New method allows scientists to determine all the molecules present in the lysosomes of mice
Small but mighty, lysosomes play a surprisingly important role in cells despite their diminutive size. Making up only 1-3% of the cell by volume, these small sacs are the cell's recycling centers, home to enzymes that break down unneeded molecules into small pieces that can then be reassembled to form new ones. Lysosomal dysfunction can lead to a variety of neurodegenerative or other diseases, but...
Study proves efficacy of nanomaterial-based disinfectant developed to combat COVID-19 spread
A team of UCF researchers have proven the efficacy of a nanomaterial-based disinfectant they developed to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Through their experiments, they found that the disinfectant was able to kill several serious viruses including SARS and Zika. The results of their findings were recently published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.
Search for clues may explain collapse of ancient city in Mexico
Built more than a thousand years before the Aztec arrived in central Mexico, Teotihuacan was once one of the largest cities in the world. Its stone temples, comparable in size to Egypt's pyramids, still draw fascinated visitors, as does the mystery surrounding the city's sudden fall around 550 AD.
Researchers demonstrate chemically sensitive LiDAR method
Researchers have developed a new laser-based technique that can simultaneously perform LiDAR and remote chemical measurements. LiDAR, which stands for light detection and ranging, uses a laser to measure distances, or ranges. Adding chemical information to LiDAR measurements could be useful for applications like remote chemical mapping, detecting trace amounts of chemicals, monitoring industrial...
The priorities for food-security research under extreme events
Fixing hunger is as challenging as ever. Many food producers, including farmers, hunters and fishers are food-insecure; meaning they're not always sure where their next meal will come from. More than 50% of the roughly 600 million who are food insecure live in conflict zones. The risk that multiple misfortunes can cascade, such as a war in one region and crop failures in others, increase the...
Spain grants personhood status to threatened lagoon
Spain granted personhood status Wednesday to a large saltwater lagoon to give its threatened ecosystem better protection, the first time such a measure has been taken in Europe.
Space station gets 3 new residents after Russian launch
The International Space Station welcomed three new residents Wednesday following a smooth Russian launch.
Mexico ups protection at pre-Hispanic ceremonial site
Mexico has declared a pre-Hispanic site in the central state of Guanajuato as an archaeological monument zone protecting it from the possibility of encroaching development and expressing a commitment to continue excavating the ancient ruins.
Researchers use rare-earth metals in alloy powders to produce green, eye-catching sparklers
Sparklers can be a lot of fun—glimmering, fizzing and spitting out arcs of light from handheld sticks or tubes on the ground. But the metals that they're usually made with limit what the sparks can look like. Now, researchers in ACS Omega report that rare-earth metals in alloy powders can produce flashes that shift from golden to green and continuously branch.
Hurricane Fiona heads toward Bermuda, US advises citizens to defer travel
Hurricane Fiona churned toward Bermuda as a powerful Category 4 storm on Wednesday as Puerto Rico struggled to restore power and water after receving a crushing blow.
Scientists find evidence for food insecurity driving international conflict 2,000 years ago
Ancient Palmyra has gripped public imagination since its picturesque ruins were "rediscovered" in the seventeenth century by western travelers. The most legendary story of ancient Palmyra is that of Queen Zenobia, who was ruling over a thriving city in the Syrian Desert and dared to challenge the Roman Empire, but ultimately was defeated.
Who wants to go to the moon? Europe names astronaut candidates
The European Space Agency announced a team of seven astronauts on Wednesday to train for NASA's Artemis mission to the moon—but only one will have the chance to become the first European to walk on the lunar surface.
Cleaner water linked with smaller cockles that die younger
Cockles have been harvested along the south Wales coast for centuries. The Burry Inlet and Loughor estuary, near Swansea, is a major habitat for the popular and widespread common cockle (Cerastoderma edule).
Four-legged jumping robots to explore the moon
A four-legged robot trained through artificial intelligence has learned the same lesson as the Apollo astronauts—that jumping can be the best way to move around on the surface the moon. An update on LEAP (Legged Exploration of the Aristarchus Plateau), a mission concept study supported by ESA to explore some of the most challenging lunar terrains, has been presented today at the Europlanet...
New endoscope uses bendable GRIN lens for 3D microscopy
Researchers have created a flexible needle-like endoscopic imaging probe that can acquire 3D microscopic images of tissue. The bendability is possible thanks to a new flexible graded index (GRIN) lens developed by the researchers.
Simulator illuminates the search for life around the Milky Way's most common stars
Italian researchers have demonstrated experimentally for the first time that microorganisms can photosynthesize using the infrared-dominated light emitted by the most common type of star in the Milky Way. The results from the Star Light Simulator, presented at the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2022, suggest that life could develop around stars different from our Sun and produce oxygen-rich...
Trees can't outrun climate change. Should humans give them a lift?
One tree at a time, David Saville has made it his life's work to bring back West Virginia's red spruce forests—and maybe help preserve the species hundreds of miles farther north while he's at it.
Monarch butterflies tagged with stickers in Chicago garden as they migrate south
Near the driving range in Chicago's Lakeview area, a faint but sweet smell floats in the air. One can follow it to a collection of beds where flowers sprout, surrounding a community garden in which vegetables and herbs grow.
Plants can resist climate change challenges and recover from drought by adjusting lignin 'chemical code'
A new study shows that we can create and/or select plants that can better recover from drought without affecting the size of the plant or seed yield by genetically modifying their lignin chemistry. These results could be used in both agriculture and forestry to tackle future climate challenges.
Scientists engineer mosquitoes that can't spread malaria
Scientists have engineered mosquitoes that slow the growth of malaria-causing parasites in their gut, preventing transmission of the disease to humans.
Differentiating right- and left-handed particles using the force exerted by light
Researchers investigated the polarization-dependence of the force exerted by circularly polarized light (CPL) by performing optical trapping of chiral nanoparticles. They found that left- and right-handed CPL exerted different strengths of the optical gradient force on the nanoparticles, and the D- and L-form particles are subject to different gradient force by CPL. The present results suggest...
Ocean scientists measure sediment plume stirred up by deep-sea-mining vehicle
What will be the impact to the ocean if humans are to mine the deep sea? It's a question that's gaining urgency as interest in marine minerals has grown.
Chicago's sewage district fails to warn gardeners free sludge contains toxic forever chemicals
Bags of the earthy muck are labeled organic or natural. Sometimes it is billed as exceptional quality compost. Industry held a nationwide contest years ago and decided to call it biosolids, a euphemism that beat out black gold, geoslime and humanure.
Rising sea temperatures threaten Atlantic populations of Bulwer's petrels
The impact of the rise in sea temperatures predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) could affect the survival of the North Atlantic populations of Bulwer's petrel in the Azores, Canary Islands and Cape Verde, according to a study conducted by the Seabird Ecology Group of the Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio) of the University of Barcelona.
First 3D renders from JunoCam data reveal 'frosted cupcake' clouds on Jupiter
Animations of the relative heights of the cloud tops of Jupiter reveal delicately textured swirls and peaks that resemble the frosting on top of a cupcake. The results have been presented today by citizen scientist and professional mathematician and software developer, Gerald Eichstädt, at the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2022 in Granada.