320 articles from TUESDAY 19.1.2021

Astronomers dissect the anatomy of planetary nebulae using Hubble Space Telescope images

Images of two iconic planetary nebulae taken by the Hubble Space Telescope are revealing new information about how they develop their dramatic features. Researchers from Rochester Institute of Technology and Green Bank Observatory presented new findings about the Butterfly Nebula (NGC 6302) and the Jewel Bug Nebula (NGC 7027) at the 237th meeting of the American Astronomical Society on Friday,...

NASA explores solar wind with new view of small sun structures

Scientists have combined NASA data and cutting-edge image processing to gain new insight into the solar structures that create the Sun's flow of high-speed solar wind, detailed in new research published today in The Astrophysical Journal. This first look at relatively small features, dubbed "plumelets," could help scientists understand how and why disturbances form in the solar wind.

Land deals meant to improve food security may have hurt

Large-scale land acquisitions by foreign investors, intended to improve global food security, had little to no benefit, increasing crop production in some areas while simultaneously threatening local food security in others, according to researchers who studied their effects.

Buildings: The unbreakable bond

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed self-healing elastomers that demonstrated unprecedented adhesion strength and the ability to adhere to many surfaces, which could broaden their potential use in industrial applications.

Volcanic microbes

Oak Ridge National Laboratory contributed to an international study that found almost 300 novel types of microbes living near a deep sea volcano. These microbes, which could be used in biotechnology, reveal new insights about their extreme underwater environment.

Counting elephants from space, for the first time

For the first time, scientists have successfully used satellite cameras coupled with deep learning to count animals in complex geographical landscapes, taking conservationists an important step forward in monitoring populations of endangered species.

Testing the waters: Analyzing different solid states of water on other planets and moons

Just like on Earth, water on other planets, satellites, and even comets comes in a variety of forms depending on multiple factors such as pressure and temperature. Aside from the gaseous, liquid, and solid states we are accustomed to, water can form a different type of crystalline solid called clathrate hydrate. Although they look similar to ice, clathrate hydrates have actually small water-based...

Back to the Beginning: Probing the First Galaxies with Webb

Portal origin URL: Back to the Beginning: Probing the First Galaxies with WebbPortal origin nid: 467571Published: Tuesday, January 19, 2021 - 14:16Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: Soon, through the power of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers will look back to that raucous, early period in a deep-sky survey to trace the...

Fatty acid may help combat multiple sclerosis, study finds

The abnormal immune system response that causes multiple sclerosis (MS) by attacking and damaging the central nervous system can be triggered by the lack of a specific fatty acid in fat tissue, according to a new study. The finding suggests that dietary change might help treat some people with the autoimmune disease.

Counting elephants from space

Scientists have successfully used satellite cameras coupled with deep learning to count animals in complex geographical landscapes, taking conservationists an important step forward in monitoring populations of endangered species.

Researchers review seafloor macrolitter

The Messina Strait, a submarine bridge separating the island of Sicily from the Italian Peninsula, is the area with the largest marine litter density worldwide—more than a million objects per square kilometer in some parts–as reported in a new review paper published in the journal Environmental Research Letters. Also, over the next thirty years, the volume of rubbish in the sea could surpass...

Solar activity reconstructed over a millennium

An international team of researchers led by ETH Zurich has reconstructed solar activity back to the year 969 using measurements of radioactive carbon in tree rings. Those results help scientists to better understand the dynamics of the sun and allow more precise dating of organic materials using the C14 method.

New classification for tropical plant group Phyllanthus

The tropical plant genus Phyllanthus has been the subject of debate in the taxonomic world for years. About fifteen years ago it became clear that the genus with nearly 900 plant species, contains plants that are considered separate groups. "Many subgroups were created to better distinguish the diversity of the large number of species," according to Ph.D. candidate Roderick Bouman, who conducted...

Nostalgia ain't what it used to be

Exploiting nostalgia is a well-worn emotive approach to enticing customers to purchase a product or service. New work in the International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing, has looked at how a person's character affects whether or not they are susceptible to what is commonly referred to as nostalgia marketing. One of the main findings from the work is that given a high-quality product...

A massive advance in spectrometry

Mass spectrometers (MS) have become essential tools in chemistry and biology laboratories. The ability to quickly identify the chemical components in a sample allows them to take part in a diverse array of experiments, including radiocarbon dating, protein analysis, and monitoring drug metabolism.

Similarities in dance follower behavior across honey bee species suggest a conserved mechanism of dance communication

It is early in the morning. Ebi and his colleagues try not to twitch as they stare intently at a rectangular box filled with sugary treats. These aren't for them, but for the honey bees that they study. The tiny buzzers toggle between the sugar 'feeder' and the hive, which are a few meters apart. Interestingly, the bees that visit the feeder aren't secretive about this new found food source. They...

New biodegradable polyurethane foams are developed from wheat straw

Every year around 734 million tons of wheat straw are produced worldwide, a large amount of waste, which is cheap and has had no well-defined use until now. Recently, the RNM-271 Chemical Engineering and FQM-383 NANOVAL Organic Chemistry research groups at the University of Córdoba have been able to give a new use to this agricultural excess material, by using it as the foundation in order to...