221 articles from MONDAY 15.2.2021

In predicting shallow but dangerous landslides, size matters

Scientific understanding of landslides has improved immensely in the last few decades, but models that predict which areas could slide during specific storm events overpredict, forcing government agencies to evacuate unnecessarily large areas. UC Berkeley geoscientists have created improved models that more narrowly pinpoint the most hazardous areas, but they've run up against a wall: they need...

Invasive flies prefer untouched territory when laying eggs

A recent study finds that the invasive spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) prefers to lay its eggs in places that no other spotted wing flies have visited. The finding raises questions about how the flies can tell whether a piece of fruit is virgin territory - and what that might mean for pest control.

Kagome graphene promises exciting properties

For the first time, physicists from the University of Basel have produced a graphene compound consisting of carbon atoms and a small number of nitrogen atoms in a regular grid of hexagons and triangles. This honeycomb-structured "kagome lattice" behaves as a semiconductor and may also have unusual electrical properties. In the future, it could potentially be used in electronic sensors or quantum...

Membrane building blocks play decisive role in controlling cell growth

Lipids are the building blocks of a cell's envelope - the cell membrane. In addition to their structural function, some lipids also play a regulatory role and decisively influence cell growth. This has been investigated in a new study by scientists at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). The impact of the lipids depends on how they are distributed over the plasma membrane. The study...

Method for temporal monitoring of microplastic sedimentation

Researchers in Finland have tested the sediment trap method to analyse the annual accumulation rates of microplastics in a body of water, and possible seasonal variation therein. The most important advantage of the method is that it can be used to determine the time it takes from microplastics to enter and accumulate in bodies of water.

Moiré patterns facilitate discovery of novel insulating phases

Materials having excess electrons are typically conductors. However, moiré patterns -- interference patterns that typically arise when one object with a repetitive pattern is placed over another with a similar pattern -- can suppress electrical conductivity, a study led by physicists at the University of California, Riverside, has found.

New discovery may enable accurate prediction of cancer spread before cancer develops

Researchers from Erler Group at the Biotech Research & Innovation Centre (BRIC) in Copenhagen have discovered that the rigidity of a thin membrane structure encompassing cells and lining all vessels regulates how easily cancer cells can breach tissues to spread through the body, and is thus a key determinant of cancer patient survival. The results are published in Nature Materials today.

New immunotherapy target discovered for malignant brain tumors

Scientists say they have discovered a potential new target for immunotherapy of malignant brain tumors, which so far have resisted the ground-breaking cancer treatment based on harnessing the body's immune system. The discovery, reported in the journal CELL, emerged from laboratory experiments and has no immediate implications for treating patients.