176 articles from THURSDAY 9.3.2023

Traditional horticultural substrate's sorptive behavior quantified

The objective of a recent study published in HortScience was to quantify the sorptive effects on substrate wettability and water-holding capacity. Inferences into the effectiveness of the substrate to capture water have been difficult to demonstrate statistically. To assist in this, researchers used a monomolecular exponential model to quantify water holding capacity and the irrigation volume...

If you think you understand how incentives work, think again

How can people be incentivized to drive more fuel-efficient cars, be more innovative at work, and get to the gym on a regular basis? Uri Gneezy, professor of economics and strategy at the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego, explains this in his new book, "Mixed Signals: How Incentives Really Work."

Researchers examine drought resistance traits in beans using hyperspectral remote sensing

Crops adapt to climatic and environmental changes by exhibiting certain modified biological traits. For instance, plants growing in deserts exhibit drought resistance. However, at times, plant breeding becomes necessary to ensure optimal crop yields, stress response, and water utilization. High-throughput phenotyping tools are then used for the cost-effective and rapid screening of desired...

Tireless microbial killers in new nanocomposites

They kill with a molecular sting or oxidative shock and don't know the meaning of fatigue. The latest biocidal nanocomposites, designed and synthesized by scientists at the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IPJ PAN) in Krakow, are charting new directions for materials engineering in the fight against microorganisms.

The world's atmospheric rivers now have an intensity ranking like hurricanes

Atmospheric rivers, which are long, narrow bands of water vapor, are becoming more intense and frequent with climate change. A new study demonstrates that a recently developed scale for atmospheric river intensity (akin to the hurricane scale) can be used to rank atmospheric rivers and identify hotspots of the most intense atmospheric rivers not only along the U.S. West Coast but also worldwide.

Researchers use calcium materials to reduce arsenic availability in agricultural soil

Of all the heavy metals appearing as pollutants in agricultural soil, arsenic (As) poses the greatest threat to human health. As is a common pollutant in upland arable soils, which account for nearly 90% of the world's agricultural soil. In its pentavalent form, known as arsenate [As(V)], As is easily absorbed by crops grown in these soils and, through them, enter the human body.

CHEOPS mission extended

After more than three years in orbit, the mission of the CHEOPS space telescope has just been extended. Led by the University of Bern in collaboration with the University of Geneva, CHEOPS is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and Switzerland.

Legally binding global treaty needed to tackle space debris, say experts

Scientists call for collective effort to protect Earth’s orbit from dangers posed by space junkSatellite makers and operators must be held responsible for the growing hazard of space debris, according to experts who say a legally binding global treaty must be thrashed out to protect the orbital environment.With the number of satellites rising dramatically, the agreement would make manufacturers...

Like a flexible Lego railway track: How stable microtubules form within cells

Like poles support a tent, microtubules—hollow cylindrical structures made of tubulin protein—support eukaryotic cells. But microtubules provide more than just mechanical strength; they help prepare the cell for cell division and migration and work as a railway track on which motor proteins transport materials within the cell.

How the pandemic has changed the Swedish fashion industry

The COVID-19 pandemic has had clear consequences for the Swedish fashion industry. Digitalization has accelerated, while efforts to attract customers to physical stores have stagnated. A development that will continue, according to researcher Gabriella Wulff.

Researchers prove that tough, woody lignin can be broken down in an anaerobic environment

It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it. In this case, the "job" is the breakdown of lignin, the structural biopolymer that gives stems, bark and branches their signature woodiness. One of the most abundant terrestrial polymers on Earth, lignin surrounds valuable plant fibers and other molecules that could be converted into biofuels and other commodity chemicals—if we could only get past...