183 articles from THURSDAY 11.8.2022

Building the best zeolite

A professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering has summarized methods of making zeolites in the lab and examined how the emergence of data analytics and machine learning are aiding zeolite design.

Safe havens for cooperation

Whether networks with a high level of cooperation emerge in a community depends on how quickly individuals leave -- for example, because they are exploited by others. Researchers investigated this problem by modeling a well-known cooperation game. They consider a spatial network, where players can relocate between different patches if they judge the local conditions to be unfavorable.

Strategies revealed for effective delivery of K-12 online education

North Carolina State University researchers released findings from an analysis of 284 different studies on the challenges and best practices for teaching K-12 classes online—an effort launched during the COVID-19 pandemic to help teachers and administrators as they transitioned rapidly to online instruction.

Why thinking hard makes you tired

It's no surprise that hard physical labor wears you out, but what about hard mental labor? Sitting around thinking hard for hours makes one feel worn out, too. Now, researchers have new evidence to explain why this is, and, based on their findings, the reason you feel mentally exhausted (as opposed to drowsy) from intense thinking isn't all in your head.

Bioengineered cornea can restore sight to the blind and visually impaired

Researchers and entrepreneurs have developed an implant made of collagen protein from pig's skin, which resembles the human cornea. In a pilot study, the implant restored vision to 20 people with diseased corneas, most of whom were blind prior to receiving the implant. The promising results bring hope to those suffering from corneal blindness and low vision by providing a bioengineered implant as...

Meteorite provides record of asteroids 'spitting out' pebbles

Scientists found marble-sized chunks of rock in an asteroid sample that wouldn't disintegrate. They realized that these pebbles are physical evidence of a mysterious geological process first spotted on the asteroid Bennu by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft: asteroids shooting gravel out into space.

Scientists identify a plant molecule that sops up iron-rich heme

A new study reveals that a peptide produced by some legumes helps them control nitrogen-fixing bacteria by sequestering all available heme, an iron-containing molecule. This sends the bacteria into an iron-starvation mode that ramps up their production of ammonia, the form of nitrogen that is usable for plants.

Vanilla cultivation on fallow land promotes biodiversity

How can biodiversity be preserved whilst securing the economic livelihood of smallholder farmers growing vanilla in Madagascar? There is a way, according to a new study. The research team shows that vanilla plantations established on fallow land do not differ in terms of yield from those established in the forest. Cultivation on fallow land also increases biodiversity there.

Big climate bill: Spending green bucks to spur green energy

After decades of inaction in the face of escalating natural disasters and sustained global warming, Congress hopes to make clean energy so cheap in all aspects of life that it's nearly irresistible. The House is poised to pass a transformative bill Friday that would provide the most spending to fight climate change by any one nation ever in a single push.

Taming tomorrow's wildfires

Wildfire has ravaged the Western United States throughout the last decade. Over three million acres have already burned across the country this year. As fires spark earlier and extend further into autumn each year, turning from "fire seasons" to "fire years," the National Interagency Fire Center reports that many Western U.S. regions show above-average fire potential.

Researchers use first-of-its-kind tracking sensors to study billfish

Blue marlin (one of the largest fish) and sailfish (one of the fastest fish) provide some of the most prized fights in the sportfishing world, making catching them with rod and reel one of those "once in a lifetime" experiences. Their distinctive elongated front-end bill gives them a built-in sword-like weapon for hunting, and thus the moniker "billfish".