189 articles from TUESDAY 14.6.2022
How plants' threat-detection mechanisms raise the alarm
New work led by Carnegie's Zhiyong Wang untangles a complex cellular signaling process that underpins plants' ability to balance expending energy on growth and defending themselves from pathogens. These findings, published in Nature Plants, show how plants use complex cellular circuits to process information and respond to threats and environmental conditions.
SN 2020wnt is a slowly evolving carbon-rich superluminous supernova, study finds
An international team of astronomers has inspected an unusual superluminous supernova known as SN 2020wnt. Results of the study suggest that this supernova is slowly evolving and carbon-rich. The finding was detailed in a paper published June 3 on the arXiv pre-print server.
NASA Telescope to Help Untangle Galaxy Growth, Dark Matter Makeup
Portal origin URL: NASA Telescope to Help Untangle Galaxy Growth, Dark Matter MakeupPortal origin nid: 480562Published: Tuesday, June 14, 2022 - 09:00Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will study wispy streams of stars that extend far beyond the edges of many galaxies. Astronomers will use these observations to...
Study shows program improves teaching skills, students' word problem–solving
Students learning to solve math word problems can struggle to combine mathematical and language skills. For English language learners, the fastest-growing minority in U.S. schools, that challenge can be even greater as they attempt to learn math concepts in a second language. Published in the Journal of Learning Disabilities, a new study from the University of Kansas has found that a professional...
Climate-associated genetic switches found in plants
Genetic variants that can act as switches directing structural changes in the RNA molecules that code for proteins in plants have been experimentally validated in plants for the first time. The changes to RNA structure can affect the molecule's stability, how it interacts with other molecules, and how efficiently it can be translated into protein—all of which can impact its function and the...
'Protective cloak' prevents plants from self-harming in very bright conditions
New work led by Carnegie's Petra Redekop, Emanuel Sanz-Luque, and Arthur Grossman probes the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which plants protect themselves from self-harm. Their findings, published by Science Advances, improve our understanding of one of the most-important biochemical processes on Earth.
New book examines the forfeit fathers pay for balancing family and full-time work
The "forfeits" facing fathers who want to balance their careers with a more equitable share of family care is the focus of a new book by a renowned expert in human resources.
Atmospheric samples covering pollution particles analyzed using neutrons for the first time
A new approach to studying the behavior of surface films covering particles taken directly from the atmosphere has been developed by scientists at Royal Holloway, University of London, and the University of Birmingham, along with colleagues at Uppsala University, British Antarctic Survey and the Science and Technology Facilities Council's Central Laser Facility and ISIS Neutron and Muon Source,...
Evidence of fire use at ancient campsite in Israel
A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in Israel and one in Canada has found evidence of fire use by early hominins (during the Lower Paleolithic) at an ancient camp site in Israel. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes using an AI application to test for flint tool exposure to temperatures associated with fire.
Hanging out with bats to discover the secrets of their biology
By turns admired and reviled, bats are one of the most mysterious mammals alive. Their nocturnal habits and unique adaptations mean that bat biology still holds many secrets. It is possible that bats may hold the key to understanding diabetes.
The Download: Sensory cities and carbon trapping-crops
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Why sounds and smells are as vital to cities as the sights When David Howes thinks of his home city of Montreal, he thinks of the harmonious tones of carillon bells and the…
Food giants reap enormous profits during times of crisis
A recent report by Oxfam International has found that 62 new "food billionaires" were created during the pandemic. The report, released ahead of this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, highlights the record profits made by industry titans.
Why freemium software has no place in our classrooms
Digital teaching and communication tools are increasingly present in kindergarten to Grade 12 classrooms. By April 2020, not long after the onset of the pandemic, Google Classroom had doubled its users to more than 100 million.
Alignment of quantized levels in valleytronic materials
National University of Singapore researchers have predicted that Landau levels belonging to different valleys in a two-dimensional (2D) valleytronic material, monolayer tungsten diselenide (WSe2), can be aligned at a critical magnetic field.
Heatwaves kill animals, but new research shows the survivors don't get off scot-free
Extreme heat waves can cause birds and mammals to die en masse. But it's more common for an animal to experience relatively mild heat stress that doesn't kill it. Our new findings suggest that unfortunately, these individuals can suffer long-term health damage.
These scientists want to capture more carbon with CRISPR crops
Plants are the original carbon capture factories—and a new research program aims to make them better ones by using gene editing.
The Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI), a research group in Berkeley, California, founded by CRISPR co-inventor Jennifer Doudna, has announced a new program to use the revolutionary gene-editing tool on plants to boost their aptitude for carbon storage. The initial...
New, highly tunable composite materials—with a twist
Watch for the patterns created as the circles move across each other. Those patterns, created by two sets of lines offset from each other, are called moiré (pronounced mwar-AY) effects. As optical illusions, moiré patterns create neat simulations of movement. But at the atomic scale, when one sheet of atoms arranged in a lattice is slightly offset from another sheet, these moiré patterns can...
Why sounds and smells are as vital to cities as the sights
When David Howes thinks of his home city of Montreal, he thinks of the harmonious tones of carillon bells and the smell of bagels being cooked over wood fires. But when he stopped in at his local tourism office to ask where they recommend that visitors go to smell, taste, and listen to the city, he just received blank stares.
“They only know about things to see, not about the city’s other...
15 dead, half million impacted by heavy rains in Guatemala
At least 15 people have died in a dozen mudslides caused by heavy rains that have fallen since early May in Guatemala, where more than 500,000 people have been affected, officials said Monday.
Polluted air cuts global life expectancy by two years
Microscopic air pollution caused mostly by burning fossil fuels shortens lives worldwide by more than two years, researchers reported Tuesday.
SpaceX closer to launching giant rocketship after FAA review
SpaceX cleared a key hurdle Monday for its plan to launch a gigantic, futuristic rocketship into orbit from Texas.
Fluorescence microscopy shows how living cells form vesicles to transport cargo like growth factors
Cells have a clever way to transport cargos like growth factors across the cell membrane and into the cell. It is called clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Molecules of the protein clathrin gather on the inside of the cell membrane, and they deform the membrane to make what looks like a pit as seen from the outside.
Installation of deep-water pipeline gives immediate boost to sea-floor animals
An underwater survey west of Africa, off the Angolan coast, found that both the abundance and types of animals on the deep-sea floor increased significantly in response to the installation of a pipeline. Published in Frontiers in Marine Science, the study also revealed a large increase in the amount of litter on the seafloor, which was trapped against the pipeline.