In Brazil, many smaller dams disrupt fish more than large hydropower projects
The development of small hydropower dams is widespread throughout Brazil and elsewhere in the world, vastly overshadowing large hydropower projects. The proliferation of these smaller dams is a response to growing energy and security needs. Their expansion, however, threatens many of the remaining free-flowing rivers and biodiverse tropical regions of the world—interrupting the migrations of...
Is there a link between cashless payments and unhealthy consumption?
The widespread use of cashless payments including credit cards, debit cards, and mobile apps has made transactions more convenient for consumers. However, results from previous research have shown that such cashless payments can increase consumers' spending on unhealthy food. "Why Do Cashless Payments Increase Unhealthy Consumption? The Decision-Risk Inattention Hypothesis," a newly published...
Study: Sudden police layoffs in one US city associated with increases in crime
Amid a sharp economic downturn in 2008, police departments around the United States experienced budget shortfalls that required them to enact cutbacks. A new study examined the effects on crime of budget shortfalls in two New Jersey cities—one of which laid off more than 10 percent of its police force while the other averted layoffs. The study found that the police layoffs were associated with...
Researchers develop a millimeter-size flat lens for VR and AR platforms
Despite all the advances in consumer technology over the past decades, one component has remained frustratingly stagnant: the optical lens. Unlike electronic devices, which have gotten smaller and more efficient over the years, the design and underlying physics of today's optical lenses haven't changed much in about 3,000 years.
New report charts path toward superior earthquake recovery
For the last century, seismic building codes and practices have primarily focused on saving lives by reducing the likelihood of significant damage or structural collapse. Recovery of critical functions provided by buildings and infrastructure have received less attention, however. As a result, many remain vulnerable to being knocked out of service by an earthquake for months, years or for good.
A little soap simplifies making 2-D nanoflakes
Just a little soap helps clean up the challenging process of preparing two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride (hBN).
Ancient marine faunas unlock secrets of warming oceans
Members of Syracuse University's College of Arts and Sciences are shining new light on an enduring mystery—one that is millions of years in the making.
A mild way to upcycle plastics used in bottles into fuel and other high-value products
Plastic is ubiquitous in people's lives. Yet, when plastic-containing items have fulfilled their missions, only a small amount is recycled into new products, which are often of lower quality compared to the original material. And, transforming this waste into high-value chemicals requires substantial energy. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' JACS Au have combined a ruthenium-carbon catalyst and...
Up-trending farming and landscape disruptions threaten Paris climate agreement goals
One of President Joe Biden's first post-inauguration acts was to realign the United States with the Paris climate accord, but a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Irvine demonstrates that rising emissions from human land-use will jeopardize the agreement's goals without substantial changes in agricultural practices.
Microscopy systems using customized chips could expand on-site identification of pathogens
The development of cost-efficient, portable microscopy units would greatly expand their use in remote field locations and in places with fewer resources, potentially leading to easier on-site analysis of contaminants such as E. coli in water sources as well as other practical applications.
Purported phosphine on Venus more likely to be ordinary sulfur dioxide, new study shows
In September, a team led by astronomers in the United Kingdom announced that they had detected the chemical phosphine in the thick clouds of Venus. The team's reported detection, based on observations by two Earth-based radio telescopes, surprised many Venus experts. Earth's atmosphere contains small amounts of phosphine, which may be produced by life. Phosphine on Venus generated buzz that the...
Optical scanner design for adaptive driving beam systems can lead to safer night driving
Car accidents are responsible for approximately a million deaths each year globally. Among the many causes, driving at night, when vision is most limited, leads to accidents with higher mortality rates than accidents during the day. Therefore, improving visibility during night driving is critical for reducing the number of fatal car accidents.
Precision measurements of intracluster light suggest possible link to dark matter
A combination of observational data and sophisticated computer simulations have yielded advances in a field of astrophysics that has languished for half a century. The Dark Energy Survey, which is hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, has published a burst of new results on what's called intracluster light, or ICL, a faint type of light found inside...
Wildfire ravages massive section of Argentine forest
A wildfire raging in the south of Argentina has consumed a vast swathe of forestland in three days, local authorities said Wednesday—an area half the size of Liechtenstein.
First ever 'pioneer' factor found in plants enables cells to change their fate
Cells don't express all the genes they contain all the time. The portion of our genome that encodes eye color, for example, doesn't need to be turned on in liver cells. In plants, genes encoding the structure of a flower can be turned off in cells that will form a leaf.
Forests with diverse tree sizes and small clearings hinder wildland fire growth
A new 3-D analysis shows that wildland fires flare up in forests populated by similar-sized trees or checkerboarded by large clearings and slow down where trees are more varied. The research can help fire managers better understand the physics and dynamics of fire to improve fire-behavior forecasts.
Juicing technique could influence healthfulness of fresh-squeezed juice
With the New Year, many people are making resolutions to eat healthier, by eating more vegetables, for example. But those who don't like the taste or texture of some vegetables might prefer to drink them in a home-squeezed juice. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Food Science & Technology have found that the choice of household juicing technique can influence the phytochemical content and...
On nights before a full moon, people go to bed later and sleep less, study shows
For centuries, humans have blamed the moon for our moods, accidents and even natural disasters. But new research indicates that our planet's celestial companion impacts something else entirely—our sleep.
Pioneering research unravels hidden origins of Eastern Asia's 'land of milk and honey'
A study has revealed for the first time the ancient origins of one of the world's most important ecosystems by unlocking the mechanism which determined the evolution of its mountains and how they shaped the weather there as well as its flora and fauna.
Cell death shines a light on the origins of complex life
Organelles continue to thrive after the cells within which they exist die, a team of University of Bristol scientists have found, overturning previous assumptions that organelles decay too quickly to be fossilized.
'Doomsday Clock' stuck at 100 seconds to midnight
The "Doomsday Clock" illustrating the perils facing the planet and mankind will remain at 100 seconds to midnight this year amid the threats of the coronavirus pandemic, nuclear war and climate change.
Researchers use car collisions with deer to study mysterious animal-population phenomena
For at least a century, ecologists have wondered at the tendency for populations of different species to cycle up and down in steady, rhythmic patterns.
Mira's last journey: Exploring the dark universe
A team of physicists and computer scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory performed one of the five largest cosmological simulations ever. Data from the simulation will inform sky maps to aid leading large-scale cosmological experiments.
Ions in molten salts can 'go against the flow'
In a new article published in the scientific journal Communications Chemistry, a research group at Uppsala University show, using computer simulations, that ions do not always behave as expected. In their research on molten salts, they were able to see that, in some cases, the ions in the salt mixture they were studying affect one another so much that they may even move in the "wrong"...
Historically redlined neighborhoods are more likely to lack greenspace today
Historically redlined neighborhoods are more likely to have a paucity of greenspace today compared to other neighborhoods. The study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco, demonstrates the lasting effects of redlining, a racist mortgage appraisal practice of the 1930s that established and exacerbated...