182 articles from THURSDAY 29.7.2021

NASA’s 10th Space Apps Challenge Increases Global Participation

Portal origin URL: NASA’s 10th Space Apps Challenge Increases Global ParticipationPortal origin nid: 472899Published: Thursday, July 29, 2021 - 17:38Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: To mark the 10th International Space Apps Challenge, the largest annual global hackathon in the world, NASA is collaborating with nine space agency partners to bring the...

Ecologist uses statistics to reveal importance of climate change in controlling deep-sea biodiversity

Which is more important for the richness of deep-sea animals, temperature or food? Dr. Moriaki Yasuhara from the School of Biological Sciences, the Research Division for Ecology & Biodiversity, and The Swire Institute of Marine Science, The University of Hong Kong (HKU), in collaborating with Hideyuki DOI from University of Hyogo and Masayuki USHIO from Kyoto University, have used long-term fossil...

Researchers demonstrate the effectiveness of eDNA in the calculation of marine biodiversity

For almost 20 years, researchers at the Santa Barbara Coastal Long-Term Ecological Research (SBC LTER) site have conducted detailed censuses of the majestic kelp forests off Santa Barbara. By counting fish species and placing them in the context of their environmental conditions, UCSB coastal marine ecologist Robert Miller and his colleagues can look at the effects of human activity and natural...

Liquid core fibers: A data river runs through them

Data and signals can be transmitted quickly and reliably with glass fibers—as long as the fiber does not break. Strong bending or tensile stress can quickly destroy it. An Empa team has now developed a fiber with a liquid glycerol core that is much more robust and can transmit data just as reliably. And such fibers can even be used to build microhydraulic components and light sensors.

Scientists discover a surprising new way that tuberculosis suppresses immunity

University of Maryland researchers discovered a way that Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the bacterium that causes tuberculosis, can cause a person's immune cells to lower their defenses. Specifically, they identified a gene in the bacterium that suppresses immune defenses in infected human cells, which could exacerbate the infection. The findings were published on July 29, 2021, in the journal...

A blood test for your body clock? It's on the horizon

Sleep researchers have found it's possible to determine the timing of a person's internal biological clock via a single blood draw. Ultimately, the findings could lead to a simple blood test for assessing circadian rhythm and personalized recommendations for when people should eat, sleep, exercise and take medications.

'Green' synthesis of plastics from CO2

Using a CeO2 catalyst, researchers develop an effective catalytic process for the direct synthesis of polycarbonate diols without the need for dehydrating agents. The high yield, high selective process has CO2 blown at atmospheric pressure to evaporate excess water by-product allowing for a catalytic process that can be used with any substrate with a boiling point higher than water.

Marine ecologists reveal mangroves might be threatened by low functional diversity of invertebrates

Researchers compiled a dataset of 209 crustacean and 155 mollusk species from 16 mangrove forests around the world. They found that mangroves, when compared with other ecosystems, are among those with the lowest functional redundancy among resident fauna recorded to date, which suggests that these coastal vegetations are among the most precarious ecosystems in the world.

Astronomers discover how to feed a black hole

Researchers have discovered long narrow dust filaments which surround and feed black holes in the centers of galaxies, and which could be the natural cause of the darkening of the centers of many galaxies when their nuclear black holes are active.

Older adults are happier when space matches personality

A study has found photos of a person's living space can accurately point at personality traits and the mood of the people who live there, especially as a person gets older. Applying the findings could help lead to happier lives, including for older adults with frailty or cognitive impairment that has led them to be transferred from their homes to long-term care facilities.

Climate change to fuel increase in human-wildlife conflict

With wildfires spreading across the parched Western U.S., severe floods in Europe and in the coming decade a potential surge in coastal flooding, 2021 could be a pivotal year in how governments, societies and families view the threat of climate change.