181 articles from THURSDAY 2.9.2021
Researchers find a way to check that quantum computers return accurate answers
Quantum computers are advancing at a rapid pace and are already starting to push the limits of the world's largest supercomputers. Yet, these devices are extremely sensitive to external influences and thus prone to errors which can change the result of the computation. This is particularly challenging for quantum computations that are beyond the reach of our trusted classical computers, where we...
A good induction is important for all new jobs. So why are teachers being left behind?
Australian schools are struggling to recruit and keep teachers. Low wages, overwork, difficult student behavior, lack of support and stress are some of the reasons teachers leave the profession or have periods of sick leave.
New source for earthquakes and tsunamis in the Greater Tokyo Region identified
Researchers have discovered geologic evidence that unusually large earthquakes and tsunamis from the Tokyo region—located near tectonic plate boundaries that are recognized as a seismic hazard source—may be traceable to a previously unconsidered plate boundary. The team, headed by Simon Fraser University Earth scientist Jessica Pilarczyk, has published its research today in Nature Geoscience.
Negative triangularity—a positive for tokamak fusion reactors
Tokamak devices use strong magnetic fields to confine and to shape the plasma that contains the fuel that achieves fusion. The shape of the plasma affects the ease or difficulty of achieving a viable fusion power source. In a conventional tokamak, the cross-section of the plasma is shaped like the capital letter D. When the straight part of the D faces the "donut hole" side of the donut-shaped...
Paving the path to electrically-pumped lasers from colloidal-quantum-dot solutions
In a new review article in Nature Photonics, scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory assess the status of research into colloidal quantum dot lasers with a focus on prospective electrically pumped devices, or laser diodes. The review analyzes the challenges for realizing lasing with electrical excitation, discusses approaches to overcome them, and surveys recent advances toward this...
Copper and PTFE stick together to support better 5G
The amount of digital communication supporting our daily lives continues to increase. This means there is a constant need to improve hardware, including optimizing the performance of printed wiring boards (PWBs). Researchers from Osaka University have demonstrated a method for strongly combining polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and smooth cooper foil. They presented their findings at the...
Getting to the core of a more nutritious apple
A new platform housing data from over 100 apple varieties could shave years off of the breeding process and enable data-driven assessments of how to boost the health benefits of America's favorite fruit.
How much energy do we need to achieve a decent life for all?
For many, an increase in living standards would require an increase in energy provision. At the same time, meeting current climate goals under the Paris Agreement would benefit from lower energy use. IIASA researchers have assessed how much energy is needed to provide the global poor with a decent life and have found that this can be reconciled with efforts to meet climate targets.
A shock-induced mechanism for the creation of organic molecules
Complex carbon-based molecules are everywhere in the Cosmos. How many of these molecules are formed is still something of a mystery, particularly for carbon molecules formed by nature on primordial Earth that gave rise to life on this planet.
Nursing Home COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates Protect The Most Vulnerable, But Pose a Hidden Threat to Residents
Some two weeks before U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Aug. 18 that nursing homes must require their staff to get vaccinated or risk losing their Medicare and Medicaid funding, Genesis HealthCare, which manages about 250 facilities nationwide that offer long-term care and other services, had said its workers would need to be vaccinated. “The growing spread of the Delta variant makes...
Survey shows that women are more likely to experience technical paper authorship disagreements
A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions has found via survey that women are more likely to experience technical paper authorship disagreements than men. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes how they conducted a survey of thousands of researchers around the globe regarding technical paper authorship issues and what was learned from it.
These geckos crash-land on rainforest trees but don't fall, thanks to their tails
A gecko's tail is a wondrous and versatile thing.
Degassing data suggests Mt. Etna began showing signs of pressure buildup months before 2018 eruption
A team of researchers from the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, in Italy, has found evidence showing that magma pressure had begun building up deep in Mt. Etna's reservoir several months before the 2018 eruption. They also found evidence of degassing. In their paper, published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes their study of data from gas monitors situated on the...
TRACS set the stage in flatworm regeneration
People who fish and regularly use earthworms as bait may be familiar with the animal's ability to regenerate a head or tail when cut in two. Yet while impressive, an earthworm's regenerative capacity is child's play compared with that of the planarian Schmidtea mediterranea. This species, a type of flatworm, can regrow an entire animal from tiny tissue fragments as minuscule as 1/279th of the...
Going up: Birds and mammals evolve faster if their home is rising
The rise and fall of Earth's land surface over the last three million years shaped the evolution of birds and mammals, a new study has found, with new species evolving at higher rates where the land has risen most.
Reference genome of Aristolochia fimbriata provides new insights into flowering plant evolution
A research group led by Prof. Jiao Yuannian from the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences recently reported a high-quality genome sequence of Aristolochia fimbriata, providing new insights into angiosperm evolution, floral development and chemical biosynthesis.
Uncommon byproducts of organochlorine pesticides found in the livers of raptors
A research team in Ehime University, Japan conducted a comprehensive profiling of chlorinated and brominated compounds bioaccumulated in the liver of various wild bird species from Osaka, Japan in order to find potentially harmful but "hidden" contaminants. The team found a specific accumulation of several groups of typically unmonitored halogenated contaminants in raptors, including those so far...
Women with intellectual or cognitive disability face extra online risks
Released today, the For My Safety report, led by QUT Associate Professor Bridget Harris and Dr. Delanie Woodlock and sector partners WWILD, WESNET, SECASA (and assisted by Women with Disabilities Victoria) details the extra burdens and obstacles women with intellectual or cognitive disability face.
Mountaintop mining causes 40 percent loss of aquatic biodiversity
Trickling down over rocks, surrounded by wildflowers and ferns, Appalachian mountain streams are chock-full of life. They hold some of the world's greatest diversity of freshwater animals, including many species that can't be found anywhere else in the world.
New superconducting material found
The phenomenon of superconductivity, providing current transmission without dissipation and a host of unique magnetic properties arising from macroscopic quantum coherence, was first discovered over a century ago. It was not understood until 1957, after which it quickly became clear that superconductors could in principle exist with a wide variety of the fundamental characteristic often referred...
New evidence supports idea that America's first civilization was made up of 'sophisticated' engineers
- ScienceDaily
- 21/9/2 16:11
New evidence discovered at Poverty Point in northern Louisiana by anthropologists challenges previous beliefs about how pre-modern hunter-gatherers behaved.
With time and without masks, COVID-19 vaccines wane in protection, study finds
- ScienceDaily
- 21/9/2 16:11
A study of highly vaccinated health workers found that the more contagious delta variant, combined with the masking mandate end, was associated with increased breakthrough cases, paralleling exponential rise of COVID-19 infections in the San Diego community.
Decades after toxic exposure, 9/11 first responders may still lower their risk of lung injury
- ScienceDaily
- 21/9/2 16:11
A new study shows that losing weight and treating excess levels of fat in the blood may help prevent lung disease in those exposed to dangerous levels of fine particles from fire, smoke and toxic chemicals.
Materials for superconducting qubits
The connection between microscopic material properties and qubit coherence are not well understood despite practical evidence that material imperfections present an obstacle to applications of superconducting qubits. In a new report now published on Communications Materials, Anjali Premkumar and a team of scientists in electrical engineering, nanomaterials, physics and angstrom engineering at...
Shy little wallaby has been overlooked for decades
For many people, the term "wallaby" may describe a single species, or rather just a small kangaroo. So you may be surprised to learn there are actually more than 50 known species of wallaby in Australia.