181 articles from THURSDAY 5.5.2022

Land-building marsh plants are champions of CO2 capture

It is well known that CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels underlie the havoc being wrought by climate change. Stemming further emissions through innovations in sustainable energy production is certainly part of the solution. However, slowing global warming also hinges upon our ability to capture and retain CO2 from the atmosphere. In a study published today in the journal Science, a team of...

Investigating glowing glass droplets on the ISS

Researchers will soon be studying materials samples on the ISS. The materials in question are super-hard and corrosion-resistant alloys of palladium, nickel, copper and phosphorus—also known as metallic glasses. A high-tech company from La Chaux-de-Fonds, which produces materials for the watch industry, is also involved.

NASA’s Swift Tracks Potential Magnetic Flip of Monster Black Hole

Portal origin URL: NASA’s Swift Tracks Potential Magnetic Flip of Monster Black HolePortal origin nid: 479293Published: Thursday, May 5, 2022 - 13:00Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: An unusual galactic outburst may have been sparked by a flip of the magnetic field surrounding its central black hole.Portal image: An orange and yellow accretion...

Tracking agricultural-related deforestation

The global trade in agricultural commodities provides food, fuel and fiber to consumers around the world. Commodity production, however, is also linked with negative environmental impacts, including the loss and degradation of forested land.

Mechanism 'splits' electron spins in magnetic material

Holding the right material at the right angle, Cornell researchers have discovered a strategy to switch the magnetization in thin layers of a ferromagnet—a technique that could eventually lead to the development of more energy-efficient magnetic memory devices.

Active brown adipose tissue protects against 'pre-prediabetes'

In a prospective study of young, lean adults, PET/CT imaging revealed that higher levels of active brown adipose tissue (also known as 'brown fat') are more prevalent in individuals who exhibit very early indications of metabolic disorders. The study suggests that active brown fat is recruited to counteract 'pre-prediabetic' states, potentially serving as a first-line protective mechanism against...

Newly proposed search strategies improve computational cost of the bicycle-sharing problem

Bicycle sharing is an attractive zero-carbon transportation option for a world that is being increasingly disrupted by climate change. But bikes need to be restored at bike ports every now and then. Calculating the optimal way to restore bicycles is time consuming and computationally expensive. Recently, researchers have built upon their previous optimization algorithm to propose two strategies to...

Small changes -- but essential! How peptides are recognized in receptors

The human body consists of trillions of cells that constantly communicate with each other. A central role in this communication process is played by receptor proteins on the cell surface. Since they often serve as drug targets, they have been the subject of intensive research. Often there are whole families of receptors. The signal messengers as well as the receptors are very similar to each...

Hubble reveals surviving companion star in aftermath of supernova

It's not unheard of to find a surviving star at the scene of a titanic supernova explosion, which would be expected to obliterate everything around it, but new research has provided a long-awaited clue to a specific type of stellar death. In some supernova cases, astronomers find no trace of the former star's outermost layer of hydrogen. What happened to the hydrogen? Suspicions that companion...

'Smart' diaper for bedside urine testing

Urine can reveal a lot about a person's health. But physicians don't currently have a convenient or fast way of tracking the concentration of important compounds in their patients' urine. Now, researchers have designed a flexible sensor that fits in a diaper, measures multiple components in urine and can share those results over Bluetooth to provide real-time bedside analyses for incontinent,...

Wearable, inexpensive robotic sleeve for lymphedema treatment

Researchers have developed a soft robotic sleeve controlled with a microfluidic chip that reduces cost, weight, and power consumption for treatment of lymphedema. The prototype is more portable than previous devices, and the underlying mechanisms can extend to other treatments, such as prosthetics. The microfluidic chip has 16 channels, each with a different resistance. The differing resistances...

Global bird populations steadily declining

Staggering declines in bird populations are taking place around the world. So concludes a study from scientists at multiple institutions. Loss and degradation of natural habitats and direct overexploitation of many species are cited as the key threats to avian biodiversity. Climate change is identified as an emerging driver of bird population declines.