Birdwatching brings millions of dollars to Alaska
A committed and lucky birdwatcher in Alaska may see an elusive bluethroat north of the Brooks Range, catch a glimpse of the bold markings on a harlequin duck as it zips along an Interior river, encounter all four species of eider in Utqiaġvik, or take in the sounds of thousands of feeding shorebirds in the Copper River Delta.
Toads surprise scientists by climbing trees in UK woodlands
Volunteers surveying dormice and bats in trees have made the unexpected discovery of over fifty common toads in nest boxes and tree cavities at least 1.5 meters high
Scientists invent 'quantum flute' that can make particles of light move together
University of Chicago physicists have invented a "quantum flute" that, like the Pied Piper, can coerce particles of light to move together in a way that's never been seen before.
Team creates first ever VX neurotoxin detector
City College of New York associate professor of physics Ronald Koder and his team at the Koder Lab are advancing the field of molecular detection by developing the first proteins that can detect a deadly nerve agent called VX in real-time and without false positives from insecticides.
Fiber optic sensing detects tremor from Icelandic subglacial volcano
Researchers used a fiber optic cable on the ice cap of an Icelandic subglacial volcano to detect low-frequency volcanic tremor, suggesting this technology could be useful in monitoring other ice-covered volcano systems.
Upside-down design expands wide-spectrum super-camera abilities
By turning a traditional lab-based fabrication process upside down, researchers at Duke University have greatly expanded the abilities of light-manipulating metasurfaces while also making them much more robust against the elements.
Is this goat the GOAT? Long-eared kid takes Pakistan by storm
A kid goat with extraordinarily long ears has become something of a media star in Pakistan, with its owner claiming a world record that may or may not exist.
Indigenous Australian activists fight for ancient rock art
Two Indigenous Australian activists are fighting to save 40,000-year-old sacred rock art in Western Australia from pollution and plans for a major gas project.
Why does inside of solar system not spin faster? Old mystery has possible new solution
The motion of a tiny number of charged particles may solve a longstanding mystery about thin gas disks rotating around young stars, according to a new study from Caltech.
Biologists' fears confirmed on the lower Colorado River
For National Park Service fisheries biologist Jeff Arnold, it was a moment he'd been dreading. Bare-legged in sandals, he was pulling in a net in a shallow backwater of the lower Colorado River last week, when he spotted three young fish that didn't belong there. "Give me a call when you get this!" he messaged a colleague, snapping photos.
Contact restored with NASA spacecraft headed to lunar orbit
NASA said Wednesday that contact has been restored with its $32.7 million spacecraft headed to the moon to test out a lopsided lunar orbit.
Delaying grapes from ripening results in more flavorsome wine
Researchers from the University of Adelaide have crunched the data on the best methods to delay grapes ripening on the vine, leading to better-quality wine.
Citizen scientists from 200 years ago and today help shed light on climate change trends
Nearly 200 years ago, a system of academies across New York set out to collect data on the state's climates and seasons. Equipped with thermometers, rain gauges and instructions for data collection, the schools' principals and teachers—and even a few students—recorded temperature measurements and observations: when the robins were first seen, when the red maples bloomed, when the strawberries...
Frequency-domain STED microscopy for selective background noise suppression
Nanoscopy describes the ability to see beyond the generally accepted optical limit of 200–300 nm. Stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy, developed by Stefan W. Hell and Jan Wichmann in 1994, and experimentally demonstrated by Hell and Thomas Klar in 1999, is a super-resolution technique for nanoscopy. STED microscopy has made considerable progress and is widely used in practical...
Early stone tools were not rocket science
Archaeologically excavated stone tools—some as much as 2.6 million years old—have been hailed as evidence for an early cultural heritage in human evolution. But are these tools proof that our ancestors were already becoming human, both mentally and culturally?
Florida oysters found to have toxic 'forever chemicals'
Some say the world is your oyster, but the world—especially human impacts on the environment—can actually be found inside an oyster, according to a new study.
Novel quantum simulation method clarifies correlated properties of complex material 1T -TaS2
A team led by Philipp Werner, professor of physics at the University of Fribourg and leader of NCCR MARVEL's Phase 3 project Continued Support, Advanced Simulation Methods, has applied their advanced quantum simulation method to the investigation of the complex material 1T -TaS2. The research, recently published in Physical Review Letters, helped resolve a conflict between earlier experimental and...
Researchers implement logic gates using two-photon absorption in carrier reservoir semiconductor optical amplifiers
When an optical pulse train is delivered, two-photon absorption (TPA)-induced pumping causes considerable and quick gain and phase shifts in the carrier reservoir semiconductor optical amplifier (CR-SOA).
Imaging solves mystery of how large HIV protein functions to form infectious virus
Understanding how HIV replicates within cells is key for developing new therapies that could help nearly 40 million people living with HIV globally. Now, a team of scientists from the Salk Institute and Rutgers University have for the first time determined the molecular structure of HIV Pol, a protein that plays a key role in the late stages of HIV replication, or the process through which the...
Women-led businesses hit harder during height of COVID, study finds
Businesses led by women were hit harder by COVID-19 than those led by men, according to a new study.
Connecting the spots: First comprehensive review of national jaguar protection laws
Conservationists have conducted the first comprehensive review of national laws across the range of the jaguar (Panthera onca) to show opportunities for strengthening legal protections of the largest cat species found in the Americas.
A push to investigate health and education needs hidden within the term 'Asian American'
When Laura Zhang Choi testified to New Jersey legislators last month, she told them they needed better information about the state's fastest-growing population—Asian Americans.
Photorhabdus luminescens is a true all-rounder: Insect pathogenic bacterium also helps to combat fungal infestation
Future food shortages are expected to become exacerbated in many parts of the world. With this in view, sustainable biological techniques are being explored that could increase the yield of cereals and other food crops and which, unlike the use of chemical pesticides, are environmentally compatible. The bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens is already used as bioinsecticide to protect crops against a...
Rampant wildfires once led to global mass extinction, scientists say. Can it happen again?
A long time ago, the carbon was rock, buried in the earth as securely as a secret. Then an environmental catastrophe of unprecedented scale began. The rocks burned, and the atoms inside them disassembled into carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
New disease strikes Michigan trees. Arborists don't know how to treat it
A mysterious invasive disease has hit a stand of southeast Michigan trees, adding to a long list of threats faced by state forests.