From dry to deluge, how heavy snow, rain flooded Yellowstone
Just three months ago, the Yellowstone region like most of the West was dragging through an extended drought with little snow in the mountains and wildfire scars in Red Lodge from a year ago when the area was hit by 105-degree Fahrenheit (40.5 Celsius) heat and fire.
Electrons take the fast and slow lanes at the same time
Imagine a road with two lanes in each direction. One lane is for slow cars, and the other is for fast ones. For electrons moving along a quantum wire, researchers in Cambridge and Frankfurt have discovered that there are also two "lanes," but electrons can take both at the same time!
Scientists serendipitously discover rare cluster compound
Scientists at Kyoto University's Institute for Cell-Material Sciences have discovered a novel cluster compound that could prove useful as a catalyst. Compounds, called polyoxometalates, that contain a large metal-oxide cluster carry a negative charge. They are found everywhere, from anti-viral medicines to rechargeable batteries and flash memory devices.
Researchers explore new method for glacial melt reduction
Glaciers are experiencing fast and significant changes under global warming. Glacier shrinkage significantly impacts global sea level, regional water cycles, ecosystems, and natural hazards.
As staghorn coral declines along Florida coast, planting project tests restoration plan
Just 150 fragments of staghorn coral planted off Florida's shore might give new hope to the state's endangered reefs.
Calling all snake hunters—Florida opens registration for this year's Python Challenge
Have you ever wanted to become a snake hunter in the Florida Everglades? Now's your chance.
Gun violence policy is focusing on mental health but Federal records still lack some states
Federal officials say the FBI's database of people prohibited from purchasing firearms only works if it has "complete, accurate and timely information."
Low-income renters can't afford rent in nearly 45% of America's largest metro areas
Metro areas in the United States have become increasingly unaffordable to residents, especially Black and Latino Americans, finds a new report from the USC Dornsife Equity Research Institute (ERI), published by the National Equity Atlas.
New proton capture reaction rate of copper-57 changes nucleosynthesis paths in Type-I X-ray burst
An international research team has recently developed a new proton capture reaction rate of copper-57 for the extreme astrophysical environment at the surface of neutron stars. The researchers found that the new reaction rate changes some of the most critical nucleosynthesis paths in Type-I X-ray bursts.
Examining the impact of herbicide-resistant crops on weed management
Herbicide-resistant crops are now commonplace in the U.S. and Canada. With proper stewardship, these same crop-trait technologies can also play a key role in integrated weed management—reducing the intensity of herbicide use and the selection pressure on weed populations. But does this weed management potential match the reality in the field?
How keeping trees when clearing pastures could reduce climate consequences
Land use change, like cutting down a forest to make way for agriculture, can be a major contributor to climate change by releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire studied a practice known as silvopasture which intentionally preserves trees in pastures where livestock graze. They found that compared to a completely cleared, tree-less, open...
How stock market inefficiencies can affect the real economy
Mutual fund investors are known to be vulnerable to fluctuating market conditions. What is less well understood is how corporate managers are affected by waves of investor optimism. A researcher has published a study in the journal Financial Innovation, where he argues that corporate managers and investors are jointly caught up in market euphoria. Using a long time series of aggregate flows in and...
Study shows mangrove and reef restoration yield positive returns on investment for flood protection
A new analysis demonstrates that restoration of mangroves and coral reefs can be a cost-effective solution for coastal flood reduction in more than 20 countries across the Caribbean.
How holographic interferometry could influence the future
Holographic interferometry is the technique of measuring stress, strain, and vibration with light. It is defined by the wavelength of light, finding flaws in structural bonds. It makes full use of a hologram's ability to reproduce the optical field reflected or transmitted by an object.
New, fully biodegradable cellulose membrane proves effective in oil-water separation
Oil spills and industrial pollution pose a huge threat to the ecological environment. Concerns over safety have seen an increased focus on improving the filtration of oily wastewater; for example, during the treatment of sewage. Membrane separation technology offers a promising and efficient option for treating that wastewater, particularly with its low energy consumption. However, it remains a...
Controlled synthesis of crystal flakes paves path for advanced future electronics
The third dimension may be responsible for preventing electronics from becoming thinner, tinier and more flexible, according to an international collaboration that developed a way to manufacture new, idealized two-dimensional semiconductor materials. They published their approach on June 3 in Nano Research.
Researchers use fluorine-doping method to construct catalysts with enhanced performance
As industry has developed over the past century, excess carbon dioxide emission had led to climate problems and greenhouse effects. Scientists are constantly working toward solutions for the problems of greenhouse gases, which are warming the earth's surface and the lower parts of the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is the most prevalent of the greenhouse gases.
Electrically conductive paints and other polymer alloys now produced easily
Medical devices, cars, and many advanced technologies contain innumerable delicate components that are held together by electrically conductive polymers, such as polyaniline. For several decades, synthesis of polyaniline for industrial electronics applications has faced a major limitation: what solvent best facilitates synthesis? This abstract question is important for minimizing the cost and...
Tackling air quality and COVID-19 in the classroom
As the days get colder, teachers not only face the usual seasonal battle of keeping classrooms at a comfortable temperature but also trying to reduce the COVID-19 virus count in the environment. How to reduce virus spread is important knowledge for teachers—just as it was a century ago when the 1918 flu pandemic hit.
US prison labor programs violate fundamental human rights, new report finds
Incarcerated workers generate billions of dollars worth of goods and services annually but are paid pennies per hour without proper training or opportunity to build skills for careers after release, according to a comprehensive nationwide report released by the University of Chicago Law School's Global Human Rights Clinic and the American Civil Liberties Union
Most major US cities are underprepared for rising temperatures
This month, Denver, Las Vegas and Phoenix all posted record high temperatures. And across the nation, Americans are ramping up for a scorching summer. Yet despite more frequent and intense heat waves on the horizon, cities are underprepared to deal with the challenge, according to a UCLA-led research team.
Potency of staph-fighting antibiotic blunted by blood serum
Staph infections pose lethal threats in hospitals, where the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium can be transferred from the skin or nasal passages into open wounds and, potentially, the bloodstream. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that staph infections killed nearly 20,000 Americans in 2017 alone. Antibiotic-resistant strains of S. aureus, including the notorious MRSA, present...
Economic and psychosocial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the nations of the GCC
A study in the Global Business and Economics Review looks at the economic and psychosocial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the nations of the GCC (the Gulf Cooperation Council).
Biogas and biomethane supply chains leak twice as much methane as first thought
A new Imperial analysis has found that biogas and biomethane, while more climate friendly, leak more than twice as much methane as previously thought.
Formation and evolution of massive binaries may share the same mechanism in Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies
A research team led by Prof. Qian Shengbang and Ph.D. student Li Fuxing from the Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has found that the formation and evolution of the massive binaries in the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy (M31) may share the same mechanism.