3,027 articles from FEBRUARY 2023

Wastewater sector emits nearly twice as much methane as previously thought

Municipal wastewater treatment plants emit nearly double the amount of methane into the atmosphere than scientists previously believed, according to new research from Princeton University. And since methane warms the planet over 80 times more powerfully than carbon dioxide over 20 years, that could be a big problem.

People spend 1/6th of their lifetimes enhancing their appearance, says study

An international team including HSE researchers has conducted the largest ever cross-cultural study of appearance-enhancing behaviors. They have found that people worldwide spend an average of four hours a day on enhancing their beauty. Caring for one's appearance does not depend on gender, and older people worry as much about looking their best as the young do. The strongest predictor of...

Social media provides space for 'digital cosmopolitanism,' argue researchers

Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have repeatedly been the subject of negative news coverage. As a result, the positive aspects associated with digital platforms have been overlooked. In light of this, a recent study has explored the social media activity of a carefully selected group of individuals who use the microblogging platform Twitter.

Passage of laws preempting local action on transgender rights and race and racism in schools accelerates since 2019

The pace of states using preemption to control local authority has quickened and expanded in the United States around issues related to rights of student athletes who are transgender, and the ways race and racism may be taught in US classrooms, according to new data capturing preemption across 15 domains published today by the Temple University Center for Public Health Law Research with the...

Framework structure with nanoscopic insulation enables components for soft robotics and flexible electronics

Classical robots, such as those used for manufacturing, can lift heavy loads and repeat automated processes precisely. But they are too rigid and bulky for delicate work and interaction with humans. The research field of soft robotics works on the development of robots made of soft, organic materials and flexible technical components. Materials researchers at Kiel University have now developed a...

Defect engineering for advanced electrocatalytic conversion of nitrogen-containing molecules

The nitrogen cycle, one of the most important biochemical cycles in all ecosystems, plays a key role in human survival and development. It describes the interconversion process between elementary nitrogen substances and nitrogen-containing compounds in nature. Undoubtedly, the redox reactions between these nitrogen-containing molecules maintain the balance of the nitrogen cycle. However, over the...

Shark from the Jurassic period was already highly evolved

Cartilaginous fish have changed much more in the course of their evolutionary history than previously believed. Evidence for this thesis has been provided by new fossils of a ray-like shark, Protospinax annectans, which demonstrate that sharks were already highly evolved in the Late Jurassic. This is the result of a recent study by an international research group led by paleobiologist Patrick L....

Rare whale feeding technique could explain tales of mythical sea creature – video

An unusual whale feeding technique first documented by scientists in the 2010s may have actually been described in ancient texts two millennia ago, researchers say. Researchers from Flinders University identified striking parallels between the behaviour of tread-water feeding and a sea creature named hafgufa from 13th century Old Norse texts. It is thought hafgufa can be traced back to the...

Japanese scientists take a novel approach to study populations of deep-sea brittle stars

For the first time, researchers develop a metabarcoding technology for brittle stars. Japanese scientists, led by Dr. Masanori Okanishi of the Hiroshima Shudo University and the University of Tokyo, analyzed environmental DNA (eDNA) released from marine invertebrates in the water, and successfully identified the species they were looking for. The study is published in Metabarcoding and...

Better metric for prioritizing conservation of 'evolutionarily distinctive' species

An updated metric for prioritizing species' conservation that incorporates scientific uncertainty and complementarity between species, in addition to extinction risk and evolutionary distinctiveness, has been published on February 28 in the open access journal PLOS Biology, authored by Rikki Gumbs from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), U.K., and colleagues.

Parental investment may have aided evolution of larger brains

A review of evidence from prior research provides new support for the possibility that the evolution of larger brains in some species was enabled through increased energy investment by parents in their offspring. Carel van Schaik of the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior in Konstanz, Germany, and colleagues present their arguments in a paper published on February 28 in the open access...

Study suggests lead from innovative solar cells is not as toxic as feared

Scientists from Skoltech and other research centers have systematically studied the toxicity of materials used in perovskite solar cells. They conclude that, once the remaining technological hurdles are overcome, mass production of this potentially cheap and efficient alternative to silicon-based photovoltaics should not cause any significant environmental risks and health hazards. Reported in...

Invasive plant species will spread even further in Germany according to simulation study

Many invasive plant species have not yet filled their potentially suitable habitat. This is what geographers at Leipzig University established in a recent simulation study. They coupled different data sets to predict the probability of occurrence of selected invasive plant species for any location in Germany. The results have been published in the International Journal of Applied Earth Observation...

Machine learning model speeds up assessment of catalysts for decarbonization technology from months to milliseconds

Next time you drive past farms or prairies and ponds on a rural road, look around. They are a rich source of biomass. That includes corn, soybeans, sugar cane, switchgrass, algae and other plant matter. These carbon-rich materials can be converted to liquid fuels and chemicals with many possible applications. There is enough biomass in the United States, for example, to produce renewable jet fuel...

Glycerol may jeopardize functional assays, lowering chances of success in drug design campaigns

New antitubercular drugs are vital due to the spread of resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A research team from Skoltech, MIPT, and the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (IBOCH NAS) has obtained ultra-high-resolution structures of the M. tuberculosis cytochrome in complex with an inhibitor. The team's findings show that glycerol—a...

Green and efficient approach to synthesizing esters for flavorings, fragrances

Scientists from Oil Crops Research Institute (OCRI) of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Anhui Agricultural University (Anhui, China), Newcastle University in Singapore, and Huizhou Comvikin Biotechnology Co., Ltd (Guangdong, China) have developed a green and efficient approach to synthesize highly liposoluble and antioxidant L-ascorbyl esters by immobilized lipases.

Ancient eggshells unlock discovery of extinct elephant bird lineage

More than 1,200 years ago, flightless elephant birds roamed the island of Madagascar and laid eggs bigger than footballs. While these ostrich-like giants are now extinct, new research from CU Boulder and Curtin University in Australia reveals that their eggshell remnants hold valuable clues about their time on Earth.

Use of algae to support sustainable fertilizer production

Research into algae that could support the sustainable production of biofertilizers has been published by Sheffield researchers. Agricultural challenges such as the sustainable supply of biofertilizers could be solved by new research showing how different strains of algae from similar habitats have different capacities to absorb key ingredients, potentially from wastewater.

Scientists propose a new filler for bone implants with increased bioactivity

An international team of scientists with the participation of researchers from NUST MISIS has proposed an alternative filler for 3D printed bone scaffolds based on calcium silicate. The material prevents the formation of a bacterial film on the surface of the scaffolds and, in the future, can be used for implants of lightly loaded bones, such as the skull. The results of the work were published in...

Study: Streamflow timing in Pakistan will become three times faster by end of century

Nature has remained in balance for a long time, but climate change due to modern human activities is disrupting the balance of the natural system. The disruption makes it more difficult for humans—who must work with nature to survive—to predict the future. Moreover, developing countries with limited understanding and preparation for climate change are more vulnerable to climate change-driven...