131 articles from WEDNESDAY 17.11.2021

Making the wait less arduous for toddlers

When toddlers have to wait, it often leads to negative affect, as they can't yet regulate their emotions. Psychologists set out to find out how to help them. Is temperament a factor that influences toddler behavior while waiting? Whom can children imitate in order to cope better with long waits? They concluded that, left to their own devices, children prefer activities which correspond to their...

Methane from carbon dioxide

Recycling carbon dioxide, especially through conversion to methane, is compelling while anthropogenic CO2 emissions are still rising. A useful process for this transformation is photothermal methanation, in which CO2 and hydrogen are catalytically converted into CH4 and water upon irradiation with sunlight. A team of researchers has now reported the synthesis of a highly active, stable,...

New approach could overcome fungal resistance to current treatments

Current medications aren't particularly effective against fungi. The situation is becoming more challenging because these organisms are developing resistance to antimicrobial treatments, just as bacteria are. Now, researchers report that they have identified compounds that tackle these infections in a new way -- by interfering with fungal enzymes required for fatty acid synthesis -- potentially...

A wild strawberry aroma for foods from a fungus growing on fruit waste

The wild strawberry is even more highly prized than its store-bought cousin because of its intense aroma and uniquely sweet taste. However, they're hard to find in the wild, so some companies make synthetic versions of this flavor. Now, researchers have come up with a naturally derived wild strawberry aroma by having an edible fungus make it from waste from black currant juice production.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Primed to Lift the Haze Surrounding Sub-Neptunes

Portal origin URL: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Primed to Lift the Haze Surrounding Sub-NeptunesPortal origin nid: 475408Published: Wednesday, November 17, 2021 - 10:00Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: Detailed atmospheric studies will provide key insights into some of the most common – and mysterious – planets known in the galaxy.Portal...

Glass as stable as crystal: Homogeneity leads to stability

Researchers have obtained new insights into the process of crystallization in glasses that can lead to a loss of transparency and mechanical strength. The researchers are the first to relate the coordinated atomic dynamics that lead to "devitrification" with a physical mechanism. This research may lead to improvements in the long term stability of industrial glass.

Monarch Butterflies Return to California After Record Low

(PACIFIC GROVE, Calif.) — There is a ray of hope for the vanishing orange-and-black Western monarch butterflies. The number wintering along California’s central coast is bouncing back after the population, whose presence is often a good indicator of ecosystem health, reached an all-time low last year. Experts pin their decline on climate change, habitat destruction and lack of food...

Hubble Spies Newly Forming Star Incubating in IC 2631

Portal origin URL: Hubble Spies Newly Forming Star Incubating in IC 2631Portal origin nid: 475258Published: Wednesday, November 17, 2021 - 09:00Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: This Hubble infrared image captures a protostar designated J1672835.29-763111.64 in the reflection nebula IC 2631, part of the Chamaeleon star-forming region in the southern...

This new startup has built a record-breaking 256-qubit quantum computer

At long last, physicists from Harvard and MIT have found the killer application for quantum computing: a Mario Bros. GIF made from qubits. The qubits (quantum bits) can also be arranged in a Space Invaders design, or Tetris, or any other shape—your geometrical wish is the qubits’ command. The GIFs are from QuEra Computing, a Boston startup emerging from stealth, to show off the...

Why It Feels So Hard to Understand What Really Happened at COP26

The overarching narrative emerging from COP26 is complicated. The deal that emerged—the Glasgow Climate Pact—wasn’t universally celebrated, nor was it universally condemned. It won’t save the world, but it does move the needle. “We made real and vital progress,” Tina Stege, climate envoy for the Marshall Islands, told me just after countries agreed to the deal...