168 articles from FRIDAY 4.6.2021

Magnetism drives metals to insulators in new experiment

Like all metals, silver, copper, and gold are conductors. Electrons flow across them, carrying heat and electricity. While gold is a good conductor under any conditions, some materials have the property of behaving like metal conductors only if temperatures are high enough; at low temperatures, they act like insulators and do not do a good job of carrying electricity. In other words, these unusual...

Researchers investigate mining-related deforestation in the Amazon

If you're wearing gold jewelry right now, there's a good chance it came from an illegal mining operation in the tropics and surfaced only after some rainforest was sacrificed, according to a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers and alumni who studied regulatory efforts to curb some of these environmentally damaging activities in the Amazon.

Fungus creates a fast track for carbon

Tiny algae in Earth's oceans and lakes take in sunlight and carbon dioxide and turn them into sugars that sustain the rest of the aquatic food web, gobbling up about as much carbon as all the world's trees and plants combined.

AAS Names New NASA-Affiliated Fellows, Legacy Fellows

Portal origin URL: AAS Names New NASA-Affiliated Fellows, Legacy FellowsPortal origin nid: 471546Published: Friday, June 4, 2021 - 16:05Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: Thirteen scientists working at or affiliated with NASA have been recently named Fellows of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), the major organization of professional astronomers...

Five questions posed by Facebook’s two-year ban on Donald Trump

On Friday, Facebook announced that it would suspend former president Donald Trump from the social network for two years, until at least January 7, 2023, and said he would “only be reinstated if conditions permit.” The announcement comes in response to recommendations last month from Facebook’s recently created Oversight Board. Facebook had hoped that the board would decide how to handle...

The U.S. Government’s Long-Awaited UFO Report Is Here. Its Findings? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The U.S. Navy pilots flying maneuvers in their F/A-18 Super Hornets in 2015 did not have to wait for yesterday’s leak of the classified government report on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP)—better known as UFOs—to know that they were seeing things they could not explain outside their windscreens. The objects were, yes, saucer-shaped, and they were bobbing, darting and...

Quantum holds the key to secure conference calls

The world is one step closer to ultimately secure conference calls, thanks to a collaboration between Quantum Communications Hub researchers and their German colleagues, enabling a quantum-secure conversation to take place between four parties simultaneously.

Early warning system for COVID-19 gets faster through wastewater detection and tracing

A new research paper builds on previous research of COVID-19 testing in municipal sewer systems and subsequent tracing the virus back to the source by more accurately modelling a system's treelike network of one-way pipes and manholes, and by speeding up the detection/tracing process through automatic sensors installed in specific manholes, chosen according to an easier-to-use algorithm.

An atom chip interferometer that could detect quantum gravity

Physicists have created a quantum interferometer on an atom chip. This device can be used to explore the fundamentals of quantum theory by studying the interference pattern between two beams of atoms. Physicists describe how the device could be adapted to use mesoscopic particles instead of atoms. This modification would allow for expanded applications.

Gene protection for COVID-19 identified

A genetic link has been discovered explaining why some people catch COVID but don't get sick. The gene is found three times as often in people who are asymptomatic. This is the first clear evidence of genetic resistance because the study compared severely affected people with an asymptomatic COVID group and used next generation sequencing to focus in detail and at scale on the HLA genes which are...

Adapting laboratory techniques for remote instruction

The COVID-19 pandemic forced instructors to adapt their courses for online learning. Laboratory courses were particularly difficult due to lack of access to specialized equipment for remote learners. To overcome this challenge, researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign designed a laboratory exercise to teach students how to use micropipettes, through remote learning, using...

Plant competition during climate change

How plants cope with stress factors has already been broadly researched. Yet what happens when a plant is confronted with two stressors simultaneously? A research team working with Simon Haberstroh and Prof. Dr. Christiane Werner of the Chair of Ecosystem Physiology at the Institute of Forest Sciences and Natural Resources (UNR) of the University of Freiburg is investigating this. Together with...

How to retard time for cells

Scientists at Leipzig University, in collaboration with colleagues from Germany and England, have succeeded in reversibly slowing down cellular processes. A team of biophysicists led by Professor Josef Alfons Käs and Dr Jörg Schnauß were able to show in experiments that cells can be transferred into slow motion without changing the temperature.

Researchers continue to refine graphene production using HPC

Graphene may be among the most exciting scientific discoveries of the last century. While it is strikingly familiar to us—graphene is considered an allotrope of carbon, meaning that it essentially the same substance as graphite but in a different atomic structure—graphene also opened up a new world of possibilities for designing and building new technologies.

New hybrid OSSE method improves local severe storm forecasts

Since the era of meteorological satellites began in the 1950s, continuous remote sensing instrument improvements have elevated Earth science and have significantly increased available atmospheric observations. Likewise, scientists have made considerable advancements in understanding Earth's atmosphere, climate, and environment.

BRIC-24: An Experiment Frozen in Time and Space

North Carolina State University’s Dr. Marcela Rojas-Pierce is working with NASA to conduct an experiment called Biological Research In Canisters-24, or BRIC-24, which focuses on a specific area of plant research: vacuoles. News Article Type: Homepage ArticlesPublished: Friday, June 4, 2021 -...

Structural uniqueness of the green- and red-light sensing photosensor in cyanobacteria

Certain cyanobacteria can change the absorbing light colors for photosynthesis using a green- and red-light sensing photosensor protein. A Japanese research group elucidated the molecular structure of RcaE, a representative member of the photosensors. They revealed the unique conformation of the bilin chromophore and the unique protein structure that potentially functions as a proton transfer...

Using HPC and experiment, researchers continue to refine graphene production

From touch screens and advanced electronic sensors to better drug delivery devices, graphene has become one of the most promising new materials in recent decades. In an effort to produce cheap, defect-free graphene in larger quantities, researchers have been using GCS HPC resources to develop more efficient methods for producing graphene at the industrial scale.

Heavy water makes biological clocks tick more slowly

Scientists have succeeded in reversibly slowing down cellular processes. A team of biophysicists were able to show in experiments that cells can be transferred into slow motion without changing the temperature. From a physical point of view, such possibilities have so far only been available in the context of the theory of relativity.

Self-excising designer proteins report isoform expression

Our proteome is much bigger than our genome because one gene produces several variants of proteins called protein isoforms, whose disbalance is implicated in many diseases. A new bioengineered reporter system now allows for the first time to follow protein isoform expression over time in live cells. The method helps to decipher the underlying regulatory mechanisms and enables screening for...