298 articles from TUESDAY 6.7.2021
Schools in Barcelona create a map of the city's air pollution thanks to citizen science
A study led by University of Barcelona researchers and carried out together with more than 1,650 students and their family members from 18 educational centers in Barcelona shows that citizen science is a valid approach able for doing high quality science, and in this case, able to provide nitrogen dioxide values with an unprecedented resolution and to assess the impact of the pollution in the...
Secret to weathering climate change lies at our feet
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently discovered that the ability of agricultural grasses to withstand drought is directly related to the health of the microbial community living on their stems, leaves and seeds.
Personalized medicine for cats with heart disease
Veterinarians at the University of California, Davis, have found that a cat's DNA alters how it responds to a life-saving medication used to treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM, a heart disease that affects 1 in 7 cats. The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.
What We Learned About Relationships During the Pandemic
The pseudo-scientific formula that explains most human bonding is basically time + affection + togetherness = relationship. So what happens to humans and their interconnectedness when two of the key elements—time and togetherness—are removed or increased? Can digital communication replace human to human contact? How do couples cope with stressful events they have never before...
The evolution of vinegar flies is based on the variation of male sex pheromones
By analyzing the genomes of 99 species of vinegar flies and evaluating their chemical odor profiles and sexual behaviors, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology show that sex pheromones and the corresponding olfactory channels in the insect brain evolve rapidly and independently. Female flies are able to recognize conspecific males through their specific odor profiles....
New model shows how our social networks could contribute to generating economic phenomena
Many standard economic models assume people make perfectly rational, individual decisions. But new research suggests economic phenomena like inequality and business cycles are better explained by models which recognize that people's decisions are affected by the decisions and the behaviors of people around them.
Scientists warn on the harmful implications of losing Indigenous and local knowledge systems
Five Simon Fraser University scholars are among international scientists sounding an alarm over the "pervasive social and ecological consequences" of the destruction and suppression of the knowledge systems of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
Relationship between chromosomal instability and senescence revealed in Drosophila
Chromosomal instability is a feature of solid tumors such as carcinoma. Likewise, cellular senescence is a process that is highly related to cellular aging and its link to cancer is becoming increasingly clear. Scientists led by ICREA researcher Dr. Marco Milán at IRB Barcelona have revealed the link between chromosomal instability and cellular senescence.
Context in science reporting affects beliefs about, and support for, science
- ScienceDaily
- 21/7/6 22:38
How the media frame stories about science affects the public's perception about scientific accuracy and reliability, and one particular type of narrative can help ameliorate the harm to science's reputation sometimes caused by different journalistic approaches to scientific storytelling, according to a new study.
Personalized medicine for cats with heart disease
- ScienceDaily
- 21/7/6 22:38
Veterinarians at the University of California, Davis, have found that a cat's DNA alters how it responds to a life-saving medication used to treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM, a heart disease that affects 1 in 7 cats.
Secret to weathering climate change lies at our feet
- ScienceDaily
- 21/7/6 22:38
Researchers recently discovered that the ability of agricultural grasses to withstand drought is directly related to the health of the microbial community living on their stems, leaves and seeds.
Satellite galaxies can continue forming stars when they pass close to their parent galaxies
Historically most scientists thought that once a satellite galaxy has passed close by its higher mass parent galaxy, its star formation would stop because the larger galaxy would remove the gas from it, leaving it shorn of the material it would need to make new stars. However, for the first time, a team led by Arianna di Cintio, a researcher at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), has...
Researchers achieve improved prediction of Indian Monsoon onset using machine learning
The onset of the Indian summer monsoon has been predicted three months ahead for the last 40 years with the highest precision up until today. The result indicates longer seasonal forecasts based on machine learning may be a way to mitigate the consequences of an erratic monsoon system under future global warming. Dr. Takahito Mitsui and Dr. Niklas Boers of the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact...
Not enough women and minorities apply for a job? Change the recruitment committee
Amid calls for racial and social justice nationwide, businesses and educational institutions are grappling with how to adopt more inclusive organizational practices, including more diversified hiring. However, recruitment teams and strategic leaders often blame their lack of a diverse workforce on a lack of diverse applicants. A large study of recruitment data suggests a simple and efficient way...
Study suggests context in science reporting affects beliefs about, and support for, science
How the media frame stories about science affects the public's perception about scientific accuracy and reliability, and one particular type of narrative can help ameliorate the harm to science's reputation sometimes caused by different journalistic approaches to scientific storytelling, according to a new study led by a University at Buffalo researcher.
Studies add to concern about climate tipping
Two model studies document the probability of climate tipping in Earth subsystems. The findings support the urgency of restricting CO2 emissions as abrupt climate changes might be less predictable and more widespread in the climate system than anticipated. The work is part of the European TiPES project, coordinated by the University of Copenhagen, Denmark but was conducted by Professor Michael...
From eyebrow beans to 'lost' rice: Community seedbanks are protecting China's crops
Wangjinzhuang village is nestled amongst the steep slopes of the South Taihang Mountains in Hebei Province, China. To prosper in the northern climate, the villagers have developed a tried-and-true strategy: Using the land to plant a hundred kinds of crops and not rely on the sky. Their fields contain red millet, white sorghum, purple and green eyebrow beans, and yellow radishes. Having survived...
Acid sensor discovered in plants
Climate change is causing increased flooding and prolonged waterlogging in northern Europe, but also in many other parts of the world. This can damage meadow grasses, field crops or other plants—their leaves die, the roots rot.
Predicting the future of cod: Scientists develop new fisheries management planning tool
The future of cod stocks in the North Sea and the Barents Sea may be much easier to predict than before. This is the result of an international research project led by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon and its Institute of Coastal Systems—Analysis and Modeling. For the first time, the team has succeeded in predicting the development of stocks for ten years in advance, taking into account both changes...
Developing new techniques to build biomaterials
Scientists at the University of Leeds have developed an approach that could help in the design of a new generation of synthetic biomaterials made from proteins.
Why kiwi and kōkako are more vulnerable than fantails
Life history traits explain the vulnerability of endemic forest birds and predict recovery after predator suppression. New modeling, published in the New Zealand Journal of Ecology, has disentangled the limiting effects of predation, forest area, and food availability to predict the outcomes we can expect for different native bird species in a predator-free New Zealand.
Sexual reproduction without mating
One of the organisms attacked by the fungus Cyclocybe parasitica is the Tawa tree (Beilschmiedia tawa), which is relevant to the timber industry in New Zealand. Cyclocybe parasitica is widespread in the Pacific region and has long been known to the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, under the name Tawaka as an edible wild mushroom.
Editing light-emitting organic molecules via surface modification
Many researchers in the field of materials science constantly seek novel and versatile platforms that can be used to tailor materials to match their intended use. One example of this are covalent organic frameworks (COFs), an emerging class of crystalline porous polymers with a favorable set of fundamental properties, namely crystallinity, stability, and porosity. This combination makes them, in...
Ultrathin semiconductors are electrically connected to superconductors for the first time
Whether in smartphones, televisions or building technology, semiconductors play a central role in electronics and therefore in our everyday lives. In contrast to metals, it is possible to adjust their electrical conductivity by applying a voltage and hence to switch the current flow on and off.
Enzyme from fungi shows molecules which way to turn
A small fungal enzyme could play a significant role in simplifying the development and manufacture of drugs, according to Rice University scientists.
How an unfolding protein can induce programmed cell death
The death of cells is well regulated. If it occurs too much, it can cause degenerative diseases. Too little, and cells can become tumors. Mitochondria, the power plants of cells, play a role in this programmed cell death. Scientists from the University of Groningen (the Netherlands) and the University of Pittsburgh (U.S.) have obtained new insights in how mitochondria receive the signal to...
Fighting COVID with COVID
What if the COVID-19 virus could be used against itself? Researchers at Penn State have designed a proof-of-concept therapeutic that may be able to do just that. The team designed a synthetic defective SARS-CoV-2 virus that is innocuous but interferes with the real virus's growth, potentially causing the extinction of both the disease-causing virus and the synthetic virus.
A new look at color displays
Researchers at Linköping University have developed a method that may lead to new types of displays based on structural colors. The discovery opens the way to cheap and energy-efficient color displays and electronic labels. The study has been published in the scientific journal Advanced Materials.
How racial wage discrimination of football players ended in England
Increased labor mobility seems to have stopped the racial wage discrimination of Black English football players. A new study in economics from Stockholm university and Université Paris-Saclay used data from the English Premier League to investigate the impact of the so-called "Bosman ruling," and found that racial discrimination against English football players disappeared—but not for non-EU...
Research suggests demography is the key to managing habitat loss and fragmentation
City sprawl and road development is increasingly fragmenting the habitats that many plant and animal species need to survive. Ecologists have long known than sustainable development requires attention to ecological connectivity—the ability to keep plant and wildlife populations intact and healthy, typically by preserving large tracts of land or creating habitat corridors for animals. New...
Worms learn how to optimize foraging by switching their response to social cues
Researchers have shown how worms learn to optimize their foraging activity by switching their response to pheromones in the environment, according to a report published today in eLife.
Communication: A key tool for citizen participation in science
Researchers from Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona, Spain) have analyzed the way citizen science is practiced in Spain. The paper, produced by Carolina Llorente and Gema Revuelta, from UPF's Science, Communication and Society Studies Centre (CCS-UPF) and Mar Carrió, from the University's Health Sciences Educational Research Group (GRECS), has been published in the Journal of Science...
An 'instruction' to the crocodylian skull
The braincase of crocodylians has a distinctive structure. Unlike evolutionary relatives (birds and squamates), in crocodylians, all braincase bones are rigidly fixed together and form an akinetic structure. In the process of evolution, this made it possible for animals to develop powerful jaws and stronger bite forces, thanks to which crocodylians could gnaw through the hard shell of crayfish and...
Enzyme from fungi shows molecules which way to turn
- ScienceDaily
- 21/7/6 21:30
A small fungal enzyme could play a significant role in simplifying the development and manufacture of drugs, according to scientists.
A new look at color displays
- ScienceDaily
- 21/7/6 21:30
Researchers have developed a method that may lead to new types of displays based on structural colors. The discovery opens the way to cheap and energy-efficient color displays and electronic labels.
Predicting the future of cod
- ScienceDaily
- 21/7/6 21:30
Until now, fisheries have set catch levels a year in advance. Long-term influences such as changes in water temperatures are not taken into account. Researchers have now developed a computational model that can estimate the future of cod a full ten years in advance - taking into both account fishing and climate. The fishing industry has a completely new planning tool at its disposal.
Synthetic biology circuits can respond within seconds
- ScienceDaily
- 21/7/6 21:30
Researchers have designed the first synthetic biology circuit that relies exclusively on protein-protein interactions. These circuits can be turned on within seconds, much faster than other synthetic biology circuits.
Worms learn how to optimize foraging by switching their response to social cues
- ScienceDaily
- 21/7/6 21:30
Worms optimize their foraging behavior by learning to associate pheromones with food availability and changing their movements accordingly, new research finds.
Loss of biodiversity in streams threatens vital biological process
- ScienceDaily
- 21/7/6 21:30
The fast-moving decline and extinction of many species of detritivores -- organisms that break down and remove dead plant and animal matter -- may have dire consequences, an international team of scientists suggests in a new study.
Fighting COVID with COVID
- ScienceDaily
- 21/7/6 21:30
Researchers design a new COVID-19 therapy that uses a defective version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to drive the disease-causing version to extinction.
Keeping bacteria under lock and key
- ScienceDaily
- 21/7/6 21:30
A chemical and biomolecular engineer with biosecurity expertise in teaching cells to create and harness chemical building blocks not found in nature. New research describes progress on the stability of a biocontainment strategy that uses a microbe's dependence on a synthetic nutrient to keep it contained.
Ultrathin semiconductors electrically connected to superconductors
- ScienceDaily
- 21/7/6 21:30
Researchers have equipped an ultrathin semiconductor with superconducting contacts. These extremely thin materials with novel electronic and optical properties could pave the way for previously unimagined applications. Combined with superconductors, they are expected to give rise to new quantum phenomena and find use in quantum technology.
Acid sensor discovered in plants
- ScienceDaily
- 21/7/6 21:30
If plants are flooded, they lack oxygen and their cells over-acidify. A sensor protein detects this and triggers a stress response.
Lab analysis finds near-meat and meat not nutritionally equivalent
- ScienceDaily
- 21/7/6 21:30
A research team's deeper examination of the nutritional content of plant-based meat alternatives, using metabolomics, shows they're as different as plants and animals. Beef contained 22 metabolites that the plant substitute did not. The plant-based substitute contained 31 metabolites that meat did not. The greatest distinctions occurred in amino acids, dipeptides, vitamins, phenols, and types of...
To understand ecology, follow the connections
- ScienceDaily
- 21/7/6 21:30
New research argues that it's not enough for ecological modelling to focus on the landscape. If we want the best-possible ecological management, we should consider when and where individuals are located.
How this young Mi'kmaw archeology crew is connecting to their culture
The work that's underway at Pasi'tuek in the Annapolis Valley is having a profound and personal impact on some of the crew who are learning about their Mi'kmaw history and culture as they discover artifacts dating back 10,000...
NASA Science Live: International Asteroid Day
At NASA, every day is asteroid day. From the many missions journeying to asteroids in our solar system – some even returning samples to Earth – to the efforts to find, track and monitor near-Earth objects and protect our planet from potential impact hazards, NASA and its partners are always looking to the skies.
Meet the experts:
Dr. Dani DellaGiustina is a Research...
Net-zero municipal building opening soon in Nova Scotia
In foggy southwest Nova Scotia, dozens of solar panels are powering one of Canada's first net-zero municipal buildings. The building in Tusket belongs to the Municipality of the District of Argyle, which has set out to reduce its carbon...
Digital pens provide new insight into cognitive testing results
- ScienceDaily
- 21/7/6 19:31
During neuropsychological assessments, participants complete tasks designed to study memory and thinking. Based on their performance, the participants receive a score that researchers use to evaluate how well specific domains of their cognition are functioning.
Source of remarkable memory of 'superagers' revealed
- ScienceDaily
- 21/7/6 19:31
'Superagers' who performed a challenging memory task in an MRI scanner were able to learn and recall new information as well as 25-year-old participants. Neurons in the visual cortex of brains of superaging older adults retain their selective and efficient ability to process visual stimuli and create a distinct memory of the images. In the future, interventions to train specific areas of the brain...