Engineers are 'driving' innovation to help eliminate plastic waste
Each year in the United States, millions of tons of plastic waste are discarded and not recycled, leading to serious environmental problems. In an effort to help keep this waste from ending up in the environment, engineers at the University of Missouri are partnering with Dow and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) to test mixing plastic waste into the asphalt pavement mixtures for...
One student's mission to protect the world's most precious resource
Hooman Chamani, a Ph.D. candidate in Ottawa, is motivated by one thing: To address the global water crisis in an environmentally friendly manner. It may sound simple, but until recently, it was not.
How a Japanese far-right hate group helped popularize anti-Korean sentiment
Studies show that anti-Korean sentiment in Japan has grown steadily in the past decade, despite the growing acceptance of more visibly "foreign" Southeast Asian migrants in Japan. A University of Notre Dame researcher conducted two years of ethnographic fieldwork in a historic Korean ghetto in Osaka, Japan, to shed light on the legacy of discrimination that third- and fourth-generation Korean...
Experts offer tips for preparing kids to go back to school
Are you a parent worried about your children going back to school in person after a year and a half of mostly virtual learning?
The strength of new tools in microbiome studies lies in their combined and integrated use
Technology is rapidly evolving across many disciplines. Ground-breaking results are often obtained when new technology enables novel approaches or when technologies are transferred from other fields of research. In a recent review article, Dr. Esther Singer and colleagues explored novel and emerging technologies in relation to plant microbiome research.
Complex dynamics turn lake water green and brown
Many lakes and ponds are changing colors—from pleasant blue or clear to murky brown or green, caused by runoff of nutrients and carbon, coupled with warmer temperatures.
LED streetlights contribute to insect population declines: study
Streetlights—particularly those that use white light-emitting diodes (LEDs)—not only disrupt insect behavior but are also a culprit behind their declining numbers, a new study carried out in southern England showed Wednesday.
Underlying instincts: An appetite for survival
Microscopic roundworms may hold the key to understanding what is happening in the brain when the instinct of an animal changes in order to survive. In a newly published paper in the journal Current Biology, University of Rochester Medical Center researchers found that a signaling system in the brain changes to redirect the behavior of an animal when their survival is at risk because there is not...
The boiling crisis and how to avoid it
It's rare for a pre-teen to become enamored with thermodynamics, but those consumed by such a passion may consider themselves lucky to end up at a place like MIT. Madhumitha Ravichandran certainly does. A Ph.D. student in Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE), Ravichandran first encountered the laws of thermodynamics as a middle school student in Chennai, India. "They made complete sense to me,"...
Team captures data from unarmed Minuteman III test launch
A team from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) successfully collected data from the recent operational test of an Air Force Global Strike Command unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Researchers develop method to engineer new cell functionalities on thin films
Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have developed a method to engineer new functionalities into cells. The results were published today in the journal Cell in the article "Dual film-like organelles enable spatial separation of orthogonal eukaryotic translation."
Physicists make laser beams visible in vacuum
A new method developed at the University of Bonn simplifies ultra-precise adjustment for quantum optics experiments.
Confiscated fossil turns out to be exceptional flying reptile from Brazil
A fossil acquired in a police raid has turned out to be one of the best-preserved flying reptiles ever found, according to a study published August 11, 2021 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Victor Beccari of the University of São Paulo and colleagues.
In hot weather, outdoor laborers work less—when economy is growing
A new analysis suggests that U.S. workers in industries that expose them to weather conditions work fewer hours per day when temperatures surpass 90 degrees Fahrenheit—but only during periods of economic growth. Matthew Neidell of Columbia University, New York, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on August 25, 2021.
New research shows men and women of Roman Herculaneum had different diets
Researchers—led by the University of York's BioArCh team—developed a new approach to analyze amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, from 17 adult skeletons found in the aftermath of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD.
Central European prehistory was highly dynamic
Recent archaeogenetic studies have shown that human movements like migrations and expansions played a major role in driving the spread of cultures and genes in ancient Europe. However, it is only now with detailed regional studies and dense sampling that researchers start to better understand the magnitude, rate and social implications of these changes. In a new study published in Science...
Greenhouse warming intensifies north tropical Atlantic sea surface temperature anomalies
North Tropical Atlantic (NTA) sea surface temperature anomalies are among the dominant and most consequential climate variations on Earth.
Study demonstrates the quantum speed up of supervised machine learning on a new classification task
In recent years, several computer scientists and physicists have been exploring the potential of quantum-enhanced machine learning algorithms. As their name suggests, quantum machine learning approaches combine quantum algorithms with machine learning techniques.
Dams ineffective for cold-water conservation
Dams poorly mimic the temperature patterns California streams require to support the state's native salmon and trout—more than three-quarters of which risk extinction. Bold actions are needed to reverse extinction trends and protect cold-water streams that are resilient to climate warming, according to a study published in the journal PLOS ONE by the University of California, Davis.
Pictograms are first written accounts of earthquakes in pre-Hispanic Mexico
The Codex Telleriano Remensis, created in the 16th century in Mexico, depicts earthquakes in pictograms that are the first written evidence of earthquakes in the Americas in pre-Hispanic times, according to a pair of researchers who have systematically studied the country's historical earthquakes.
Unrealistic experiments mean true impact of nitrogen pollution on the environment is unknown
Human actions—mostly burning of biomass and fossil fuels—have dramatically altered the global nitrogen cycle, affecting natural habitats and contributing to acid rain.
The Congo rainforest makes its own spring rain
The Congo basin is home to the world's second-largest rainforest, whose 500 million acres have been slowly drying out for the last four decades. To figure out why the dry season is getting longer, scientists have been asking: What makes it rain in the Congo rainforest?
Will the world ever accept non-alcoholic wine?
Many people have responded to the uncertainty, boredom and anxiety of the pandemic by drinking more.
Cellular agriculture development has potential to change food industry, society
Depending on how it occurs, the development of cellular agriculture—food grown in factories from cells or yeast—has the potential to either accelerate socioeconomic inequality or provide beneficial alternatives to the status quo.
Researchers shed new light on the molecular detail of COVID-19
Researchers from Western Sydney University have joined the global race to better understand COVID-19, with new research proposing how a SARS-CoV-2 protein (Nsp9), vital in the virus' life cycle, is supporting the replicating process.