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78 articles from PhysOrg

Scientists identify potential bioindicators for monitoring plastic pollution in North Pacific Ocean

With an estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic waste escaping to our oceans each year, plastic pollution adversely affects the environment, climate, and even our health. Many plastic products break down in the ocean and are ingested by marine wildlife. Scientists can study these organisms as potential bioindicators to measure how much plastic exists in different ocean regions and help assess...

Researchers assess diagnostic criteria for canine glioma

A multi-institutional team led by North Carolina State University researchers has found that using recently released criteria for the diagnosis of canine glioma resulted in strong diagnostic consensus among pathologists. The findings not only pave the way for more standardized diagnostic criteria for dogs with brain tumors, but also create a useful baseline to support larger inter-institutional...

Similarity of hepatocytes from liver and from stem cells improved

Research with stem cells is becoming increasingly important, because stem cells can develop into any body cell—skin cells, nerve cells or organ cells such as liver cells, the so-called hepatocytes. Stem cells can therefore be used, for example, in therapy for organ damage or as an alternative to animal experiments.

Revealing the interactions between ABA and ethylene signaling during tomato fruit ripening

Recently, scientists from Chongqing University provided new insights into the complex regulatory network of phytohormones that regulate fruit ripening in tomato. They introduced multi-gene interference (RNAi) vectors to silence the expression of target ABA receptors and screen for receptors that mediate ABA signaling during the regulation of fruit ripening. SlRCAR9, SlRCAR12, SlRCAR11, and...

Research shows pairing herbicides with prescribed burning improves downy brome control

Downy brome is an annual winter grass invading millions of acres of western rangelands and wildlands. It emerges early in the spring while native perennials are still dormant and creates dense mats of litter as it dies back at the end of its growing season. As a result, it can outcompete native vegetation and increase both the frequency and severity of wildfires.

Gifted dogs found to be more playful

A new study just published in Animal Cognition reveals that the rare dogs that are gifted in learning object verbal labels—the names of their toys—are more playful than typical dogs.

Catching up with quicksilver: MXene material can counter mercury contamination

Researchers estimate that mercury emissions in the atmosphere have quadrupled since the Industrial Revolution. The heavy metal, generated by burning fossil fuels and the disposal of industrial and medical waste, has become so persistent in aquatic environments that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration suggests about a half dozen species of fish are so mercury-contaminated that people should avoid...

High school students describe two new species of scorpions

California now has two new scorpions on its list of species, thanks to the efforts of two keen-eyed high school students from the Bay Area and the California Academy of Sciences. Harper Forbes and Prakrit Jain, avid users on the community science platform iNaturalist, discovered the new-to-science scorpions while trawling the thousands of observations uploaded by other users in the state.

How do rootstocks mediate scion salinity tolerance under salt stress?

Grafting in tomato has been investigated mainly in small-scale experiments, demonstrating morphological, physiological, and metabolic changes in the scion mediated by the rootstock. By grafting a scion onto different rootstocks, scion salt tolerance can be altered and improved, leading to enhanced plant growth, fruit yield, and fruit quality. Increased salt tolerance, manifested as improved growth...

Young people in Germany are more concerned about war and climate change than COVID

After more than two years of the COVID pandemic and six months of war in Ukraine, the question arises of how young people in Germany are dealing with the world's current challenges. It turns out that war and climate change are among the greatest concerns of the country's children and adolescents. In contrast, they are less worried about COVID. Those are the key findings from the representative...

Children found to change their views on gender stereotypes when read books that give other views

A team of psychology researchers from the University of Amsterdam, Western Washington University, the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto, has found that reading books to children that have female characters working with math to solve problems reduces stereotypes that have been found to turn women away from interest in STEM careers. The group has written a paper describing...

New study on coal phase-out fuels doubts about 'commissionitis'

A novel research approach that analyzes political discourse through the automated text evaluation of comments on the social media platform Twitter is now providing insights into a fundamental question of climate policy: Does it help social peace if the government settles tricky issues at the round table with all relevant stakeholders? For a prime example of such policies, the German Coal...

Climate model suggests global warming has already doubled the risk of California megaflood

A pair of researchers, one with the Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, the other with the Institute of Environment and Sustainability at the University of California, Los Angeles, has found evidence suggesting that global warming is increasing the chances of much of California experiencing a megaflood in the coming decades....