181 articles from WEDNESDAY 12.1.2022
Measuring medicine use in livestock supports the fight against antimicrobial resistance
Measuring how much antimicrobial medication is given to food animals is key to understanding how to slow antimicrobial resistance, when dangerous microbes get so used to antimicrobials that they evolve stronger defenses against them. However, measuring the actual antimicrobial use in animals on a large scale is still a logistical challenge. Because data on antimicrobial sales for use in food...
'We conclude' or 'I believe?' Study finds rationality declined decades ago
Scientists from Wageningen University and Research (WUR) and Indiana University have discovered that the increasing irrelevance of factual truth in public discourse is part of a groundswell trend that started decades ago.
Scientists spot the world's deepest squid roaming more than 6 km below surface
While searching for a shipwreck in the Phillippine Sea, explorers captured footage of a young squid roaming deeper in the ocean than ever before...
Cracks in foundation led to wind turbine's collapse, 49 others also at risk
An investigation into what caused the collapse of a wind turbine at New Brunswick's largest wind farm has revealed serious structural issues that not only affect the turbine that fell, but dozens of others in the area as...
Bones of whale extinct for 300 years that were once stored in North Carolina couple's garage are headed for Smithsonian
A couple walking on a North Carolina beach made a rare discovery that could help researchers solve mysteries from long ago.
Widespread megaripple activity found on Martian north pole area
Megaripples, intermediate-scale bedforms caused by the action of the wind, have been studied extensively and thought to be largely inactive relics of past climates, save for a few exceptions. A new paper by Planetary Science Institute Research Scientist Matthew Chojnacki shows that abundant megaripple populations were identified across the north polar region of Mars and were found to be migrating...
Removing brain cells linked to wakefulness and addiction may lessen symptoms of opioid withdrawal
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/12 21:49
A study in mice shows that removing chemical messengers in the brain that are involved in both wakefulness and addiction may make withdrawal from opioids easier and help prevent relapse.
New study shows the toll industrial farming takes on bird diversity
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/12 21:49
A new study looking into the impacts that large industrial farming has on biodiversity found that increased farm size causes a decline in bird diversity. Researchers studied how different farming indicators impact the diversity of local birds in the farmland bordering the former Iron Curtain in Germany. They found that increased farm sizes resulted in a 15 per cent decline in bird diversity.
Machine learning for morphable materials
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/12 21:49
Flat materials that can morph into three-dimensional shapes have potential applications in architecture, medicine, robotics, space travel, and much more. But programming these shape changes requires complex and time-consuming computations. Now, researchers have developed a platform that uses machine learning to program the transformation of 2D stretchable surfaces into specific 3D shapes.
New study shows the toll industrial farming takes on bird diversity
A new University of British Columbia (UBC)-led study looking into the impacts that large industrial farming has on biodiversity found that increased farm size causes a decline in bird diversity.
Bioinspired veins provide structure, transport fluids in foamed polymers
Many lessons learned in life are learned from trees. Stand firm. Good things take time. Bend, don't break. But metaphors aside, our stately arboreal neighbors offer a wealth of scientific wisdom—and we have a lot to learn.
North Pole solar eclipse excited auroras on the other side of the world
A solar eclipse over the Arctic created changes in auroras in both of Earth's hemispheres due to connections through the planet's magnetic field, according to a new study. The new work could help scientists predict changes in the near-Earth environment that can interfere with satellite communication.
Study finds neighborhood environment is a key to injury recovery for Black men
Black men are disproportionately impacted by injuries in the United States. This disparity is glaring given that injury is one of the top ten causes of death. Data show that injured Black men from disadvantaged neighborhoods experience higher injury mortality, years of life-expectancy loss, and psychological symptoms that persist after initial wounds have been treated.
U.S. may have been responsible for almost half of recent past illegal tiger trade
The United States has probably played a major and previously underestimated role in the trafficking of tiger parts, according to a new study. The research points to San Francisco, Dallas, and Atlanta as the main entry hotspots for these illegal products.
Cosmic 'spider' found to be source of powerful gamma-rays
Using the 4.1-meter SOAR Telescope in Chile, astronomers have discovered the first example of a binary system where a star in the process of becoming a white dwarf is orbiting a neutron star that has just finished turning into a rapidly spinning pulsar. The pair, originally detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, is a "missing link" in the evolution of such binary systems.
New treatment target identified for radiation-resistant cervical cancer
Understanding how cells die is key to developing new treatments for many diseases, whether the goal is to make cancer cells die or keep healthy cells alive in the face of other illnesses, such as massive infections or strokes. Two new studies from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a previously unrecognized pathway of cell death—named lysoptosis—and...
Exploring oxygen ions in Jupiter's innermost radiation belts
Planets like Earth, Jupiter and Saturn, with global magnetic fields of their own, are surrounded by so-called radiation belts: Trapped in the magnetic field, fast moving charged particles such as electrons, protons, and heavier ions whiz aroun, thus forming the invisible, torus-shaped radiation belts. With their high velocities reaching almost the speed of light, the particles can ionize other...
The 'Platypus' of the crab world was an active predator that lurked the Cretaceous seas
Eyes are crucial players in the evolution of organisms. They allow an animal to find food, a mate, potential prey, to avoid predators and aid in regulating the internal clock by differentiating day from night. Eyes are also delicate features that tend to be not well preserved in fossil crustaceans.
The ‘Platypus’ of the crab world was an active predator that lurked the Cretaceous seas
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/12 20:51
Researchers describe the unusually large optical features of Callichimaera perplexa, a 95-million-year-old crab fossil discovered in Colombia. The findings suggest Callichimaera perplexa was a highly visual, swimming predator.
For sustainable sulfur-tolerant catalysts, alloy the precious metals with phosphorus
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/12 20:51
Researchers demonstrated that phosphorus-alloying significantly increases the activity of precious metal nanoparticles for the deoxygenation of sulfoxides into sulfides. In particular, ruthenium phosphide nanoparticles exhibit excellent catalytic activity and high durability against sulfur-poisoning, outperforming conventional catalysts.
'Hand in hand in hand': Three catalysts solve chemical problem
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/12 20:51
Chemists have solved a problem in the field of organic synthesis that had been considered a challenge for years. To do so, they employed what is known as ternary catalysis.
Listening to the leaves: Adding bioinspired veins to foamed polymers
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/12 20:51
Vascular systems found in trees transport vital nutrients from root, to branch, to leaf. In a new study, researchers have developed a chemical process to mimic this arboreal architecture in foamed polymers, enabling directional fluid transport and adding structure throughout the material.
Under a moon spell: Shark attacks related to lunar phases
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/12 20:51
New research suggests that more shark attacks occur during fuller phases of the moon. While the exact cause remains unclear, the researchers found that more shark attacks than average occur during periods of higher lunar illumination and fewer attacks than average occur during periods of lower illumination. Many different types of animals show behaviors that are linked to moon phases yet few...
Dairy calves are social animals
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/12 20:51
Most dairy calves are housed individually in the first weeks and sometimes months of their lives, a practice that has come under scrutiny for its effects on animal behavior, welfare, and health. Despite growing scientific and public support for social housing, approximately 75% and 60% of preweaning dairy calves in the United States and Europe, respectively, are still housed individually. A new...