162 articles from TUESDAY 17.1.2023

The mechanism of cosmic magnetic fields explored in the laboratory

Plasma is matter that is so hot that the electrons are separated from atoms. The electrons float freely and the atoms become ions. This creates an ionized gas—plasma—that makes up nearly all of the visible universe. Recent research shows that magnetic fields can spontaneously emerge in a plasma. This can happen if the plasma has a temperature anisotropy—temperature that is different along...

Milk consumption increased ancient human body size, finds study

A new study led by Western biological anthropology professor Jay Stock, suggests that milk consumption in some regions between 7,000 and 2,000 years ago led to an increase in human body mass and stature. This ran counter to trends in body size experienced elsewhere in the world. This size increase is found in regions where there was evolution for higher frequencies of genes that allow humans to...

To reduce ‘reputational bias,’ NIH may revamp how grant proposals are scored

Researchers familiar with the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) peer-review process can cite many cases where the reputation of a scientist or their workplace seemed to count for more than the strength of their ideas. There was the scientist who moved from the Ivy League to a large public university and saw scores on his grant applications drop. The investigators from...

Standard reference cantilevers for atomic force microscopy spring constant calibration

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a popular technique for interrogating surfaces on the micro and nano scales. The most common use for AFM is imaging; however, there are a variety of more specialized AFM techniques that can be used to determine electrical, mechanical, and chemical properties of surfaces. To adequately control the application of forces to surfaces for these techniques (especially...

SRM 915c calcium carbonate mass fraction standard

This standard reference material from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will help calibrate procedures for calcium determinations used in clinical analysis and for routine critical evaluation of the daily working standards applied in these procedures. Additionally, the certified values can be used to validate analytical methods for determining calcium and carbonate.

How shapeless blobs of cells grow into wriggling worms

AUSTIN, TEXAS— A newborn infant looks unmistakably hu man, with legs, mouth, ears, and bottom all in place. The same can’t be said about the youngest sea stars, worms, or butterflies: Many invertebrates start out looking nothing like the adults they will become. Now, researchers have monitored one worm’s larval cells during the transfor mation to...

Researchers create new system for safer gene-drive testing and development

Scientists continue to expand the technological frontiers of CRISPR, along with its enormous potential, in areas ranging from human health to global food supplies. Such is the case with CRISPR-based gene drives, a genetic editing tool designed to influence how genetic elements are passed from one generation to the next.

Humans plunder the periodic table while turning blind eye to the risks of doing so, say researchers

For millions of years, nature has basically been getting by with just a few elements from the periodic table. Carbon, calcium, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus, silicon, sulfur, magnesium and potassium are the building blocks of almost all life on our planet (tree trunks, leaves, hairs, teeth, etc). However, to build the world of humans—including cities, health care products, railways,...

Scientists offer a new explanation for a mystery surrounding Jupiter's two massive asteroid swarms

An international team of scientists, including NYU Abu Dhabi researcher Nikolaos Georgakarakos and others from the U.S., Japan, and China, led by Jian Li from Nanjing University, has developed new insights that may explain the numerical asymmetry of the L4 and L5 Jupiter Trojan swarms, two clusters containing more than 10,000 asteroids that move along Jupiter's orbital path around the sun.

Flashes on the Sun Could Help Scientists Predict Solar Flares

Portal origin URL: Flashes on the Sun Could Help Scientists Predict Solar FlaresPortal origin nid: 485058Published: Tuesday, January 17, 2023 - 15:44Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: In the blazing upper atmosphere of the Sun, a team of scientists have found new clues that could help predict when and where the Sun’s next flare might explode.Portal...

Measuring the enduring grip strength of the brown-throated sloth

A small team of researchers from the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, working with one colleague from the Cahuita Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica and another from Youngstown State University, has found that the brown-throated sloth has a powerful grip. In their paper published in the Journal of Zoology, the group describes how they measured the grip strength of...

Biomolecular analyses now have an expanded chemical toolkit

The 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded in part for what can be a quite difficult problem: precisely altering one aspect of biomolecules without affecting the rest of the cell. Now, in a study recently published in Organic Letters, researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) and coworkers have concisely synthesized a class of molecules that will greatly facilitate such work.

Joint effort discloses deep divergence of a mysterious porpoise

The finless porpoise, a relative of dolphins and whales, is native to the Indian and Pacific oceans, as well as the freshwater habitats of the Yangtze River basin in China. The Yangtze river's finless porpoise is one of the very few porpoises that live in fresh water. Its small size and cute 'smile' make it much loved in the country and beyond.

The role of a novel long non-coding RNA in the immune escape of pathogenic Vibrio in fish

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate almost all biological processes, protein production, inflammatory responses, immune regulation, tumorigenesis and infection. In mammals, the classic formation of miRNA needs to transcribe a long primary miRNA in the nucleus and then process it into hairpin RNA with about 60–70 nucleotides. Eventually, this precursor miRNA will be...

New study presents novel behavioral barrier-based framework for sustainable plastic management

Plastics are quite commonplace in today's world. Consequently, plastic waste is an environmental menace that is increasing at an exponential rate. The negative impact of plastic waste on global social-ecological systems is far-reaching and seems irreversible. The dispersal of micro- and nano-plastics into rivers, oceans, and soil environments further aggravates this issue. Retrieving these...

Deepfake challenges 'will only grow'

A new report by artificial intelligence (AI) and foreign policy experts predicts that deepfakes technology is on the brink of being used much more widely, including in targeted military and intelligence operations. The experts make recommendations to security officials and policymakers for how to handle the unsettling new technology, including a call to develop a code of conduct for governments'...

Researchers gain deeper understanding of mechanism behind superconductors

Physicists have once again gained a deeper understanding of the mechanism behind superconductors. This brings researchers one step closer to their goal of developing the foundations for a theory for superconductors that would allow current to flow without resistance and without energy loss. The researchers found that in superconducting copper-oxygen bonds, called cuprates, there must be a very...

Probiotic markedly reduces S. Aureus colonization in phase 2 trial

A promising approach to control Staphylococcus aureus bacterial colonization in people -- using a probiotic instead of antibiotics -- was safe and highly effective in a Phase 2 clinical trial. The new study found that the probiotic Bacillus subtilis markedly reduced S. aureus colonization in trial participants without harming the gut microbiota, which includes bacteria that can benefit people.

New tropical kelp forest discovered in the Galapagos Islands

María Altamirano, with the Department of Botany and Plant Physiology of the University of Malaga, is a member of the scientific team that collaborates for the Seamounts Project. This project led by the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) has discovered an extensive kelp forest on the summit of a seamount, at depths of ~ 50 m, in the south of the Galapagos Islands.

Micro-sized polyethylene particles show adverse effects in cell lines

Exposure to high doses of micro-sized polyethylene has adverse effects on cells, a new study from the University of Eastern Finland finds. The researchers investigated the toxicity of micro-sized polyethylene in two different human colorectal cancer cell lines. Being one of our most common plastics, polyethylene is used for a variety of purposes, for example as packaging material.

A hybrid fission/fusion reactor could be the best way to get through the ice on Europa

In the coming years, NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) will send two robotic missions to explore Jupiter's icy moon Europa. These are none other than NASA's Europa Clipper and the ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE), which will launch in 2024, and 2023 (respectively). Once they arrive by the 2030s, they will study Europa's surface with a series of flybys to determine if its interior...

Bronze Age eating, social habits in the Balearic Islands documented in study

Researchers from a variety of Spanish institutions have managed to reconstruct the diet of some 50 individuals buried more than 3,000 years ago in the Cova des Pas' necropolis in Menorca. The study, coordinated by the UAB, indicates a diet of plants and meat, with all individuals having the same access to food, implying that they were a socially egalitarian group.

A systematic framework to compare performance of plastics recycling approaches

With only a small percentage of plastics recycled, determining the best way to recycle and reuse these materials may enable higher adoption of plastics recycling and reduce plastic waste pollution. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) examined the benefits and trade-offs of current and emerging technologies for recycling certain types...

World’s oldest runestone found in Norway, archaeologists say

The 2,000-year-old inscription is among the earliest examples of words recorded in writingArchaeologists in Norway have found what they claim is the world’s oldest runestone, saying the inscriptions are up to 2,000 years old and date back to the earliest days of the enigmatic history of runic writing.The flat, square block of brownish sandstone has carved scribbles, which may be the earliest...