165 articles from FRIDAY 23.7.2021
'Cyborg soil' reveals the secret microbial metropolis beneath our feet
Dig a teaspoon into your nearest clump of soil, and what you'll emerge with will contain more microorganisms than there are people on Earth. We know this from lab studies that analyze samples of earth scooped from the microbial wild to determine which forms of microscopic life exist in the world beneath our feet.
Fatal flaw uncovered in green pigmented concrete
As Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University researchers completed their research on colored architectural concrete, they found a surprising result—green pigmented cement had impurities that produced porous, poor quality concrete. Meanwhile, red and blue pigments had little effect.
Expert: Open US southern border, vaccinate everyone on both sides
The United States-Mexico border should be fully reopened—with people on both sides given easier and expanded access to vaccines in the U.S.—according to a new brief from Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy.
Four ways organizations can create healthier workplaces: Research
A survey by Massey University's Healthy Work Group of more than 1400 people from 21 New Zealand workplaces has found four key features associated with positive outcomes for both employees and organizations.
Carbon-monitoring satellite reports global carbon net of six gigatons
About six gigatons—roughly 12 times the mass of all living humans—of carbon appears to be emitted over land every year, according to data from the Chinese Global Carbon Dioxide Monitoring Scientific Experimental Satellite (TanSat).
Autonomous self-healing seen in piezoelectric molecular crystals
A team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Kolkata, the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and RWTH Aachen University, has found a type of piezoelectric molecular crystal that is capable of autonomous self-healing. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their work with piezoelectric molecular crystals and the crystals...
Drought forces North American farmers to turn food crops to hay
Drought is withering crops on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border, prompting farmers to take the rare measure of baling up their wheat and barley stems to sell as hay.
Generation and application of the high-Q resonance in all-dielectric metasurfaces
In a new publication from Opto-Electronic Advances, researchers led by Professor Liu Yan from Xidian University, China and Professor Gan Xuetao from Northwestern Polytechnical University, China, consider generation and application of the high-Q resonance in all-dielectric metasurfaces.
How caring for children can help Aboriginal Elders during lockdown
Pandemic-induced lockdowns have provided stories of both hardship and resilience. This extends to families in the community caring for children in out-of-home care, a group which has weathered unique challenges as children are physically and sometimes virtually cut off from contact with their biological families.
New composite material has potential for medical use
University of Georgia researchers have developed a new material with properties ideal for medical products such as masks and bandages. It's also better for the environment than the materials in current use.
Heat, floods, fires: Jet stream is key link in climate disasters
Devastating floods destroyed towns in Germany and Belgium. A ruthless heat wave broiled the Western U.S. and Canada. Heavy rains paralyzed a Chinese industrial hub home to 10 million people. These recent weather phenomena are being intensified by the changing climate.
A device that cracks milk protein
After gaining world attention by 'unboiling' egg protein, Flinders University scientists have now used an Australian-made novel thin film microfluidic device to manipulate Beta-lactoglobulin (β-lactoglobulin), the major whey protein in cow, sheep and other mammal milks.
Exploring topology in biology
When can we say that a certain property of a system is robust? Intuitively, robustness implies that, even under the effect of external perturbations on the system, no matter how strong or random, said property remains unchanged. In mathematics, properties of an object that are robust against deformations are called topological. For example, the letters s, S, and L can be transformed into each...
Water resources: Defusing conflict, promoting cooperation
Rivers are lifelines for many countries. They create valuable ecosystems, provide drinking water for people and raw water for agriculture and industry. In the Global South in particular, there is strong competition for access to freshwater resources. The increasing use of hydropower has recently intensified this competition further.
Hunting for TB's most vulnerable genes
Developing drugs to combat tuberculosis, or TB, can be frustrating business. A gene essential to the bacteria's lifecycle is discovered, scientists rush to develop drugs that inhibit the target, and then—disappointment. Volleys of compounds hurled at the essential gene target have little impact on microbial growth. The bacteria live on. The scientists return to the drawing board.
Artificial Intelligence Helps Improve NASA’s Eyes on the Sun
Portal origin URL: Artificial Intelligence Helps Improve NASA’s Eyes on the SunPortal origin nid: 472681Published: Friday, July 23, 2021 - 10:00Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: A group of researchers is using artificial intelligence techniques to calibrate some of NASA’s images of the Sun, helping improve the data that scientists use for solar...
Bacteria navigate on surfaces using a 'sense of touch'
Many disease-causing bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa crawl on surfaces through a walk-like motility known as "twitching." Nanometers-wide filaments called type IV pili are known to power twitching, but scientists ignore which sensory signals coordinate the microbes' movements.
Planetary nebulae in distant galaxies
Using data from the MUSE instrument, researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) succeeded in detecting extremely faint planetary nebulae in distant galaxies. The method used, a filter algorithm in image data processing, opens up new possibilities for cosmic distance measurement—and thus also for determining the Hubble constant.
Study shows environmental link to herbicide-resistant horseweed
Horseweed is a serious threat to both agricultural crops and natural landscapes around the globe. In the U.S., the weed is prolific and able to emerge at any time of the year.
DeepMind and EMBL release the most complete database of predicted 3D structures of human proteins
- ScienceDaily
- 21/7/23 15:56
DeepMind is partnering with EMBL to make the most complete and accurate database yet of the predicted human protein structures freely and openly available to the scientific community. The AlphaFold Protein Structure Database will enable research that advances understanding of these building blocks of life, accelerating research across a variety of fields. AlphaFold's impact is already being...
Researchers discover that protein switches functions to regulate DNA replication
One protein. One mechanism of action. Two biologically opposite effects.
The impact of climate change on Kenya's Tana river basin
Many species within Kenya's Tana River Basin will be unable to survive if global temperatures continue to rise as they are on track to do—according to new research from the University of East Anglia.
Reverse optogenetic tool developed
A new optogenetic tool, a protein that can be controlled by light, has been characterized by researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB). They used an opsin—a protein that occurs in the brain and eyes—from zebrafish and introduced it into the brain of mice. Unlike other optogenetic tools, this opsin is not switched on but rather switched off by light. Experiments also showed that the tool...