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58 articles from ScienceDaily
Squirrels that gamble win big when it comes to evolutionary fitness
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 20:15
Imagine overhearing the Powerball lottery winning numbers, but you didn't know when those numbers would be called -- just that at some point in the next 10 years or so, they would be. Despite the financial cost of playing those numbers daily for that period, the payoff is big enough to make it worthwhile.
Stars disappear before our eyes
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 20:15
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
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 20:15
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.
DNA from domesticated chickens is tainting genomes of wild red junglefowl, study finds
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 20:15
The red junglefowl -- the wild ancestor of the chicken -- is losing its genetic diversity by interbreeding with domesticated birds, according to a new study.
Parasitic mites' biting rate may drive transmission of Deformed wing virus in honey bees
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 20:15
Varroa destructor is an ectoparasitic mite that can cause European honey bee colonies to collapse by spreading Deformed wing virus as they feed. A study suggests a relatively small number of mites can contribute to a large number of infected bees.
Tracing the flow of water with DNA
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 19:34
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.
Massive fuel-hungry black holes feed off intergalactic gas
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 19:33
Research has revealed how supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are feeding off gas clouds which reach them by traveling hundreds of thousands of light years from one galaxy to another.
Omicron caused fewer cases of MIS-C in children than delta and they were milder, says new study based on 2021-22 data
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 19:33
A new study reveals that there were fewer cases of multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) during the omicron wave of the pandemic than the delta wave.
How pancreatic cancer defies treatment
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 19:33
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
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 19:33
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
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 19:33
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.
Discovery of anti-cancer chemistry makes skullcap fit for modern medicine
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 19:33
The evolutionary secrets that enable the medicinal herb known as barbed skullcap to produce cancer fighting compounds have been unlocked.
Electronic nose: Sensing the odor molecules on graphene surface layered with self-assembled peptides
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 19:33
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.
Lower bacterial diversity is associated with irritable bowel syndrome
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 17:28
People with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have lower bacterial diversity in the intestine than do healthy people, according to a team of investigators. The investigators believe that theirs is the first analysis to find a clear association between IBS and reduced diversity in the microbiota of the gut.
Malformed seashells, ancient sediment provide clues about Earth's past
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 17:28
Shrunken seashells and unusually dark sediment cores have helped geoscientists better understand the chronology and character of events that led to Ocean Anoxic Event 2, nearly 100 million years ago.
Plague trackers: Researchers cover thousands of years in a quest to understand the elusive origins of the Black Death
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 17:28
Seeking to better understand more about the origins and movement of bubonic plague, in ancient and contemporary times, researchers have completed a painstaking granular examination of hundreds of modern and ancient genome sequences, creating the largest analysis of its kind.
Black-legged tick genome deciphered
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 17:28
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
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 17:28
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
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 17:28
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
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 17:28
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
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 17:27
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...
At least half of Africa's rhinos are now in private hands; New paths for rhino conservation are needed
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 17:27
African rhino numbers are declining at unsustainable rates in core state-run parks which is why more than half the continent's remaining rhinos are now on private land.
New research quantifies the 'wow' factor of sunrise and sunset
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 17:27
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
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 17:27
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.
An unprecedented look at colorectal cancer
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/19 17:27
Researchers are building detailed maps of colorectal cancer to better understand the dynamics of the disease.