Optical imaging and characterization of weakly scattering phase objects, such as isolated cells, bacteria and thin tissue sections frequently used in biological research and medical applications, have been of significant interest for decades. Due to their optical properties, when these 'phase objects' are illuminated with a light source, the amount of scattered light is usually much less than the...

Information in computers is transmitted through semiconductors by the movement of electrons and stored in the direction of the electron spin in magnetic materials. To shrink devices while improving their performance—a goal of an emerging field called spin-electronics ("spintronics")—researchers are searching for unique materials that combine both quantum properties. Writing in Nature...

An insightful cross-disciplinary team of University of Hawai'i (UH) at Mānoa researchers, working for over a decade, published a study recently revealing that a key number of hours of darkness during the lunar cycle triggers mature "Hawaiian box jellyfish" (Alatina alata) to swim to leeward O'ahu shores to spawn.

Mysterious fast radio bursts release as much energy in one second as the Sun pours out in a year and are among the most puzzling phenomena in the universe. Now researchers at Princeton University, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have simulated and proposed a cost-effective experiment to produce and...

Texas A&M University researchers Dr. Sam Noynaert and Fred Dupriest recently presented results from a geothermal project that drastically reduced well-completion times and drill bit changeouts to an audience of mostly petroleum drillers. The Department of Energy (DOE) funded the project, which improves geothermal drilling practices with physics-based instruction and oil and gas techniques to lower...

New research by a team of researchers at the NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Smart Materials Lab published today in the journal Nature Communications demonstrates that organic crystals, a new class of smart engineering materials, can serve as efficient and sustainable energy conversion materials for advanced technologies such as robotics and electronics.

Iraq's Lake Hamrin, a once-vast reservoir northeast of Baghdad that is the sole source of water for irrigation across Diyala province, has nearly dried out, a senior official said Friday.

Besides planting milkweed in the garden, people interested in helping monarch butterflies might want to turn off the porch light.

When it comes to attitudes and behaviors among members of American political parties, the conventional wisdom is that hate is stronger than love. 

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a phenomenon responsible for transporting ocean heat northward through the Atlantic Ocean. This process significantly influences the Arctic and North Atlantic oceanic climate and the Eurasian continental climate. The corresponding cross-equatorial northward heat transport also determines the location of the Intertropical Convergence Zone...

Researchers from the B.S.R.C. "Alexander Fleming" in Greece have optimized a method to characterize DNA traces in honey, revealing the species that honeybees interact with. This collaborative work led by researcher Dr. Solenn Patalano allowed the monitoring of the variability of bee diets across the year, revealing bee microbiota in a non-invasive way, as well as identifying pathogenic species...

Unlike fictional laser swords, real laser beams do not interact with each other when they cross—unless the beams meet within a suitable material allowing for nonlinear light-matter interaction. In such a case, wave mixing can give rise to beams with changed colors and directions.

Soil fauna, especially termites, are essential for sustainable forest ecosystems and significantly influence soil quality. The community composition and activity density of termites can influence nutrient cycling and other ecological functions.

Billionaire Elon Musk arrived in Brazil Friday, announcing a project to bring internet access to schools in the Amazon and improve satellite monitoring of the rainforest.

An Israeli city is testing whether an artificial intelligence programme that detects drowning threats can help save lives off its beaches.

Boeing's Starliner capsule was preparing to dock with the International Space Station Friday, in a high-stakes uncrewed test flight key to reviving the US aerospace giant's reputation after a series of failures.

In a stopgap measure to help struggling spring- and winter-run Chinook salmon spawn in the face of rising water temperatures and lower water levels due to climate change, state and federal wildlife officials in Northern California have begun trucking adult fish to cooler waters.

Hundreds of sick and dying California brown pelicans have recently been found across the Southern California region and are now being treated at various rescue centers along the coast, officials said.

In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, ESA, NASA and JAXA worked closely together to create an open-source platform, based on the Euro Data Cube, that used a wealth of data from Earth-observing satellites to document the worldwide changes happening to our society and the environment. Now, the COVID-19 Earth Observing Dashboard has been expanded to contain six new focus areas which offers a...

Once dubbed "forever chemicals," per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, might be in the market for a new nickname.

Wildlife trade is a multimillion dollar industry. While some animals are traded legally, in compliance with legislation that aims to protect populations, wildlife trafficking continues to thrive in many places, threatening precious species with extinction.

An international research collaboration has discovered how to exploit certain defects to protect confined energy in acoustics systems. Their experimental approach provides a versatile platform to create at-will defects for further theoretical validation and to improve control of waves in other systems, such as light, according to principal investigator Yun Jing, associate professor of acoustics...

Heatwaves are extreme climatic events that occur in the atmosphere and even the oceans. Recent research indicates that marine heatwaves (MHWs) will become more frequent and intense under global warming conditions.

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital are studying voltage-gated ion channels (VGICs). Their work revealed a previously unknown mechanism of inactivation for one such channel that plays an important role in how neurons and muscles respond to electric signals sent by the nervous system. A paper on the work appeared today in Molecular Cell.