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36 articles from ScienceDaily
New theory promises to reshape how we think about polymer superstructures
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 22:36
Polymer scientists recently announced that they have solved a longstanding mystery surrounding a nanoscale structure, formed by collections of molecules, called a double-gyroid. This shape is one of the most desirable for materials scientists, and has a wide range of applications; but, until now, a predictable understanding of how these shapes form has eluded researchers.
Shaping the future of light through reconfigurable metasurfaces
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 21:15
Harnessing the power of 'phase-change' materials, researchers have demonstrated how reconfigurable metasurfaces -- artificial materials with extraordinary optical properties -- are crucial to the future of nanotechnology.
Stimulating brain circuits promotes neuron growth in adulthood, improving cognition and mood
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 21:02
Targeting specific brain cells modulated memory retrieval and altered anxiety-like behaviors in mice. Essentially, scientists boosted the electrical activity between cells in the hypothalamus and the hippocampus to create new neurons -- an important process called neurogenesis.
Scientists provide more than 50K camera trap images for massive study on Amazon wildlife
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 21:02
Scientists working in the vast Amazon Basin have contributed more than 57,000 camera trap images for a new study.
Boost in nerve-growth protein helps explain why running supports brain health
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 19:50
Exercise increases levels of a chemical involved in brain cell growth, which bolsters the release of the 'feel good' hormone dopamine, a new study shows. Dopamine is known to play a key role in movement, motivation, and learning. Experts have long understood that regular running raises dopamine activity in the brain and may protect nerve cells from damage. In addition, past research has tied...
Assessing the impact of loss mechanisms in solar cell candidate
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 18:40
The superconductor antimony sulfide selenide is a potential candidate for solar materials, but this depends on understanding how to boost its efficiency.
Studying the pseudogap in superconducting cuprate materials
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 18:40
Despite being vital to the study of superconductivity in cuprate materials the physical origins of the pseudogap remain a mystery.
The way of water: Making advanced electronics with H2O
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 18:40
The market for expensive fabrication methods in electronics manufacturing could soon dry up after a high-performance material was created via solution processing.
New micro device injects a boost to IVF success
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 18:40
A research team has delivered a ground-breaking new micro-device to streamline the only fertility treatment procedure available for men with low sperm counts.
Policymakers underestimate methane's climate and air quality impacts
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 18:40
Methane emissions have been increasing rapidly in recent years, contributing significantly to global warming. Despite this, methane is not adequately treated within existing national and international governance frameworks. Researchers now highlight the urgent need for action in a new study.
Seeing molecules inside a nanometer-sized 'sardine can'
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 18:40
Researchers have successfully developed a new technique allowing them to observe gas molecules packing into metal-organic frameworks (MOF) using infrared spectroscopy. Their innovation was to measure polarized light absorption of guest molecules in a MOF film to deduce molecule alignment using this common piece of lab equipment. This method is the first to show guest alignment and does so in...
Electronic skin: Physicist develops multisensory hybrid material
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 18:40
Recently developed 'smart skin' is very similar to human skin. It senses pressure, humidity and temperature simultaneously and produces electronic signals. More sensitive robots or more intelligent prostheses are thus conceivable.
Heavy metal pollution can increase antibiotic resistance in rivers
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 18:40
Scientists have shown that elevated heavy metal levels in rivers can lead to higher levels of antibiotic resistance.
The European drought event from 2018 to 2020 was the most intense in over 250 years
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 18:40
These were days, months and years that many will come to remember: the drought from 2018 to 2020. An international team of researchers has succeeded in categorizing the historical dimensions of this event. Based on their findings, no drought covering such a large area for an extended period and coinciding with warmer temperature has occurred in Europe since the middle of the 18th century. The...
Study provides long-term look at ways to control wildfire in sagebrush steppe ecosystem
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 18:40
New research provides the first long-term study of methods to control the spread of wildfire in the sagebrush steppe ecosystem that dominates parts of the western United States.
Rare genetic variants not the major contributing factors to common diseases, study finds
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 18:40
Although some rare genetic variants can increase the risk of disease markedly for a few individuals, the genetic contribution to common diseases is mostly due to a combination of many common genetic variants with small effects, according to a new study.
Deaths from alcohol use disorder surged during pandemic, study finds
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 18:40
Deaths involving alcohol use disorder increased dramatically during the pandemic, according to a new study. The study also found that young adults 25 to 44 years old experienced the steepest upward trend in alcohol use disorder mortality.
Perception-based nanosensor platform could advance detection of ovarian cancer
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 18:39
Ovarian cancer kills 14,000 women in the United States every year. It's the fifth leading cause of cancer death among women, and it's so deadly, in part, because the disease is hard to catch in its early stages. Patients often don't experience symptoms until the cancer has begun to spread, and there aren't any reliable screening tests for early detection.
Amazon deforestation threatens newly discovered fish species in Brazil
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 18:39
Researchers have discovered and described two new species of Amazonian fish -- one with striking red-orange fins and the other so small it is technically considered a miniature fish species. Both species inhabit waters located at the bleeding edge of human encroachment into the Amazon rainforest roughly 25 miles north of the Brazilian city of Apuí. The study's authors said that ongoing...
CRISPR now possible in cockroaches
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 18:39
Researchers have developed a CRISPR-Cas9 approach to enable gene editing in cockroaches, according to a new study. The simple and efficient technique, named 'direct parental' CRISPR (DIPA-CRISPR), involves the injection of materials into female adults where eggs are developing rather than into the embryos themselves.
From degrowth to a sustainable food system transformation
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 18:39
Proponents of degrowth have long argued that economic growth is detrimental to the environment. Now, scientists show that concerning the food sector, curbing growth alone would not make our food system sustainable -- but changing what we eat and putting a price on carbon would.
Ethical challenges in microbiome research
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 18:39
A human rights activist and a group of anthropologists and human biologists are casting a critical lens on the way that microbiome research is conducted with Indigenous peoples.
Precursor of spine and brain forms passively
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 18:39
Researchers have conducted a detailed study of neurulation -- how the neural tube forms during embryonic development. They conclude that this happens less actively than previously thought. This also has implications for understanding defects such as spina bifida.
Chinese penduline tit buries eggs to prevent them from blowin' in the wind
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 18:38
Many animal species bury their eggs, for a number of different reasons. While it is firmly established that Eurasian penduline tits bury them because of sexual conflict, their Chinese counterparts seem to have an entirely different reason. Experimental manipulations show that for these birds burial prevents the eggs from falling out of the nest in strong winds.
New approach allows for faster ransomware detection
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/16 16:46
Engineering researchers have developed a new approach for implementing ransomware detection techniques, allowing them to detect a broad range of ransomware far more quickly than previous systems.