Study shows cactus pear as drought-tolerant crop for sustainable fuel and food
Could cactus pear become a major crop like soybeans and corn in the near future, and help provide a biofuel source, as well as a sustainable food and forage crop? According to a recently published study, researchers from the University of Nevada, Reno believe the plant, with its high heat tolerance and low water use, may be able to provide fuel and food in places that previously haven't been able...
Small volcanic lakes tapping giant underground reservoirs
In its large caldera, Newberry volcano (Oregon, U.S.) has two small volcanic lakes, one fed by volcanic geothermal fluids (Paulina Lake) and one by gases (East Lake). These popular fishing grounds are small windows into a large underlying reservoir of hydrothermal fluids, releasing carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) with minor mercury (Hg) and methane into East Lake.
Blind trust in social media cements conspiracy beliefs
The ability to identify misinformation only benefits people who have some skepticism toward social media, according to a new study from Washington State University.
Coastal changes worsen nuisance flooding on many US shorelines, study finds
Nuisance flooding has increased on U.S. coasts in recent decades due to sea level rise, and new research co-authored by the University of Central Florida uncovered an additional reason for its added frequency.
Comet Catalina suggests comets delivered carbon to rocky planets
In early 2016, an icy visitor from the edge of our solar system hurtled past Earth. It briefly became visible to stargazers as Comet Catalina before it slingshotted past the Sun to disappear forevermore out of the solar system.
Going forth with standardized tests may cause more problems than it solves
Despite the many ways that COVID-19 has disrupted schools, the U.S. Department of Education will not give states a pass on giving standardized tests to students this year as it did in spring 2020. That's according to new guidance the department issued Feb. 22.
Food security: Irradiation and essential oil vapors for cereal treatment
A combined treatment of irradiation and essential oil vapors could effectively destroy insects, bacteria and mold in stored grains. A team from the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), led by Professor Monique Lacroix, has demonstrated the effect of this process on insects affecting rice. The study was published in Radiation Physics and Chemistry.
'I want to ride my bicycle!' People set to change mobility choices post-lockdown
New research suggests a significant proportion of Trinity's staff and student population that formerly relied on public transport will now choose to walk or cycle to campus when it fully re-opens after lockdown.
Tantalizing signs of phase-change 'turbulence' in RHIC collisions
Physicists studying collisions of gold ions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science user facility for nuclear physics research at DOE's Brookhaven National Laboratory, are embarking on a journey through the phases of nuclear matter—the stuff that makes up the nuclei of all the visible matter in our universe. A new analysis of collisions...
Making sense of commotion under the ocean to locate tremors near deep-sea faults
Researchers from Japan and Indonesia have pioneered a new method for more accurately estimating the source of weak ground vibrations in areas where one tectonic plate is sliding under another in the sea. Applying the approach to Japan's Nankai Trough, the researchers were able to estimate previously unknown properties in the region, demonstrating the method's promise to help probe properties...
Ecosystem services: Species are our livelihoods
Functioning ecosystems provide the basis for security, basic material needs, health, social interaction and individual liberty. This is how the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005 described it, dividing ecosystem services into the following categories: The provisioning services; goods such as food, water, firewood and timber, the regulating services; pollination, water filtering function of the...
Engineering marvel: Sixth mirror cast for Giant Magellan Telescope
The Giant Magellan Telescope announces fabrication of the sixth of seven of the world's largest monolithic mirrors. These mirrors will allow astronomers to see farther into the universe with more detail than any other optical telescope before. The sixth 8.4-meter (27.5 feet) mirror—about two stories high when standing on edge—is being fabricated at the University of Arizona's Richard F. Caris...
Life's rich pattern: Researchers use sound to shape the future of printing
Researchers in the UK have developed a way to coax microscopic particles and droplets into precise patterns by harnessing the power of sound in air. The implications for printing, especially in the fields of medicine and electronics, are far-reaching.
What can stream quality tell us about quality of life?
As the source of most of the water we drink and a place where we often go to recreate and enjoy nature, streams represent a crucial point-of-contact between human beings and the environment.
Sports information on social networks leaves out women, disabled and minority disciplines
Researchers from the University of Seville and Pompeu Fabra University argue that sports information on social media is dominated by men and football. This leaves out women's sports, sports featuring athletes with disabilities and minority disciplines, thus repeating the reality of the traditional media. That is the main conclusion of a study analyzing more than 7,000 tweets published by the...
Species traded legally through Hong Kong with inadequate traceability
Biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate, due primarily to human activity. Illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade is one of the major drivers of these declines, while much wildlife trade is legal, and the quantity of trade provides the opportunity to launder illegally sourced and traded species and products.
Study finds no link between gender and physics course performance
A new data-driven study from Texas A&M University casts serious doubt on the stereotype that male students perform better than female students in science—specifically, physics.
Using a radical to break C-F bonds one at a time
A team of researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China and the University of California has found a way to use radicals to break C-F bonds one at a time when working with trifluoroacetamides and acetates. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes how they found the right radical for such reactions and how their technique might be used in future...
Instrument at BESSY II shows how light activates molybdenum disulfide layers to become catalysts
MoS2 thin films of superposed alternating layers of molybdenum and sulfur atoms form a two-dimensional semiconducting surface. However, even a surprisingly low-intensity blue light pulse is enough to alter the properties of the surface and make it metallic. This has now been demonstrated by a team at BESSY II.
New tool finds and fingerprints previously undetected PFAS compounds in watersheds on Cape Cod
Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) found large quantities of previously undetectable compounds from the family of chemicals known as PFAS in six watersheds on Cape Cod using a new method to quantify and identify PFAS compounds. Exposures to some PFAS, widely used for their ability to repel heat, water, and oil, are linked to a range of...
Light in concert with force reveals how materials become harder when illuminated
Semiconductor materials play an indispensable role in our modern information-oriented society. For reliable performance of semiconductor devices, these materials need to have superior mechanical properties: they must be strong as well as resistant to fracture, despite being rich in nanoscale structures.
Compression or strain—the material always expands
An international research team led by chemist Prof. Thomas Heine of TU Dresden has discovered a new two-dimensional material with unprecedented properties: regardless of whether it is strained or compressed, it always expands. This so-called half-auxetic behavior has not been observed before and is therefore very promising for the design of new applications, especially in nano-sensorics.
Taking 2-D materials for a spin
Scientists from the University of Tsukuba and a scientist from the Institute of High Pressure Physics detected and mapped the electronic spins moving in a working transistor made of molybdenum disulfide. This research may lead to much faster computers that take advantage of the natural magnetism of electrons, as opposed to just their charge.
New study suggests humans evolved to run on less water than our closest primate relatives
When you think about what separates humans from chimpanzees and other apes, you might think of our big brains, or the fact that we get around on two legs rather than four. But we have another distinguishing feature: water efficiency.
'Fungal ghosts' protect skin, fabric from toxins, radiation
The idea of creating selectively porous materials has captured the attention of chemists for decades. Now, new research from Northwestern University shows that fungi may have been doing exactly this for millions of years.