has overcome one of the key hurdles to the use of nanorobots powered by lipases, enzymes that play essential roles in digestion by...

New global temperature data will inform study of climate impacts on health, agriculture

A seemingly small one-to-two degree change in the global climate can dramatically alter weather-related hazards. Given that such a small change can result in such big impacts, it is important to have the most accurate information possible when studying the impact of climate change. This can be especially challenging in data sparse areas like Africa, where some of the most dangerous hazards are...

New method uses noise to make spectrometers more accurate

Optical spectrometers are instruments with a wide variety of uses. By measuring the intensity of light across different wavelengths, they can be used to image tissues or measure the chemical composition of everything from a distant galaxy to a leaf. Now researchers at the UC Davis Department of Biomedical Engineering have come up a with a new, rapid method for characterizing and calibrating...

Two SwRI experiments fly aboard Blue Origin's new Shepard suborbital rocket

Two Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) experi-ments were aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard suborbital rocket today, which launched from Van Horn, Texas. The Box of Rocks Experiment II (BORE II) tested a new technology for magnetically attaching to and sampling asteroids. The second experi-ment evaluated a tapered liquid acquisition device (LAD) designed to safely deliver liquid propellant to a...

Scientists develop detector for investigating the Sun

Researchers from MIPT have developed a prototype detector of solar particles. The device is capable of picking up protons at kinetic energies between 10 and 100 megaelectronvolts, and electrons at 1-10 MeV. This covers most of the high-energy particle flux coming from the Sun. The new detector can improve radiation protection for astronauts and spaceships, as well as advancing our understanding of...

American Statistical Association releases 2020 Census Quality Indicators, urges prompt action

The American Statistical Association Board of Directors has endorsed the recommendations of the 2020 Census Quality Indicators report, written by a task force of census experts to shed light on the quality, accuracy, and coverage of the 2020 Census counts. The task force, co-chaired by former US Chief Statistician Nancy Potok and ASA President-elect Robert Santos, was formed in early September in...

An astonishing common denominator among storage jars in Israel

Storage jars form one of the main ceramic types which were produced and abundantly used ever since pottery was invented. The need to collect, store, and distribute agricultural products such as grains, oils and wine in large vessels has littered excavation sites with an abundance of ceramic jar fragments of various designs, sizes and shapes. However, for all of their variety, three Israeli...

Sea star's ability to clone itself may empower this mystery globetrotter

For decades, biologists have captured tiny sea star larvae in their nets that did not match the adults of any known species. A Smithsonian team recently discovered what these larvae grow up to be and how a special superpower may help them move around the world. Their results are published online in the Biological Bulletin.

An international effort to understand cycad pollinators

University of Guam researchers continue to expand knowledge of a unique group of plants called cycads. The world's contemporary cycad plants depend on small insects for pollination services. The Guam team's 2017 discovery of the new Cycadophila samara beetle and its pollination of cycads is now contributing to an international effort to more fully understand the intimate relationship between plant...