157 articles from THURSDAY 26.5.2022
Researcher describes how extraterrestrial civilizations could colonize the galaxy even if they don't have starships
Astronomers have searched for extraterrestrial civilizations in planetary systems for sixty years, to no avail. In the paper published by International Journal of Astrobiology, Cambridge University Press, and titled "Migrating extraterrestrial civilizations and interstellar colonization: Implications for SETI and SETA," Irina K. Romanovskaya proposes that the search for extraterrestrial...
Where rivers jump course: First global compilation of river avulsions
Humans have always had a complex relationship with rivers, which both fostered and threatened civilizations throughout history. Just recall Osiris, the ancient Egyptian god of death and rebirth, who was inextricably linked with the annual flooding of the Nile.
Seattle democracy vouchers increase donations, number of candidates in city elections
Each odd-year election cycle since 2017, four $25 democracy vouchers have arrived in the mail for registered voters in Seattle.
New non-radioactive, neutral reagent reveals viruses in clear detail
Seeing is believing—or, for scientists, the beginning of understanding. Researchers can visualize atomically small details with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) by beaming electrons through the sample and capturing their interactions to form an image. But such tiny specimens can evade the electrons, so they need to be specially treated with heavy metals to ensure interactions. To see...
Bags or bins? When it comes to recycling, the answer is complicated
It seemed like a straightforward question to biology professor Paul Mensink: Are plastic bags that hold curbside recyclables better or worse for the environment than blue boxes?
Three chaperones coordinate the breakup of amyloid fibrils in yeast
In a finding that has important ramifications for neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, RIKEN researchers have discovered how three chaperone molecules in yeast cells work together to break up beta-sheet-rich fibrillar protein aggregates known as amyloid fibrils.
Gun violence: Experts discuss causes, trends, solutions
The recent string of mass shootings has once again captured the attention of the American public. The tragic shootings in an elementary school in Texas, a grocery store in New York, a church in California and locally in the streets of downtown Sacramento have many people wondering what can be done to prevent such tragedies.
How to tie-dye cotton with acorns and rust
Tie-dyeing is a fun activity that can spice up clothes with colorful patterns. Although kits are available in stores, nature provides dyes that can be extracted from items found in one's yard—for example, acorns and rust. In ACS's Journal of Chemical Education, researchers present a "green" process for tie-dyeing cotton with renewable resources and wastes that undergraduate students can easily...
Discovery offers starting point for better gene-editing tools
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/26 21:18
New research has big implications for genomic medicine. Scientists have defined with atomic precision a new genome editing tool that is less than half the size of CRISPR-Cas9 -- currently the most reliable genome editing system. This new tool would allow scientists to fit genetic editors into smaller viral delivery systems to fix a variety of diseases.
How to tie-dye cotton with acorns and rust
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/26 21:18
Tie-dyeing is a fun activity that can spice up clothes with colorful patterns. Although kits are available in stores, nature provides dyes that can be extracted from items found in one's yard -- for example, acorns and rust. Researchers now present a 'green' process for tie-dyeing cotton with renewable resources and wastes that undergraduate students can easily do under minimal supervision. The...
Egg-eating humans helped drive Australia’s ‘thunder bird’ to extinction
Scientists link eggshell remains to giant Genyornis newtoni
Models predict that planned phosphorus reductions will make Lake Erie more toxic
Reducing levels of the nutrient phosphorus to control harmful algal blooms in places like Lake Erie is actually advantageous to toxic cyanobacteria strains, which can lead to an increase in toxins in the water, according to a new modeling study.
Developing wet circuits for biology research
You don't have to be an engineer to know that water and electronics don't mix. But if you want to use a sensing circuit to study small-scale features in a community of cells, the electronics must find a way to accommodate the cell's aqueous environment. The circuit also cannot affect the cells in a way that invalidates the data.
New study maps financial ownership of over $1 trillion of the fossil fuel industry's projected 'stranded asset' loss
Driven by technological, societal and political change, renewable energy technologies are progressively replacing fossil fuels.
Discovery offers starting point for better gene-editing tools
CRISPR has ushered in the era of genomic medicine. A line of powerful tools has been developed from the popular CRISPR-Cas9 to cure genetic diseases. However, there is a last-mile problem—these tools need to be effectively delivered into every cell of the patient, and most Cas9s are too big to be fitted into popular genome therapy vectors, such as the adenovirus-associated virus (AAV).
Autonomous underwater imaging: Faster and more accurate
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/26 20:48
Recently conducted tests used new algorithms to outperform state-of-the-art programming for autonomous underwater sonar imaging, significantly improving the speed and accuracy for identifying objects such as explosive mines, sunken ships, airplane black boxes, pipelines and corrosion on ship hulls.
1 in 5 state GOP lawmakers in far-right Facebook groups, study says
Nearly 22% of Republican legislators in the country have joined at least one far-right Facebook group, with Missouri ranking among the top five, a watchdog organization found in a study released this month.
Why haven't we discovered co-orbital exoplanets? Tides may offer a possible answer
In our solar system, there are several thousand examples of co-orbital objects: bodies that share the same orbit around the sun or a planet. The Trojan asteroids are such an example. We have not yet observed any similar co-orbitals in extrasolar systems, despite discovering more than 5,000 exoplanets. In a new study published in Icarus by Anthony Dobrovolskis, SETI Institute, and Jack Lissauer,...
Finding coherence in quantum chaos
A theoretical breakthrough in understanding quantum chaos could open new paths into researching quantum information and quantum computing, many-body physics, black holes, and the still-elusive quantum to classical transition.
Forest Service ban on prescribed fires stalls work to protect Colorado residents, water supplies
The federal suspension of prescribed burns pending a review of how recent fires lit during extreme drought escaped boundaries is reverberating in the West—and complicating Colorado efforts to revive ailing forests and reduce the severity of wildfires.
Scientists send glider drone into Gulf of Alaska to learn more about ocean's CO2 levels
Designed to dive 1,000 metres and roam remote parts of the ocean, an autonomous vehicle was deployed in the Gulf of Alaska this spring to provide a deeper understanding of the ocean's chemistry in the era of climate...
Smart, dissolving pacemaker communicates with body-area sensor and control network
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/26 20:15
Engineers have taken their transient pacemaker and integrated it into a coordinated network of four soft, flexible, wireless wearable sensors and control units placed on different anatomically relevant locations on the body. The sensors communicate with each other to continuously monitor the body's various physiological functions, including body temperature, oxygen levels, respiration, muscle...
New type of extremely reactive substance in the atmosphere
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/26 20:15
An entirely new class of super-reactive chemical compounds has been discovered under atmospheric conditions. Researchers have documented the formation of so-called trioxides -- an extremely oxidizing chemical compound that likely affects both human health and our global climate.
'Fuel of evolution' more abundant than previously thought in wild animals
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/26 20:15
The raw material for evolution is much more abundant in wild animals than we previously believed, according to new research.
A synthetic antibiotic may help turn the tide against drug-resistant pathogens
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/26 20:15
A synthesized antibiotic derived from computer models of bacterial gene products appears to neutralize even drug-resistant bacteria. The compound, named cilagicin, works well in mice and employs a novel mechanism to attack MRSA, C. diff, and several other deadly pathogens.
Scientists shine new light on role of Earth's orbit in the fate of ancient ice sheets
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/26 20:15
Scientists have finally put to bed a long-standing question over the role of Earth's orbit in driving global ice age cycles.
Delta water crisis linked to California's racist past, tribes and activists say
Tribes and environmental groups are challenging how the state manages water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a major source for much of California, arguing the deterioration of the aquatic ecosystem has links to the state's troubled legacy of racism and oppression of Native people.
EPA proposes Bristol Bay protections in potential blow to Pebble Mine development
The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed protections for some Bristol Bay drainages, a move that—if finalized—would effectively block attempts to develop an open pit mine to extract gold, copper, silver and molybdenum in a Southwest Alaska region that sustains the world's biggest sockeye salmon runs.
New type of extremely reactive substance discovered in the atmosphere
For the first time, an entirely new class of super-reactive chemical compounds has been discovered under atmospheric conditions. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen, in close collaboration with international colleagues, have documented the formation of so-called trioxides—an extremely oxidizing chemical compound that likely affects both human health and our global climate.
More reptile species may be at risk of extinction than previously thought
The iconic Red List of Threatened Species, published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), identifies species at risk of extinction. A study in PLOS Biology publishing May 26 by Gabriel Henrique de Oliveira Caetano at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, and colleagues presents a novel machine learning tool for assessing extinction risk, and then uses this tool to...
The 'fuel of evolution' is more abundant than previously thought in wild animals
Darwinian evolution is the process by which natural selection promotes genetic changes in traits that favor survival and reproduction of individuals. How fast evolution happens depends crucially on the abundance of its "fuel": how much genetic difference there is in the ability to survive and reproduce. New research by an international research team with participation of the Leibniz Institute for...
People must be 'heart' of climate action, researchers say
Tackling the climate crisis can only be achieved by "placing people at the heart of climate action," researchers say. The research team, led by the University of Exeter, warn against relying solely on breakthroughs in climate science and technology. Instead, they say social science can help engage people and societies, and ensure a green transition that is both effective and promotes other goals...
Scientists shine new light on role of Earth's orbit in the fate of ancient ice sheets
In a new study published today in the journal Science, the team from Cardiff University has been able to pinpoint exactly how the tilting and wobbling of the Earth as it orbits around the Sun has influenced the melting of ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere over the past 2 million years or so.
Molecular profiling identifies new high-risk subtype of pediatric liver cancer
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/26 19:53
The characterization a new molecular type of high-risk pediatric liver cancer showed that these tumors had better outcomes when patients were treated by transplantation, rather than by chemotherapy and surgery alone.
Finding coherence in quantum chaos
- ScienceDaily
- 22/5/26 19:53
A theoretical breakthrough in understanding quantum chaos could open new paths into researching quantum information and quantum computing, many-body physics, black holes, and the still-elusive quantum to classical transition.
Developing a one-stop shop for diamond-based quantum sensing materials
The brilliant blue of the Hope Diamond is caused by small impurities in its crystal structure. Similar diamond impurities are also giving hope to scientists looking to create materials that can be used for quantum computing and quantum sensing.
Fishing for a new source of proteoglycans, an important health food ingredient
Aggrecan, a major component of proteoglycan (PG) having chondroitin sulfate (CS) in cartilaginous tissues, has become increasingly popular as an ingredient in health food. In fact, proteoglycans from salmon nasal cartilage demonstrate biological properties such as antiaging, inhibition of angiogenesis, and attenuation of inflammatory responses. Commercially available chondroitin sulfate...
Judges found to reduce sentencing when presented with full social and financial cost of incarceration
In the U.S., the direct monetary cost of incarcerating a single inmate averages $33,000 per year, according to the Vera Institute of Justice. But that number doesn't include collateral consequences, like financial strain on the offender's family, difficulty offenders have in finding employment after release and the increased likelihood they will offend again once released.
Identifying the top 100 global water management questions for the coming decade
Recent intense heatwaves in India and widespread US droughts have highlighted the need for a global approach to tackling chronic water shortages.