NASA's first weather report from Jezero Crater on Mars
The weather often plays a role in our daily plans. You might put on a light jacket when the forecast calls for a cool breeze or delay your travel plans because of an impending storm. NASA engineers use weather data to inform their plans, too, which is why they're analyzing the conditions millions of miles away on Mars.
NJ blames bacteria for dead fish in rivers, bays since fall
New Jersey environmental authorities are working to identify the bacteria that appears to be killing fish in several waterways.
Fossil discovery deepens snakefly mystery
Fossil discoveries often help answer long-standing questions about how our modern world came to be. However, sometimes they only deepen the mystery—as a recent discovery of four new species of ancient insects in British Columbia and Washington state is proving.
Secure type: Consumers say compact logos signal product safety
Compact logos can encourage favorable brand evaluations by signaling product safety, according to a new study by researchers at Boston College's Carroll School of Management and Indian Institute of Management Udaipur, who reviewed the opinions of 17,000 consumers and conducted additional experiments with a variety of logos.
A quick morning reflection could make you a better leader—even if you're not the boss
Starting your day by thinking about what kind of leader you want to be can make you more effective at work, a new study finds.
Helping consumers trade fast fashion for durable, sustainable luxury goods
Researchers from Columbia University and Georgetown University published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that examines how consumers can adopt a sustainable consumption lifestyle by purchasing durable high-end and luxury products.
Gained in translation: Subgenome fractionation determines hybrid vigor in maize
The adage goes, "Two is better than one." Well, that might be true for endeavors involving human heads, but when it comes to ears, hybrid maize tends to have a superior advantage over the parental stocks in most cases. This phenomenon, called hybrid vigor or "heterosis," has been used by agriculturalists across ages to create higher-yielding, more resistant varieties of maize all over the world.
Great tits change their traditions for the better
Researchers at the University of Konstanz and Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior in Germany have found that birds are able to change their culture to become more efficient. Populations of great tits were able to switch from one behavior to a better alternative when their group members were slowly replaced with new birds. Published today as open access in the journal Current Biology, this...
U.S. trade sanctions justified response to human rights abuses in China, law expert argues
An international trade law expert at the University of Kansas argues in a pair of new articles that human rights and trade are now inextricably linked, as evidenced by U.S. and international reactions to actions in China, and asserts that approach is an appropriate use of trade.
Researchers begin to decipher the composition and function of sea urchin microbiomes
Sea urchins receive a lot of attention in California. Red urchins support a thriving fishery, while their purple cousins are often blamed for mowing down kelp forests to create urchin barrens. Yet for all the notice we pay them, we know surprisingly little about the microbiomes that support these spiny species.
New report shows high levels of arsenic and uranium in some wells
A new U.S. Geological Survey study provides an updated, statewide estimate of high levels of naturally occurring arsenic and uranium in private well water across Connecticut. This research builds on a USGS report published in 2017, with the new study including additional groundwater samples and focusing on previously underrepresented areas.
Dark Energy Survey physicists open new window into dark energy
The universe is expanding at an ever-increasing rate, and while no one is sure why, researchers with the Dark Energy Survey (DES) at least had a strategy for figuring it out: They would combine measurements of the distribution of matter, galaxies and galaxy clusters to better understand what's going on.
How preprints accelerated science communication during the pandemic
During the early phase of the pandemic, approximately 40% of the COVID-19 literature was shared as preprints—freely available manuscripts that are shared prior to peer-review. In a new study publishing in the open access journal PLOS Biology, researchers led by Dr. Jonathon Coates (Queen Mary University of London), Dr. Nicholas Fraser (Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, Germany) and Dr....
A novel form of cellular logistics
Biophysicists from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich have shown that a phenomenon known as diffusiophoresis, which can lead to a directed particle transport, can occur in biological systems.
Structural biology opens new perspectives for treating psychiatric disorders
Glycine is the smallest amino acid—one of the building blocks of proteins. It acts also as a neurotransmitter in the brain, enabling neurons to communicate with each other and modulating neuronal activity. Many researchers have focused on increasing glycine levels in synapses to find an effective treatment for schizophrenia. This could be done using inhibitors targeting Glycine Transporter 1...
Nepal hit by worst wildfires in almost a decade
Nepal is experiencing its worst fire season in almost a decade, officials said Tuesday, as huge blazes rage across the country's forests, engulfing the Himalayan nation in a shroud of brownish haze.
International research makes progress towards improved materials for quantum sensor technology
Boron nitride is a technologically interesting material because it is very compatible with other two-dimensional crystalline structures. It therefore opens up pathways to artificial heterostructures or electronic devices built on them with fundamentally new properties.
Aquatic invasive species cause billions of dollars in damage
The global movement of goods and people, in its modern form, has many unwanted side effects. One of these is that animal and plant species travel around the world with it. Often they fail to establish themselves in the ecosystems of the destination areas. Sometimes, however, due to a lack of effective management, they multiply to such an extent in the new environment that they become a threat to...
Americans are super-spreaders of COVID-19 misinformation: study
Misinformation about COVID-19 is spreading from the United States into Canada, undermining efforts to mitigate the pandemic. A study led by McGill University shows that Canadians who use social media are more likely to consume this misinformation, embrace false beliefs about COVID-19, and subsequently spread them.
Houston flooding polluted reefs more than 100 miles offshore
Runoff from Houston's 2016 Tax Day flood and 2017's Hurricane Harvey flood carried human waste onto coral reefs more than 100 miles offshore in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, according to a Rice University study.
First air quality profile of two sub-Saharan African cities finds troubling news
Ambient air pollution is a global public health crisis, causing more than 4.9 million premature deaths per year around the world. In Africa, it has surpassed AIDS as the leading cause of premature death. According to one study, air pollution—specifically, fine particulate matter (PM2.5)—may cause at least as many as 780,000 premature deaths annually in Africa and worsen a significant number of...
Seismic coda used to locate and define damage from explosions
Comparison of coda waves, the scattered waves that arrive after the direct waves of a seismic event, can be used to determine the relative locations of two underground explosions, according to a new study published in the open-access journal The Seismic Record.
Competing for high status speeds up aging in male baboons
Battling other male baboons to achieve high social status comes with physiological costs that accelerate aging, according to study published today in eLife.
Stimulation of tiny areas on cellular surfaces with free radicals using a microfluidic probe
Could there be a way to chemically manipulate small, confined areas on cellular surfaces? Scientists have developed a microfluidic probe to send a flow of free radicals on live cells and track the outcome using fluorescence imaging. As outlined in the journal Angewandte Chemie, this approach makes it possible for the first time to generate a reaction zone of free radicals with controlled size and...
New wasp species discovered in Norway
Cuckoo wasps—also called emerald wasps—are some of the most beautiful insects we have, with colorful exteriors that shine like jewels. However, these beauties have also created a lot of headaches.