292 articles from THURSDAY 1.7.2021

Earth's cryosphere is shrinking by 87,000 square kilometers per year

The global cryosphere—all of the areas with frozen water on Earth—shrank by about 87,000 square kilometers (about 33,000 square miles, an area about the size of Lake Superior) per year on average between 1979 and 2016, as a result of climate change, according to a new study. This research is the first to make a global estimate of the surface area of the Earth covered by sea ice, snow cover and...

Cleaner air has boosted US corn and soybean yields, research shows

A key factor in America's prodigious agricultural output turns out to be something farmers can do little to control: Clean air. A new Stanford-led study estimates pollution reductions between 1999 and 2019 contributed to about 20 percent of the increase in corn and soybean yield gains during that period—an amount worth about $5 billion per year.

Imaging spectroscopy can predict water stress in wild blueberry fields

Imaging spectroscopy can help predict water stress in wild blueberry barrens, according to a new study. Researchers deployed a drone with a spectrometer to photograph wild blueberry fields, then process the images to measure reflected light spectra from plants for properties that would help them estimate water potential. Incorporating data from the images into models allowed them predict water...

How information beyond the genetic sequence is encoded in plant sperm

Hereditary information is passed from parent to offspring in the genetic code, DNA, and epigenetically through chemically induced modifications around the DNA. New research has uncovered a mechanism which adjusts these modifications, altering the way information beyond the genetic code is passed down the generations.

Spatial patterns of gene transcripts captured across single cells of mouse embryo

A new technique called sci-Space, combined with data from other technologies, could lead to four-dimensional atlases of gene expression across diverse cells during embryonic development of mammals. Such atlases would map how the gene transcripts in individual cells reflect the passage of time, cell lineages, cell migration, and location on the developing embryo. They would also help illuminate the...

The first commercially scalable integrated laser and microcomb on a single chip

Fifteen years ago, an electrical and materials professor pioneered a method for integrating a laser onto a silicon wafer. The technology has since been widely deployed in combination with other silicon photonics devices to replace the copper-wire interconnects that formerly linked servers at data centers, dramatically increasing energy efficiency -- an important endeavor at a time when data...

Catalyzing the conversion of biomass to biofuel

Zeolites are extremely porous materials: Ten grams can have an internal surface area the size of a soccer field. Their cavities make them useful in catalyzing chemical reactions and thus saving energy. An international research team has now made new findings regarding the role of water molecules in these processes. One important application is the conversion of biomass into biofuel.

Using AI to predict 3D printing processes

Metal additive manufacturing (AM) experiments are slow and expensive. Engineers are using physics-informed neural networks to predict the outcomes of complex processes involved in AM. The team trained the model on supercomputers using experimental and simulated data. They recreated the dynamics of two benchmark experiments in metal AM. The method could lead to fast prediction tools for AM in the...

The key role of astrocytes in cognitive development

Researchers have now uncovered their crucial role in closing the period of brain plasticity that follows birth, finding them to be key to the development of sensory and cognitive faculties. Over the longer term, these findings will make it possible to envisage new strategies for reintroducing brain plasticity in adults, thereby promoting rehabilitation following brain lesions or neurodevelopmental...

COVID-19 aggravates antibiotic misuse in India, study finds

Antibiotic sales soared during India's first surge of COVID-19, suggesting that the drugs were inappropriately used to treat mild and moderate COVID-19 infections, according to new research. The excessive usage is especially concerning because antibiotic overuse increases the risk for drug-resistant infections -- not just in India, but worldwide.

Call for global treaty to end production of ‘virgin’ plastic by 2040

Scientists say agreement must cover extraction of raw materials and pollution that blights seas and landA binding global treaty is needed to phase out the production of “virgin” or new plastic by 2040, scientists have said.The solution to the blight of plastic pollution in the oceans and on land would be a worldwide agreement on limits and controls, they say in a special report in the journal...

The first commercially scalable integrated laser and microcomb on a single chip

Fifteen years ago, UC Santa Barbara electrical and materials professor John Bowers pioneered a method for integrating a laser onto a silicon wafer. The technology has since been widely deployed in combination with other silicon photonics devices to replace the copper-wire interconnects that formerly linked servers at data centers, dramatically increasing energy efficiency—an important endeavor...

Scientists advance the understanding of potential topological quantum bits

Quantum computers promise great advances in many fields—from cryptography to the simulation of protein folding. Yet, which physical system works best to build the underlying quantum bits is still an open question. Unlike regular bits in your computer, these so-called qubits cannot only take the values 0 and 1, but also mixtures of the two. While this potentially makes them very useful, they also...

Is global plastic pollution nearing an irreversible tipping point?

Current rates of plastic emissions globally may trigger effects that we will not be able to reverse, argues a new study by researchers from Sweden, Norway and Germany published on July 2nd in Science. According to the authors, plastic pollution is a global threat, and actions to drastically reduce emissions of plastic to the environment are "the rational policy response".

Reducing plastic waste will require fundamental change in culture

Plastic waste is considered one of the biggest environmental problems of our time. Researchers surveyed consumers in Germany about their use of plastic packaging. Their research reveals that fundamental changes in infrastructures and lifestyles, as well as cultural and economic transformation processes, are needed to make zero-waste shopping the norm.

Novel microscopy method provides look into future of cell biology

What if a microscope allowed us to explore the 3D microcosm of blood vessels, nerves, and cancer cells instantaneously in virtual reality? What if it could provide views from multiple directions in real time without physically moving the specimen and worked up to 100 times faster than current technology?

Fibromyalgia may be a condition of the immune system not the brain – study

New research challenges widely held view of the condition and could pave way for better treatmentFibromyalgia – a poorly understood condition that causes widespread pain throughout the body and extreme tiredness – may be caused by be an autoimmune response that increases the activity of pain-sensing nerves throughout the body.The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation,...

Scientists resurrect 'forgotten' genus of algae living in marine animals

In the late 1800s, scientists were stumped by the "yellow cells" they were observing within the tissues of certain temperate marine animals, including sea anemones, corals and jellyfish. Were these cells part of the animal or separate organisms? If separate, were they parasites or did they confer a benefit to the host?