154 articles from TUESDAY 7.6.2022
Scientists: global warming cannot be stopped without CO2 traps
Reducing the consumption of fossil fuels is not enough to prevent the world's average annual temperature from rising by two or more degrees above pre-industrial levels. Russian scientists at NUST MISIS are convinced that global climate change cannot be stopped without the development of technologies for removing carbon dioxide from the air. The results of their study are presented in Thermal...
Astronomers search for X-ray signposts of elusive continuous gravitational waves
In the last few years, astronomers have achieved an incredible milestone: the detection of gravitational waves, vanishingly weak ripples in the fabric of space and time emanating from some of the most cataclysmic events in the universe, including collisions between black holes and neutron stars. So far there have been over 90 gravitational-wave detections of such events, observable for only ~0.1...
Investigating electrons with a traditional scanning microscope
Physicists at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have designed a framework that allows scientists to observe interactions between light and electrons using a traditional scanning electron microscope. The procedure is considerably cheaper than the technology that has been used to date, and also enables a wider range of experiments. The researchers have published their...
World's first measurement of magnetic-field-dependent stimulated emission
In medical care, magnetic fields of heart and brain activity are measured to detect diseases at an early stage. To measure even the smallest magnetic fields, researchers at Fraunhofer IAF are working on a new approach: diamond-based laser threshold magnetometry. The idea is to use diamond with a high density of nitrogen-vacancy centers in a laser system. Now the researchers have succeeded in...
Building a better society with better AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the vast potential to offer innovations to improve every facet of society, from legacy engineering systems to healthcare to creative processes in arts and entertainment. In Hollywood, for example, studios are using AI to surface and measure bias in scripts—the very tools producers and writers need to create more equitable and inclusive media. However, AI is only...
A huge Atlantic ocean current is slowing down—if it collapses, La Niña could become the norm for Australia
Climate change is slowing down the conveyor belt of ocean currents that brings warm water from the tropics up to the North Atlantic. Our research, published today in Nature Climate Change, looks at the profound consequences to global climate if this Atlantic conveyor collapses entirely.
Algorithm simulates the intergalactic medium of the universe
The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) led the development of a new numerical procedure to reproduce the intergalactic medium obtained from a cosmological simulation of 100,000 hours of computation using big data and machine learning techniques. Thanks to this algorithm, called Hydro-BAM, researchers have been able to exploit the hierarchy in the relationship between the properties of...
Have girls been left behind during the pandemic?
A new study by universities including City, University of London shows that girls' mental health was affected more than boys by the COVID-19 pandemic and the wave of associated school and childcare closures.
VTT develops transparent cellulose film to replace traditional plastic in food packaging
Food packages fulfill their most important tasks when they protect food and minimize waste. Thin plastic films are nevertheless difficult to recycle, and they often end up in the wrong places after use.
Machine learning helps determine health of soybean fields
Using a combination of drones and machine learning techniques, researchers from The Ohio State University have recently developed a novel method for determining crop health and used it to create a new tool that may aid future farmers.
Lab earthquakes show how grains at fault boundaries lead to major quakes
By simulating earthquakes in a lab, Caltech engineers have provided strong experimental support for a form of earthquake propagation now thought responsible for the magnitude-9.0 earthquake that devastated the coast of Japan in 2011.
Allergy medication and bleach responsible for traces of designer drug found in South Australia's water catchments
A new study reporting small amounts of the designer drug methcathinone in South Australia's wastewater could have more do with allergy medication and laundry detergents than illegal drug taking.
Tracking weeds to stop them in their tracks
Not that long ago, weeds spread at a much slower rate. Seeds would spread to nearby soil and move perhaps a few feet each year or would be transplanted by birds who flew with them several miles away. In today's interconnected world, though, weeds can hitch a ride on a truck, boat, or even an airplane. What once might've taken generations to spread weeds from one region to another now takes no time...
It's the eye of the tiger (shark)! Animal-borne cameras reveal how tiger sharks spot and track prey
Animal borne cameras now give scientists unprecedented access into the visual world of animals, including the life and death struggles of hunters and their prey.
Trade can worsen income inequality, study finds
International trade exacerbates domestic income inequality, at least in some circumstances, according to an empirical study that two MIT economists helped co-author.
Aerogel integrated wood provides better insulation than existing plastic-based materials
One day soon, buildings could become more energy-efficient—and environmentally sustainable—with insulating material developed from wood by researchers in Sweden. The newly-developed material offers as good or even better thermal performance than ordinary plastic-based insulation materials, according to researchers reporting recently in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
Alerce tree in Chile may be the oldest in the world
Chilean environmental scientist Jonathan Barichivich has been making waves in the dendrochronology community of late due to his study and findings regarding an alerce tree in Alerce Costero National Park—he believes the tree may be the oldest in the world. Barichivich has not yet published a paper describing his study of the tree, which has been named Alerce Milenario, but plans to do so in the...
Long-standing systems for sustainable farming could feed people and the planet—if industry is willing to step back
Global food systems are at a breaking point. Not only are they responsible for roughly a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, they are also the top contributors to water pollution and biodiversity collapse.
School mental health resources critical to ensuring safe school environments
Whenever a mass shooting takes place in schools, public discussion often focuses on laws or policies that might have prevented the tragedy. But averting school violence needs more than gun policy. It requires both prevention and crisis response that take students' emotional well-being—not just their physical safety—into account.
Ice world: Antarctica's riskiest glacier is under assault from below and losing its grip
Flying over Antarctica, it's hard to see what all the fuss is about. Like a gigantic wedding cake, the frosting of snow on top of the world's largest ice sheet looks smooth and unblemished, beautiful and perfectly white. Little swirls of snow dunes cover the surface.
Triggering microscale self-assembly using light and heat
Self-assembly is the spontaneous organization of building blocks into structures or patterns from a disordered state. Everyday examples include the freezing of liquids or the crystallization of salts. These self-assembly processes also occur in many biological systems, such as the folding of proteins or the formation of DNA helixes, and there is increased interest in studying these self-assembly...
A long history of European geckos
Geckos lived in Europe as early as 47 million years ago, say paleontologists who have examined a nearly complete fossil gecko skull from central Germany. This previously unknown species was found in a former coalmining area—Geiseltal—and was described by a research team led by Dr. Andrea Villa of the Catalan Institute of Paleontology Miquel Crusafont in Barcelona and biogeologist Dr. Márton...
Cas12c provides antiviral immunity without the need to cut DNA
A trio of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that the protein Cas12c can provide antiviral immunity for bacteria without the need to cut DNA. In their paper published in the journal Molecular Cell, Carolyn Huang, Benjamin Adler and Jennifer Doudna report that Cas12c is site-specific and able to generate mature CRISPR RNAs from precursor transcripts.
Exotic tree plantations can disturb local wildlife, researchers find
Initiatives using non-native tree species can impact tropical insects in neighboring forests, according to an international study.