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99 articles from PhysOrg

New model provides improved air-quality predictions in fire-prone areas

Globally, wildfires are becoming more frequent and destructive, generating a significant amount of smoke that can be transported thousands of miles, driving the need for more accurate air pollution forecasts. A team of Penn State researchers has developed a deep learning model that provides improved predictions of air quality in wildfire-prone areas and can differentiate between wildfires and...

Researchers discover way to reverse infertility by reducing HDL cholesterol

Houston Methodist scientists reversed infertility in sterile mice by reducing high-circulating cholesterol with a bacterial protein, showing further evidence that links high cholesterol to female infertility. This is a promising development, with one in every five women of childbearing age in the U.S. unable to get pregnant after trying for a year.

Physicists track sequential 'melting' of upsilons

Scientists using the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) to study some of the hottest matter ever created in a laboratory have published their first data showing how three distinct variations of particles called upsilons sequentially "melt," or dissociate, in the hot goo. The results, just published in Physical Review Letters, come from RHIC's STAR detector, one of two large particle tracking...

Webb captures rarely seen prelude to a supernova

A Wolf-Rayet star is a rare prelude to the famous final act of a massive star: the supernova. As one of its first observations in 2022, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope captured the Wolf-Rayet star WR 124 in unprecedented detail. A distinctive halo of gas and dust frames the star and glows in the infrared light detected by Webb, displaying knotty structure and a history of episodic...

Innovative approach opens the door to COVID nanobody therapies

COVID is not yet under control. Despite a bevy of vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and antivirals, the virus continues to mutate and elude us. One solution that scientists have been exploring since the early days of the pandemic may come in the form of tiny antibodies derived from llamas, which target various parts of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

Humans are leaving behind a 'frozen signature' of microbes on Mount Everest

Almost 5 miles above sea level in the Himalayan mountains, the rocky dip between Mount Everest and its sister peak, Lhotse, lies windswept, free of snow. It is here at the South Col where hundreds of adventurers pitch their final camp each year before attempting to scale the world's tallest peak from the southeastern side.

Sequencing the genome of a newly discovered soybean pest

University of Minnesota students conducted crucial genome sequencing for the newly discovered soybean gall midge—a pest that is threatening the soybean crop, one of the most widely cultivated and consumed throughout the world. This small fly has been found in major soybean-producing states in the Midwest, including Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Missouri.

Embedding aligned nanofibrous architectures within 3D-printed polycaprolactone scaffolds for tissue regeneration

The existing 3D-printed scaffolds commonly possess a thick feature size of hundreds of micrometers, which is too large for most cells (10–20 μm) to attach and proliferate for promoting tissue regeneration. Researchers from Xi'an Jiaotong University have developed a novel hybrid manufacturing technique for the fabrication of composite scaffolds with 3D-printed macroscale frameworks and aligned...

Tracking lithiation with transmission electron microscopy

Li ion imaging by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is the "holy grail" in the study of Li ion battery (LIB) materials. Tracking lithiation process in TEM could provide a more profound understanding of the electrode degradation mechanism during battery cycling, which accelerates material modification for better performance.

Pinpoint simulations provide perspective on universe structure

The universe is peppered with galaxies, which, on large scales, exhibit a filamentary pattern, referred to as the cosmic web. This heterogeneous distribution of cosmic material is in some ways like blueberries in a muffin where material clusters in certain areas but may be lacking in others.

The extent of corruption in Sweden may be underestimated

There is a risk that individuals may benefit from having relatives in important posts in the public sector. This is shown in a doctoral thesis at Linköping University that investigates corruption in a mature democracy. The conclusion is that nepotism may be an underestimated problem that deserves more attention in Sweden.