222 articles from FRIDAY 18.6.2021

Memory helps us evaluate situations on the fly, not just recall the past

Scientists have long known the brain's hippocampus is crucial for long-term memory. Now a new study has found the hippocampus also plays a role in short-term memory and helps guide decision-making. The findings shed light on how the hippocampus contributes to memory and exploration, potentially leading to therapies that restore hippocampal function, which is impacted in memory-related aging and...

Animals' ability to adapt their habitats key to survival amid climate change

Birds build nests to keep eggs and baby nestlings warm during cool weather, but also make adjustments in nest insulation in such a way the little ones can keep cool in very hot conditions. Mammals, such as rabbits or groundhogs, sleep or hibernate in underground burrows that provide stable, moderate temperatures and avoid above-ground conditions that often are far more extreme outside the burrow.

Tropical system to bring heavy rain, flooding to Gulf Coast

Threats of heavy wind and rain from a tropical weather system spinning Friday in the Gulf of Mexico prompted the closure of Louisiana coastal oyster beds, forced postponement of weekend Juneteenth celebrations in Mississippi and Alabama and could tamp down Father's Day tourism on the northern Gulf Coast.

Researchers find optimal way to pay off student loans

After graduating or leaving college, many students face a difficult choice: Try to pay off their student loans as fast as possible to save on interest, or enroll in an income-based repayment plan, which offers affordable payments based on their income and forgives any balance remaining after 20 or 25 years.

In the visual thalamus, neurons are in contact with both eyes but respond to only one

The visual thalamus is classically known to relay visual stimuli coming from the retina to the cerebral cortex. Researchers now show that although neurons in the mouse visual thalamus connect to both eyes, they establish strong functional connections only with one retina. These results settle partly contradictory results of earlier studies and demonstrate how important it can be to complement...

New therapeutic target for C. difficile infection

A new study paves the way for the development of next generation therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), the most frequent cause of healthcare-acquired gastrointestinal infections and death in developed countries.

Earlier flood forecasting could help avoid disaster in Japan

Researchers have revealed that a newly developed forecasting system can accurately predict flood locations 32 hours in advance. Extreme rainfall events are occurring increasingly frequently; such accurate and timely flood warnings will help to minimize their impact by providing time for measures to protect people and property.

Dragonflies: Species losses and gains in Germany

Over the past 35 years, there have been large shifts in the distributions of many dragonfly species in Germany. Those of standing water habitats have declined, probably due to loss of habitat. Running-water species and warm-adapted species have benefited from improved water quality and warmer temperatures. The study highlights the importance of citizen science and natural history societies for...

How childhood exercise could maintain and promote cognitive function in later life

People who are physically active during childhood have higher cognitive functions in later life. Participants who exercised when they were children did better on cognitive tests regardless of their current age. However, no such relationship was found between task performance and post-childhood exercise -- suggesting that exercise during childhood is particularly important for brain development and...

Atomic-scale tailoring of graphene approaches macroscopic world

Properties of materials are often defined by imperfections in their atomic structure, especially when the material itself is just one atom thick, such as graphene. Researchers have now developed a method for controlled creation of such imperfections into graphene at length scales approaching the macroscopic world. These results, confirmed by atomically resolved microscope images, serve as an...

Scientists detect signatures of life remotely

It could be a milestone on the path to detecting life on other planets: Scientists detect a key molecular property of all living organisms from a helicopter flying several kilometers above ground. The measurement technology could also open up opportunities for remote sensing of the Earth.

Will reduction in tau protein protect against Parkinson's and Lewy body dementias?

Will a reduction in tau protein in brain neurons protect against Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementias? A new study suggests the answer is no. If this is borne out, that result differs from Alzheimer's disease, where reducing endogenous tau levels in brain neurons is protective for multiple models of the disease -- and thus suggests that the role of tau in the pathogenesis of Lewy body...

The end of Darwin's nightmare at Lake Victoria?

Lake Victoria, which came under the spotlight in 2004 by the documentary 'Darwin's nightmare', is not only suffering from the introduction and commercialization of the Nile perch: A study has highlighted other worrying phenomena, particularly climatic ones, which have an equally important impact on the quality of the lake's waters.

Proliferation of electric vehicles based on high-performance, low-cost sodium-ion battery

Various automobile companies are preparing to shift from internal combustion (IC) engine vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs). However, due to higher cost, EVs are not as easily accessible to consumers; hence, several governments are subsidizing EVs to promote sales. For EV costs to compete with those of IC engine vehicles, their batteries, which account for about 30% of their cost, must be more...

New cause found for intensification of oyster disease

A new paper in Scientific Reports led by researchers at William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science challenges increased salinity and seawater temperatures as the established explanation for a decades-long increase in the prevalence and deadliness of a major oyster disease in the coastal waters of the mid-Atlantic.

Graphene drum: A new phonon laser design

Professor Konstantin Arutyunov of the HSE Tikhonov Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics (MIEM HSE), together with Chinese researchers, has developed a graphene-based mechanical resonator, in which coherent emission of sound energy quanta, or phonons, has been induced. Such devices, called phonon lasers, have wide potential for application in information processing, as well as classical...

Climate warming influences fungal communities on oak leaves

Climate warming plays a larger role than plant genes in influencing the number and identity of fungal species on oak leaves, especially in autumn. Recently published in the journal New Phytologist, this research by ecologists sheds light on how warming and tree genes affect the dynamics of fungal communities across the season.

Separating natural and anthropogenic pollutants in the air

COVID-19 has changed the world in unimaginable ways. Some have even been positive, with new vaccines developed in record time. Even the extraordinary lockdowns, which have had severe effects on movement and commerce, have had beneficial effects on the environment and therefore, ironically, on health. Studies from all around the world, including China, Europe and India, have found major drops in...

Footprints of possibly last dinosaurs to walk Britain found in Kent

Scientists find fossilised footprints of multiple dinosaur species preserved by sediment in FolkestoneFootprints of what could be the last dinosaurs to have walked in Britain have been found in Kent, researchers say.About 66m years ago, an asteroid hit the Earth and wiped out much of the Earth’s dinosaurs. But flooding rendered Britain’s dinosaurs extinct much earlier: about 110m years ago....

The Lunar Lantern could be a beacon for humanity on the moon

In October of 2024, NASA's Artemis Program will return astronauts to the surface of the moon for the first time since the Apollo Era. In the years and decades that follow, multiple space agencies and commercial partners plan to build the infrastructure that will allow for a long-term human presence on the moon. An important part of these efforts involves building habitats that can ensure the...

Drinking straw device ‘instant’ cure for hiccups say scientists

Sipping water through an L-shaped ‘suction and swallow tool’ cured 92% of attacks, according to studyFrom holding your breath to having a friend shout “boo!”, there is no shortage of alleged cures for hiccups. Now scientists say they have found a better solution: a drinking straw device.When you get hiccups – or singultus as they are known in medicine – the diaphragm and intercostal...

Organic farming could feed Europe by 2050

Food has become one of the major challenges of the 21st century. According to a study carried out by CNRS scientists, an organic, sustainable, biodiversity-friendly agro-food system, could be implemented in Europe and would allow a balanced coexistence between agriculture and the environment.

Researchers dig deeper into how cells transport their waste for recycling

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys have gained a deeper insight into the intricacies of autophagy, the process in which cells degrade and recycle cellular components. The findings, published in Current Biology, describe how the "trash bags" in a cell—called autophagosomes—are tagged to direct their movement to the cellular "recycling plants" where waste is processed. The research opens new...

Sun Science Stamps Highlight a Decade of Sun-Watching from Space

Portal origin URL: Sun Science Stamps Highlight a Decade of Sun-Watching from Space Portal origin nid: 471868Published: Friday, June 18, 2021 - 11:00Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: To start off the summer, the U.S. Postal Service issued a set of stamps highlighting views of the Sun from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.Portal image: A set of...

Researchers identify microbe that protects bees from fungal infections

Honey bees are the most economically important agricultural pollinators on Earth, but their populations have been in decline for decades. At Indiana University, researchers are investigating how to use the honey bee's natural microbiome to keep them healthy, which has implications for food security and the agricultural industry.

Stop-motion photons: Localized light particles on the road

Professor Alexander Szameit and his group of physicists from the University of Rostock, in collaboration with Professor Stefano Longhi from the Polytechnic University of Milan, discovered a novel and paradoxical behavior of light waves: Despite being tightly confined in a microscopic volume, a new kind of disorder allows optical signals to suddenly show up at far away regions. Such abrupt...

Scientists design superfast molecular motor

Light-driven molecular motors have been around for over 20 years. These motors typically take microseconds to nanoseconds for one revolution. Thomas Jansen, associate professor of physics at the University of Groningen, and Master's student Atreya Majumdar have now designed an even faster molecular motor. The new design is driven by light only and can make a full turn in picoseconds using the...

Darwin got sexual selection backward, research suggests

Charles Darwin was a careful scientist. In the middle of the 19th century, while he was collecting evidence for his theory that species evolve by natural selection, he noticed it didn't explain the fancy tails of male peacocks, the antlers paraded by male deer, or why some the males of some species are far larger then their female counterparts.