150 articles from WEDNESDAY 15.3.2023

Children's drawings may help with early detection of giftedness

Potential talents of children with characteristics of giftedness are not always seen in mainstream education. Children's drawings, however, can play a role in early detection of their needs and talents, argues psychologist Sven Mathijssen in his dissertation titled "Back to the drawing board: Potential indicators of giftedness in human figure drawings," which he defends on March 22, 2023.

Resistance in tokamak vessel walls can cause disruptive energy loss

Under certain conditions, the fusion devices known as tokamaks can suffer a sudden loss of energy to the vessel walls. Researchers call this energy loss process a disruption. One cause is a magnetohydrodynamic (i.e., conducting plasma in a magnetic field) instability, or mode, coupling to the vacuum vessel.

A non-native tree species reclaims its prominence after extreme weather

The long-term effects on forests of more extreme climate events, plus other drivers of forest change, are highly uncertain. A new study of the tropical forests across Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), spanning 19 years, found that after Hurricane Maria in 2017, the total biomass of a fast-growing non-native species, the African tulip Tree (Spathodea campanulata), may again be...

New targeting opportunities discovered against canine distemper virus

The highly contagious canine distemper virus is dangerous to dogs and wild life animals. It is also closely related to the equally highly contagious measles virus. Researchers at the University of Bern and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences have now for the first time determined the structure of the canine distemper virus "docking protein" and depicted it at molecular level. This lays the...

High-loading single cobalt atoms on ultrathin MOF nanosheets for efficient photocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction

Using solar energy to convert CO2 into synthetic fuels is currently one of the most promising technologies to achieve carbon neutrality with the embedment of sustainable energy into our modern economy. However, the efficiency of photocatalytic CO2 conversion is greatly limited due to the high thermodynamic stability of CO2 molecules and their multiple-electron-reduction process.

Stock market forces shown to drive cryptocurrency returns

Having examined the impact of various factors on cryptocurrency returns, HSE economists found that fluctuations in cryptocurrency prices can be better explained by equity market risks than by factors specific to the crypto market, suggesting greater linkages between cryptocurrency and equity markets than previously believed. The study is published in a special issue of International Finance Review...

New study suggests a strong link between social entrepreneurship and language

The rise in social entrepreneurship over the last 20 years denotes a major global economic and political movement. Social entrepreneurs generate substantial positive outcomes, but while they make up 2% or more of GDP in countries like Canada, Australia and the UK, many other societies have a shortage of them. A recent study from a special issue of the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal (SEJ)...

China rolls out ‘radical’ change to its research enterprise

Facing tighter restrictions on access to key technologies and an increasingly competitive global scientific landscape, China has launched a major shake-up of its research organizations in pursuit of “self-reliance” in science and technology. The National People’s Congress last week approved a plan that will refocus China’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) on key...

New technology maps where and how cells read their genome

A new study published in Nature reports that a technology known as spatial omics can be used to map simultaneously how genes are switched on and off and how they are expressed in different areas of tissues and organs. This improved technology, developed by researchers at Yale University and Karolinska Institutet, could shed light on the development of tissues, as well as on certain diseases and...

Fundamental constants: Is the universe fine-tuned for life?

Imagine a universe with extremely strong gravity. Stars would be able to form from very little material. They would be smaller than in our universe and live for a much shorter amount of time. But could life evolve there? It took human life billions of years to evolve on Earth under the pleasantly warm rays from the Sun after all.

James Webb space telescope captures rare image of dying star

Picture released of star in Sagitta constellation on the cusp of going supernovaJames Webb telescope gives a stunning look at galaxies far, far awayThe James Webb space telescope has captured the rare and fleeting phase of a star on the cusp of death.The observation was among the first made by the telescope following its launch in late 2021, but the picture was not released until this week....

Pluto team updates science from the solar system's edge

Nearly eight years after its historic Pluto flyby, NASA's New Horizons probe is getting ready for another round of observations made from the icy edge of the solar system—and this time, its field of view will range from Uranus and Neptune to the cosmic background far beyond our galaxy.