'Virtual pillars' separate and sort blood-based nanoparticles
Engineers at Duke University have developed a device that uses sound waves to separate and sort the tiniest particles found in blood in a matter of minutes. The technology is based on a concept called "virtual pillars" and could be a boon to both scientific research and medical applications.
Regional climate, kilometer-scale dynamical downscaling over the Tibetan Plateau
Known as the "Roof of the World," the Tibetan Plateau is tough to study for meteorological scientists, given its high altitude, steep terrain and harsh natural environments. Limitations and uncertainties of general observation tools spawned model simulations to obtain more comprehensive meteorological information.
Study indicates SARS-CoV-2 variants are still transmissible between species
Scientists believe bats first transmitted SARS-CoV-2 to humans in December 2019, and while the virus has since evolved into several variants such as delta and omicron, a new study indicates the virus is still highly transmissible between mammals. Researchers at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) developed computer simulations that show the coronaviruses use their spike proteins to attach...
Is that turtle legal? Fighting wildlife trafficking with stable isotopes
Wildlife trafficking is a well-known threat to biodiversity, with many species imperiled by poachers working in the illegal pet trade. Worse still, when traffickers are caught in the act, they often evade prosecution through animal "laundering"—erroneously claiming that the confiscated wildlife was bred in captivity.
Report outlines key recommendations to broaden diversity of PhD students in life sciences
A new report has revealed some of the barriers prospective students face in studying life sciences at postdoctoral level.
Fossil discovery in storeroom cupboard shifts origin of modern lizard back 35 million years
A specimen retrieved from a cupboard in the Natural History Museum in London has shown that modern lizards originated in the Late Triassic and not the Middle Jurassic as previously thought.
Researchers boost accuracy of home-based continuous glucose monitoring
Home-based continuous glucose monitoring for diabetics up to now has had to trade ease of use, low cost, and portability for a somewhat lower sensitivity—and thus accuracy—compared to similar systems in clinics or hospitals. A team of researchers has now developed a biosensor for such monitors that involves "zero-dimensional" quantum dots (QDs) and gold nanospheres (AuNSs), and no longer has...
Broken symmetries provide opportunities for thermal emission management
Radiative heat transfer is a ubiquitous physical process in our universe. Any object with a temperature above absolute zero exchanges thermal energy with the environment. In physics, thermal emission originates from electromagnetic radiation induced by the thermal motion of charged particles inside materials.
Sustainability more important for young people than high wages, claims study
Young people would accept a lower salary for a job in a sustainable or socially oriented company. This is what a team led by Thomas Dohmen, professor at the Cluster of Excellence ECONtribute at the University of Bonn, has discovered.
T. rex's fancy footwork owed to special ligaments, study finds
How did Tyrannosaurus rex catch its food? Looking at T. rex's fossilized skull, the answer may seem obvious: monstrous jaws and sharp teeth capable of delivering a multi-ton bite force.
Swan River dolphins form 'bromances' to secure females, study finds
Murdoch University marine biologist Dr. Delphine Chabanne has discovered evidence of male alliance in Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, the first time such behavior has been recorded outside of Western Australia's famed Shark Bay.
Spending on nature must double in two years to limit warming to 1.5°C, states report
As the world heads towards negotiations on the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, nature is still under-financed, the second edition of the State of Finance for Nature reveals.
Zapped, infrared-heated lentils are more nutritious and 'greener' to process
By combining heat from microwaves and infrared energy, University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers have uncovered a new, more energy efficient way to process lentils, making them more nutritious and digestible. The findings may result in more value for consumers, food processors, ingredient manufacturers, and producers.
White people found to react positively to racial justice messages from white allies
Social media sites that show a white person sharing a message about racial justice are more likely to convince other white people of the benefits of the cause, but they also limit the visibility of Black activists.
Ethnic community media can play a key role in a crisis, but it needs our support
The recent "Who Gets to Tell Australian Stories?" report on diversity in Australian newsrooms revealed some grim, but unsurprising figures. The report found most television news and current affairs presenters on major Australian free-to-air networks are Anglo-Celtic. So too were most senior network news editors.
54% of projects extracting clean energy minerals overlap with Indigenous lands, research reveals
Vast quantities of minerals are needed to accelerate the transition to a clean energy future. Minerals and metals are essential for wind turbines, solar panels, and batteries for electric vehicles. But Indigenous peoples have raised concerns about more mining on their lands and territories.
Online tool to support delivery of 'whole school' approach to food
The UK government, as part of the Levelling-Up agenda, has advocated that all primary schools should develop a 'whole school food policy', which outlines how a school approaches food across the entire working day to support children in making healthy food choices.
How language impacts political opinions
Words have power, but so does the language in which they're spoken, according to Margit Tavits, the Dr. William Taussig Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.
Metallurgist explains the surprising properties of aluminum
Despite being the most abundant metal on Earth, constituting over 8% of the Earth's core mass, aluminum was only discovered in the 1820s, by Danish physicist Hans Christian Ørsted. This is partly explained because pure aluminum doesn't exist in nature as it binds easily with other elements like oxygen.
A threat from a common enemy may no longer unite polarized Americans, study suggests
During World War II, Americans came together. They ate less meat and planted victory gardens. They lowered thermostats and rationed their gasoline. Republican, Democrat—it mattered little: Against a common enemy, American civilians were willing to sacrifice on behalf of American interests.
Researchers suggest the climate crisis requires international minerals agreement
As the United States and other countries around the world begin to transition to utilizing green technologies on a larger scale, it will be necessary to have access to the minerals needed to build the infrastructure for those green technologies.
Role-playing as an immigrant increases trust, finds study
Games and role-playing could generate trust of immigrants and perhaps tolerance for people from other countries, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Arkansas.
Mosquito alert app: How to track invasive mosquitoes
Have you ever been bitten by a tiger? A tiger mosquito, that is. This invasive species and other close Asian species have found their way to Europe. But thanks to an ingenious smartphone app developed by the COST Action Aedes Invasive Mosquitoes (AIM), you can do more to bring this insect under control than simply swinging your flyswatter.
Wildlife study: Cheetah marking trees are hotspots for communication among other species as well
Marking trees are important hotspots of communication for cheetahs: Here they exchange information with and about other cheetahs via scent marks, urine and scats. A team from the Cheetah Research Project of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) now showed that several mammalian species on farmland in Namibia maintain a network for intra- and interspecific communication...
Call to protect Australian tenants with pets
With the national squeeze in rental accommodation, Flinders University researchers say it's more important than ever that the South Australian Parliament legislate to uphold the rights of tenants with pets.