128 articles from TUESDAY 9.8.2022

U.S. Department of Energy research gets a surprise boost in inflation-reduction bill

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) science programs are poised to get a windfall of $1.5 billion over 5 years in the massive climate and health care bill awaiting final passage later this week by the House of Representatives. The money is primarily for the construction of new facilities and major upgrades funded by DOE’s $7.5 billion Office of Science, although the bill does...

Webb telescope reveals unpredicted bounty of bright galaxies in early universe

The James Webb Space Telescope has only been watching the sky for a few weeks, and it has already delivered a startling finding: tens, hundreds, maybe even 1000 times more bright galaxies in the early universe than astronomers anticipated. “No one was expecting anything like this,” says Michael Boylan-Kolchin of the University of Texas, Austin. “Galaxies are exploding out...

Exposed! International Space Station tests organisms, materials in space

Space may look empty, but it contains extreme temperatures, high levels of background radiation, micrometeoroids, and the unfiltered glare of the sun. In addition, materials and equipment on the outside of the International Space Station are exposed to atomic oxygen (AO) and other charged particles as it orbits the Earth at the very edge of our atmosphere. Only the hardiest materials, equipment,...

CT scanner captures entire wooly mammoth tusk

For the first time, researchers successfully captured CT images of an entire wooly mammoth tusk, according to a new "Images in Radiology" article published in the journal Radiology. Researchers were able to do a full scan of the tusk in its entirety—or in toto—using a newer clinical CT scanner. The new technology allows for large-scale imaging without having to do multiple partial scans.

Banana peels make sugar cookies better for you

Banana peels aren't always destined for the trash or compost anymore. They're making their way onto people's plates, replacing pork in "pulled peel" sandwiches and getting fried up into "bacon." And now, researchers reporting in ACS Food Science & Technology show that incorporating banana peel flour into sugar cookie batter makes the treats more healthful. In taste tests, cookies enriched with...

Sweet success: New enzymatic biosystem harvests the potential of the sugar maltose

Microorganism-free enzyme-based reaction systems are now used for the production of hydrogen, bioelectricity, and useful biochemicals. In these biosystems, raw materials called substrates are broken down by a series of enzymes (i.e., biological catalysts) to obtain the desired end-product. In several cases, the substrates are carbohydrates such as sucrose, cellulose, or starch. In the first step...

Mountain events could improve safety with ultra-high resolution weather models

In late May of 2021, 172 runners set out to tackle a 100-kilometer (62-mile) ultramarathon in northwestern China. By midday, as the runners made their way through a rugged, high-elevation part of the course, temperatures plunged, strong winds whipped around the hillslopes and freezing rain and hail pummeled the runners. By the next day, the death toll from the sudden storm had risen to 21.

Discovery of non-conventional peptides in Vitis vinifera L. through peptidogenomics

Although some researchers have identified peptides through multiple methods, as in Arabidopsis and maize, the biological functions of most non-conventional peptides (NCPs) remain to be demonstrated. NCPs function by modulating larger regulatory proteins, and their functions can therefore be predicted from the proteins on which they act. In addition, the functions of NCPs can also be predicted by...

Do 'bouncing universes' have a beginning?

A new study by physicists highlights one way that cyclic or 'bouncing' cosmologies fall flat. 'People proposed bouncing universes to make the universe infinite into the past, but what we show is that one of the newest types of these models doesn't work,' says a professor of physics.

Potential long-term treatment for asthma found

A possible way to tackle one of the underlying causes of asthma has been developed. In tests in mice, the researchers were able to virtually eliminate asthmatic symptoms within two weeks and return their airways to near normal.

Study finds genetic method for identifying hundreds of disease agents 'promising'

In the pursuit of accurate diagnoses for illnesses, doctors have traditionally used multiple methods -- including culturing patient samples on a wide variety of media, reviewing countless medical records and analyzing clinical data using complex mathematical algorithms -- to try to identify the bacterium, virus, fungus or other pathogen responsible for an infection.

CT scanner captures entire woolly mammoth tusk

Researchers successfully captured CT images of an entire woolly mammoth tusk. Researchers were able to do a full scan of the tusk in its entirety -- or in toto -- using a newer clinical CT scanner. The new technology allows for large-scale imaging without having to do multiple partial scans.

Banana peels make sugar cookies better for you

Banana peels aren't always destined for the trash or compost anymore. They're making their way onto people's plates, replacing pork in 'pulled peel' sandwiches and getting fried up into 'bacon.' And now, researchers show that incorporating banana peel flour into sugar cookie batter makes the treats more healthful. In taste tests, cookies enriched with some banana peel flour were more satisfying...

Stars determine their own masses

Using new simulations, astrophysicists discovered that star formation is a self-regulatory process. In other words, stars themselves set their own masses. This helps explain why stars formed in disparate environments still have similar masses.

Human-machine interfaces work underwater, generate their own power

Scientists describe the development of a type of wearable human-machine interface device that is stretchable, inexpensive, and waterproof. The device is based on a soft magnetoelastic sensor array that converts mechanical pressure from the press of a finger into an electrical signal. The device involves two main components: a layer that translates mechanical movement to a magnetic response and a...

Ultrasound could save racehorses from bucked shins

When racehorses enter training at about 2 years old, they can develop tiny stress fractures and new bone formations in their legs. This condition, called bucked shin, occurs in about 70% of the animals. Researchers have now developed a method to screen for bucked shin using ultrasound. Axial transmission, in which an ultrasound emitter and receiver are placed on the skin to induce and measure wave...

Realistic computer models of brain cells

Investigators have created the most bio-realistic and complex computer models of individual brain cells -- in unparalleled quantity. Their research details how these models could one day answer questions about neurological disorders -- and even human intellect -- that aren't possible to explore through biological experiments.

Body posture affects how oral drugs absorbed by stomach

A common method of administering drugs is orally, by swallowing a pill or capsule. But oral administration is the most complex way for the human body to absorb an active pharmaceutical ingredient, because the bioavailability of the drug in the gastrointestinal tract depends on the medication's ingredients and the stomach's dynamic physiological environment. Researchers have now employed a...

Hearing loss in dogs associated with dementia

A new study explores the connection between hearing loss and dementia in geriatric dogs. The work could aid in both treatment of aging dogs and in understanding the relationship between sensory loss and cognitive function in dogs.

Microrobotics in endodontic treatment, diagnostics

In a proof-of-concept study, researchers have shown that microrobots can access the difficult to reach surfaces of the root canal with controlled precision, treating and disrupting biofilms and even retrieving samples for diagnostics, enabling a more personalized treatment plan.

As more space junk falls to Earth, should we be worried?

Last week, debris from a suspected Chinese booster rocket made an uncontrolled return to Earth, reportedly falling just metres from villages in Malaysia and Indonesia, and triggering a rebuke from Nasa. This follows the recent discovery of SpaceX debris on a sheep farm in regional NSW.Jane Lee speaks to ANU astrophysicist Dr Brad Tucker and reporter Natasha May about why more space junk is falling...

Tracing ancient lineages of pseudoscorpions in the tropical forests of Western India

The tropical forests of the Western Ghats, a vast mountain range in Western India, are home to many diverse species, especially endemic ones. In a recent study, published in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, researchers at the LIB have for the first time analyzed the distribution of pseudoscorpions (an arachnid group) in this region in the light of geo-climatic fluctuations and...

Hearing loss in dogs associated with dementia

A new study from North Carolina State University explores the connection between hearing loss and dementia in geriatric dogs. The work could aid in both treatment of aging dogs and in understanding the relationship between sensory loss and cognitive function in dogs.

France readies rescue of beluga astray in Seine

French marine experts will attempt Tuesday to rescue a beluga whale that swam up the Seine river and return it to the sea, officials said, a complex and risky operation for an animal already sick and malnourished.

In control of chaos to engineer high-entropy ceramics

Nature strives for chaos. That's a nice, comforting phrase when yet another coffee cup has toppled over the computer keyboard and you imagine you could wish the sugary, milky brew back into the coffee cup—where it had been just seconds before. But wishing won't work. Because, as mentioned, nature strives for chaos.

Tracking marine plastic drift from space

Every 60 seconds the equivalent of a truckload of plastic enters the global ocean. Where does it end up? Right now, researchers simply don't know. But in a bid to help find out, an ESA-led project developed floating transmitters whose passage can be tracked over time, helping in turn to guide a sophisticated software model of marine plastic litter accumulation.

WHO stresses monkeypox surge not linked to monkeys amid attack reports

World Health Organization issues statement after reports of animals being poisoned in BrazilThe World Health Organization has stressed that monkeypox outbreaks are not linked to monkeys, following a number of reported attacks on the primates in Brazil.“What people need to know is that the transmission we are seeing is happening between humans,” a WHO spokesperson, Margaret Harris, told...