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58 articles from ScienceDaily

Stars disappear before our eyes

A startling analysis from Globe at Night -- a citizen science program -- concludes that stars are disappearing from human sight at an astonishing rate. The study finds that, to human eyes, artificial lighting has dulled the night sky more rapidly than indicated by satellite measurements.

Genes that cause rare hidden cancer revealed

Several genes that cause sarcoma have been identified in the first comprehensive genetic map of sarcomas. The research has wide implications for people living with sarcoma and their families -- allowing detection of the cancer earlier and potentially improving survival for patients.

Tracing the flow of water with DNA

Environmental DNA analysis of microbial communities can help us understand how a particular region's water cycle works. Basel hydrogeologist Oliver Schilling recently used this method to examine the water cycle on Mount Fuji. His results have implications for other regions worldwide.

How pancreatic cancer defies treatment

Researchers describe how pancreatic cancer stem cells leverage a protein in a family of proteins that normally suppress tumors to instead do the opposite, boosting their resistance to conventional treatments and spurring growth.

How to push, wiggle, or drill an object through sand

Researchers developed a faster and simpler way to model the forces needed to push, wiggle, and drill an object through soft, granular material in real-time. The methods could help engineers drive a rover over Martian soil, anchor a ship in rough seas, and walk a robot through sand and mud.

Ionic liquids' good vibrations change laser colors with ease

Not every laser color is available with the right properties for a specific job. To fix that, scientists have found a variety of ways to convert one color of laser light into another. In a new study scientists demonstrate a new color-shifting strategy that's simple, efficient, and highly customizable.

Electronic nose: Sensing the odor molecules on graphene surface layered with self-assembled peptides

Graphene-based olfactory sensors that can detect odor molecules based on the design of peptide sequences were recently demonstrated. The findings indicated that graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) functionalized with designable peptides can be used to develop electronic devices that mimic olfactory receptors and emulate the sense of smell by selectively detecting odor molecules.

Black-legged tick genome deciphered

Scientists have deciphered a comprehensive, continuous genome for a parasite responsible for transmitting Lyme disease and other serious infections to hundreds of thousands of Americans yearly. With their newly described genome for the black-legged tick, or deer tick, the researchers identified thousands of novel genes and new protein functions, including proteins associated with tick immunity,...

Approaching the terahertz regime

A class of nonvolatile memory devices, called MRAM, based on quantum magnetic materials, can offer a thousandfold performance beyond current state-of-the-art memory devices. The materials known as antiferromagnets were previously demonstrated to store stable memory states, but were difficult to read from. This new study paves an efficient way for reading the memory states, with the potential to do...

Specific immune response to Epstein-Barr virus discovered

Medical science has not yet been able to explain why the Epstein-Barr virus triggers infectious mononucleosis (IM) in some people with initial infections and not in others. But now, a research team has identified a specific immune response to the virus as the cause, and as a potential target for the development of vaccines.

Violence was widespread in early farming society

Violence and warfare were widespread in many Neolithic communities across Northwest Europe, a period associated with the adoption of farming, new research suggests. Of the skeletal remains of more than 2300 early farmers from 180 sites dating from around 8000 -- 4000 years ago to, more than one in ten displayed weapon injuries, bioarchaeologists found.

Bacterial electricity: Membrane potential influences antibiotic tolerance

The electrical potential across the bacterial cell envelope indicates when bacteria no longer operate as individual cells but as a collective. Researchers have discovered this connection between the electrical properties and the lifestyle of bacteria. Although bacteria are single cellular organisms, they form spatially structured communities, so-called biofilms. Within biofilms, bacteria behave as...

New research quantifies the 'wow' factor of sunrise and sunset

A new study has identified the impact that fleeting natural events, such as sunrises and sunsets, can have on people, and sought to quantify their effects. Researchers used the latest computer graphics to show carefully controlled images of both urban and natural environments to more than 2,500 participants. When these scenes featured elements such as sunrise and sunset, participants considered...

Active matter theory explains fire-ant group behavior

Ants are social insects and the Solenopsis invicta species -- known as the fire ant -- is no exception. The social interactions of this invasive insect, which comes from South America, are framed within the context of the theory of Active Matter, which would explain the ants' group behavior as a reaction to the intrinsic mechanisms in the system.