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48 articles from ScienceDaily

A novel instructive role for the entorhinal cortex discovered

Researchers have discovered the mechanistic steps underlying a new type of synaptic plasticity called behavioral timescale synaptic plasticity (BTSP). The study reveals how the entorhinal cortex (EC) sends instructive signals to the hippocampus -- the brain region critical for spatial navigation, memory encoding, and consolidation -- and directs it to specifically re-organize the location and...

The importance of light for grassland plant diversity

Plants need light to grow. However, due to excess nutrients and/or the absence of herbivores less light can reach lower vegetation layers in grasslands. Consequently, few fast-growing species dominate and plant diversity declines. So far, this relationship has been established indirectly through experiments, but never directly by means of experimentally adding light in the field. Now biologists...

Tonga volcano had highest plume ever recorded

Using images captured by satellites, researchers have confirmed that the January 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano produced the highest-ever recorded plume. The colossal eruption is also the first to have been directly observed to have broken through to the mesosphere layer of the atmosphere.

Polarized X-rays reveal shape, orientation of extremely hot matter around black hole

The first observations of a mass-accreting black hole from the Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission reveal new details about the configuration of extremely hot matter in the region immediately surrounding it. Researchers are using measurements of the polarization of X-rays to test and refine models that describe how black holes swallow matter, becoming some of the most luminous...

Carnivore gut microbes offer insight into health of wild ecosystems

A new study finds the microbial ecosystem in the guts of wild marten (Martes americana) that live in relatively pristine natural habitat is distinct from the gut microbiome of wild marten that live in areas that are more heavily impacted by human activity. The finding highlights an emerging tool that will allow researchers and wildlife managers to assess the health of wild ecosystems.

Native fish overlooked as invaders in U.S. waters

In the U.S. Geological Survey's Non-Indigenous Aquatic Species database, these so-called 'native transplant' fish are almost twice as common as fish introduced from outside the country. But a new review says native transplant fish, especially those that don't qualify as game fish, are rarely studied and their impacts poorly understood.

Elevated CO2 levels cause mineral deficiency in plants resulting in less nutritious crops

For years, scientists have seen enhanced photosynthesis as one of the only possible bright sides of increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) -- since plants use carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, it is anticipated that higher levels of the gas will lead to more productive plants. Scientists now explain why this effect may be less than expected because elevated levels of CO2 make it...

Patients with cancer and a suppressed immune system are at high risk for severe COVID if treated with systemic drug therapies, study finds

Patients with cancer and a weakened immune system who are treated with immunotherapies tend to fare far worse from COVID-19 than those who haven't received such therapies in the three months before their COVID diagnosis, show findings in a new study. Researchers found worse outcomes in both the disease itself as well as the fierce immune response that sometimes accompanies it.

Seeing concentrations of toxins with the naked eye

Researchers have developed a fast and cost-effective method to test liquids for a ubiquitous family of chemical compounds known as amphiphiles, which are used to detect diseases such as early-stage tuberculosis and cancer as well as to detect toxins in drugs, food, medical devices and water supplies.