160 articles from THURSDAY 20.10.2022

Zipping up data to zap it back from an icy moon

In the search for life beyond Earth, icy ocean moons like Jupiter's Europa and Saturn's Enceladus are promising possibilities that host potentially habitable environments. Evidence of these environments—and of possible geobiological activity—may be observable at these moons' surfaces because of deposition of subsurface fluids by erupting plumes, in pressurized fractures in ice, or through the...

Research untangles evolutionary history of Mullein plant species from China and Kenya

The genus Verbascum (Scrophulariaceae, Lamiales), often referred to as Mullein, comprises about 360 species widely distributed in temperate regions in Europe, Africa, and Asia. The generic circumscriptions and location of the genus Verbascum is a challenge that has been the focus of debate among researchers. The genus Verbascum is still poorly understood and new species are described regularly....

Using James Webb Space Telescope to study supernovae as source of heavy elements in the universe

In 1980's popular book "Cosmos," Carl Sagan wrote of what makes us: "All the elements of the Earth except hydrogen and some helium have been cooked by a kind of stellar alchemy billions of years ago in stars, some of which are today inconspicuous white dwarfs on the other side of the Milky Way galaxy. The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple...

Billions in funding could kick-start the US battery materials industry

The US federal government is spending big on batteries and electric vehicles. As part of that spending spree, President Joe Biden and the Department of Energy have just announced $2.8 billion in awards to companies involved in producing the minerals and other materials that go into the batteries. The funding will go to 20 projects, ranging from lithium processing and electrode manufacturing to...

Smartphone data can help create global vegetation maps

Missing knowledge in the global distribution of plant traits could be filled with data from species identification apps. Researchers were able to demonstrate this based on data from the popular iNaturalist app. Supplemented with data on plant traits, iNaturalist input results in considerably more precise maps than previous approaches based on extrapolation from limited databases. Among other...

High aerobic fitness does not protect children from metabolic syndrome

A study found that high aerobic fitness does not protect children from metabolic syndrome. The study also found that the amount of fat tissue in the body has distorted the results obtained in several previous studies on the protective effect of aerobic fitness from metabolic syndrome. The researchers also found that poor aerobic fitness is not a feature of metabolic syndrome in adults. Still, good...

After 2018 'Woolsey wildfire,' Los Angeles' mountain lions are taking more risks

Los Angeles is known for its movie stars and beaches. It's also known for being one of only two megacities in the world that supports a population of big cats. Despite being surrounded by a vast network of busy freeways and over ten million people, mountain lions have somehow managed to eke out a living in the wooded LA-area hills. Now, researchers have found that wildfires, and specifically the...

Gene study identifies series of DNA variants linked to dyslexia

Scientists have for the first time pinpointed a large number of genes that are reliably associated with dyslexia. Around a third of the 42 genetic variants identified have been previously linked to general cognitive ability and educational attainment. The researchers say their findings aid our understanding of the biology behind why some children struggle to read or spell.

You can smile yourself a little happier, scientists suggest

After decades of argument, psychologists finally seem to agree on the ‘facial feedback hypothesis’ It won’t bring sunshine to the darkest days, but those in need of a little cheer may want to extend the corners of their lips towards their ears and lift their cheeks towards their eyes – using only their facial muscles, mind.After decades of argument and counter-argument, psychologists have...

NASA’s Hubble Spots Twin Tails in New Image After DART Impact

Portal origin URL: NASA’s Hubble Spots Twin Tails in New Image After DART ImpactPortal origin nid: 483440Published: Thursday, October 20, 2022 - 11:00Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: Follow-up DART observations from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope are already revealing the clearest image of a stunning surprise – a newly developed second tail of...

New way to make telescope mirrors could sharpen our view of the universe

Researchers have developed a new way to use femtosecond laser pulses to fabricate the high-precision ultrathin mirrors required for high-performance x-ray telescopes. The technique could help improve the space-based x-ray telescopes used to capture high-energy cosmic events involved in forming new stars and supermassive black holes.

NASA’s Webb Uncovers Dense Cosmic Knot in The Early Universe

Portal origin URL: NASA’s Webb Uncovers Dense Cosmic Knot in The Early UniversePortal origin nid: 483444Published: Thursday, October 20, 2022 - 10:00Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: Astronomers looking into the early universe have made a surprising discovery using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope: a cluster of massive galaxies in the process of...

Physicists discover new isotope actinium-204

A research team at the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), together with their collaborators, have recently synthesized a new isotope, actinium-204, which is the lightest actinium isotope so far discovered and the fourth actinium isotope beyond the proton-drip line. The study has been published in Physics Letters B.

Dutch cull 300,000 chickens after bird flu outbreak

Dutch health authorities said Thursday they had culled around 300,000 chickens after the largest outbreak of highly contagious bird flu this year, saying almost six million birds have been killed so far in the ongoing epidemic.

Researchers discover previously unknown mineralogy of the deep Earth

What is the structure of the Earth? For starters, it consists of several layers: the crust, the upper and lower mantle, and the core. The mantle makes up most of our planet's volume—84%. The lower mantle represents 55% of the Earth's volume—it is also hotter and denser than the upper mantle.

Satellite to Study Earth’s Water Arrives at Launch Site

Portal origin URL: Satellite to Study Earth’s Water Arrives at Launch SitePortal origin nid: 483443Published: Thursday, October 20, 2022 - 09:30Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.Portal image: Surface Water and Ocean Topography satellite...

Volcanic 'trombone music' could provide early warning of eruptions

University of Canterbury (UC) postdoctoral researcher Dr. Leighton Watson (Ngāi Tahu), in collaboration with researchers at the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology and Boise State University, has developed a modeling tool that uses sound waves from volcanic activity to help understand and forecast volcanic behavior.