304 articles from TUESDAY 13.4.2021

Stellar feedback and an airborne observatory: Team determines a nebula to be much younger than previously believed

In the southern sky, situated about 4,300 light years from Earth, lies RCW 120, an enormous glowing cloud of gas and dust. This cloud, known as an emission nebula, is formed of ionized gases and emits light at various wavelengths. An international team led by West Virginia University researchers studied RCW 120 to analyze the effects of stellar feedback, the process by which stars inject energy...

Reducing ocean acidification by removing carbon dioxide: Two targets for cutting-edge research

It is now widely recognized that in order to reach the target of limiting global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels (as the objective of the Paris agreement), cutting the carbon emissions even at an unprecedented pace will not be sufficient, but there is the need for development and implementation of active Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) strategies. Among the CDR strategies that...

Finding resiliency in local, community news gathering

When the Webster-Kirkwood Times, a community newspaper in the greater St. Louis, Missouri area, had to endure layoffs and stop publishing its print edition—due to a loss in revenue as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic—its readers felt the loss and began supporting the newspaper in earnest.

Giant electronic conductivity change driven by artificial switch of crystal dimensionality

The electronic properties of solid materials are highly dependent on crystal structures and their dimensionalities (i.e., whether the crystals have predominantly 2D or 3D structures). As Professor Takayoshi Katase of Tokyo Institute of Technology notes, this fact has an important corollary: "If the crystal structure dimensionality can be switched reversibly in the same material, a drastic property...

Airborne laser scanning of gaps in Amazon rainforest helps explain tree mortality

A group of researchers led by Brazilians has used an innovative model to map gaps in the Amazon rainforest and identify factors that contribute to tree mortality. Water stress, soil fertility, and anthropic forest degradation have the most influence on gap dynamics in the world's largest and most biodiverse tropical rainforest, according to an article on the study published in Scientific Reports.

Northern Star Coral study could help protect tropical corals

As the Rhode Island legislature considers designating the Northern Star Coral an official state emblem, researchers are finding that studying this local creature's recovery from a laboratory-induced stressor could help better understand how to protect endangered tropical corals.

Joyful screams perceived more strongly than screams of fear or anger

The human scream signals more than fear of imminent danger or entanglement in social conflicts. Screaming can also express joy or excitement. For the first time, researchers have demonstrated that non-alarming screams are even perceived and processed by the brain more efficiently than their alarming counterparts.

Life expectancy lower near superfund sites

Living near a hazardous waste or Superfund site could cut your life short by about a year, according to a new study. The study is the first nationwide review of all hazardous waste sites and not just the 1,300 sites on the national priority list managed by the federal government.

The US says not to give Johnson & Johnson vaccines after a woman died from a rare blood clot

The US took the dramatic step of recommending that health-care providers stop giving people the Johnson & Johnson vaccine against covid-19 after six women who received it developed serious blood clots and one died. The US Food and Drug Administration described its action as a temporary halt to give regulators time to understand the apparent side effect. “We are recommending a pause in the...

UK strategy of backing several Covid vaccines seems to be paying off

Analysis: buying new and existing technologies ensured alternatives if a vaccine failed or had supply issuesCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe government has said the decision by Johnson & Johnson to delay the supply of its Covid vaccine to Europe, while the US investigates reports of six cases of unusual blood clots in young women who have had the jab, will not...

Silk moth's diapause reverts back to ancestors' through gene editing

Diapause is a phenomenon in which animals and insects foresee changes in the environment and actively reduce metabolism, or halt regular differentiation and development. It is an adaptation strategy for adverse environments such as surviving winters, but also to encourage uniform growth of the generational group.

Almond production remains stable in the long term, despite deficit irrigation

Spain boasts the largest cultivated area of almond trees in the world, with more than 700,000 ha (MAPA, 2018), but ranks third in terms of production. How can this be? Actually it's easy to explain: most of the country's cultivated area of almond trees is comprised of traditional rainfed orchards and located in marginal areas featuring a low density of trees per hectare.