155 articles from FRIDAY 24.3.2023
Researchers identify cell type that could be key to preventing marrow transplant complication
- ScienceDaily
- 23/3/24 23:44
While the donor cells in a bone marrow transplant can help cure the patient's blood cancer, they can also cause graft-versus-host disease -- in which donor T cells, a specialized immune cell in the blood, attack the patient's healthy cells. Before this study, there was no finite T cell population identified as the cause of GVHD. Now, researchers have identified the specific type of T cells that...
'Smart' bandages monitor wounds and provide targeted treatment
- ScienceDaily
- 23/3/24 23:44
Researchers have developed a flexible electronic bandage for use on chronic wounds, particularly in diabetic patients. The bandage monitors signs of inflammation, collecting medical data and providing medication as needed.
Researchers find clue to help plants grow with low phosphorus levels
- ScienceDaily
- 23/3/24 23:44
Phosphorus is a natural mineral found in fertilizer that is essential for plant growth and development, and Earth's agricultural-grade phosphorus reserves are expected to be depleted in 50 to 100 years. A new discovery is changing their understanding of iron toxicity in plants caused by low phosphorus levels.
New type of entanglement lets scientists 'see' inside nuclei
- ScienceDaily
- 23/3/24 23:44
Nuclear physicists have found a new way to see inside nuclei by tracking interactions between particles of light and gluons. The method relies on harnessing a new type of quantum interference between two dissimilar particles. Tracking how these entangled particles emerge from the interactions lets scientists map out the arrangement of gluons. This approach is unusual for making use of entanglement...
Russians, American delayed in space to return in September
Two cosmonauts and an astronaut who were supposed to leave the International Space Station this month will be brought back to Earth in late September, doubling their time aboard the orbiting laboratory to more than a year, Russia's space agency announced Friday.
Blue Origin hopes to resume space flights 'soon' after 2022 accident
Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin said Friday it hopes to resume rocket flights "soon" following the conclusion of an investigation into a crash last year—but it must wait for US regulators to accept the findings.
Helping plants grow as phosphorus levels in soil deplete
Phosphorus is a natural mineral that is essential for plant growth and development, and Earth's agricultural-grade phosphorus reserves are expected to be depleted in 50 to 100 years. A new discovery by researchers at Michigan State University and the Carnegie Institution for Science is changing their understanding of iron toxicity in plants caused by low phosphorus levels.
Acquisitions can nix existing partnerships
Business alliances are valuable because they help companies supplement critical skills, enter new markets, and gain competitive advantages.
No aliens needed: 'Oumuamua's behaviour has a natural explanation, scientists say
A new theory suggests that radiation from interstellar space reconfigured ice on 'Oumuamua's surface to trap hydrogen gas that was released as a propellant as it approached the...
3 astronauts delayed on space station to return in September
Three astronauts who were supposed to leave the International Space Station this month will be brought back to Earth in late September, doubling their time aboard the orbiting laboratory to more than a year, Russia's space agency announced Friday.
Bezos' rocket company pins crash on overheated engine nozzle
An overheated rocket engine nozzle caused last year's Blue Origin launch failure that has grounded flights for six months, the company said Friday.
With fewer salmon to eat, Southern Resident killer whales spend less time in the San Juan Islands
As a key food supply declines, the endangered population of Southern Resident killer whales, known to frequent the Salish Sea off the coasts of Washington and British Columbia, is spending far less time in that region, a new study shows.
Flyover of Mars crater shows details of an ancient lake
Bob McDonald's blog: A new simulation video produced by NASA and the ESA shows off the planetary features that make scientists believe the Red Planet's Jezero Crater was a lake billions of years...
Sage warned Independent Sage its name would cause confusion, says Vallance
Chief scientist told former incumbent Sir David King the similarity would lead to mixed messagingThe government’s chief scientist warned a former incumbent not to confuse the public during the Covid pandemic by naming an independent expert panel after the group convened to advise ministers on the crisis.Sir Patrick Vallance revealed the clash in an interview at the Institute for Government on...
Mutation behind night blindness in humans helps whale sharks see in the dark
Even a fisher’s yarn would sell a whale shark short. These fish—the biggest on the planet—stretch up to 18 meters long and weigh as much as two elephants. The superlatives don’t end there: Whale sharks also have one of the longest vertical ranges of any sea creature, filter feeding from the surface of the ocean to nearly 2000 meters down into the inky abyss.
Swimming...
New index helps identify 55 unprotected marine protected areas
A new Paper Park Index (PPI) developed by researchers at the University of British Columbia's Sea Around Us initiative helped identify 55 marine protected areas (MPAs) across the world where enough fishing takes place to contravene the protection status officially assigned to such sites.
New experiment translates quantum information between technologies in an important step for the quantum internet
Researchers have discovered a way to "translate" quantum information between different kinds of quantum technologies, with significant implications for quantum computing, communication, and networking.
California ends some water limits after storms ease drought
California Gov. Gavin Newsom ended some of the state's water restrictions on Friday because a winter of relentless rain and snow has replenished the state's reservoirs and eased fears of a shortage after three years of severe drought.
Sexual harassment and customer abuse rife in retail, says Australian report
One in five retail workers has been sexually harassed at work in the past five years, most commonly by a senior colleague or a customer, according to a new report from the University of Sydney and the Australia National University.
Planetary scientist who redirects asteroids with NASA discusses Asteroid 2023 DZ2
NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies detected an asteroid that will pass Earth by 108,758 miles this weekend, which is closer than the moon's distance from Earth 238,855 miles away.
11 ways to improve airlines for customers
The name of the game is customer satisfaction, especially in the airline industry where companies are constantly jockeying for business by promising better service than their competitors. Now a professor at the University of Missouri has used artificial intelligence to sort through thousands of customer reviews and identify where airlines are falling short.
Antarctic clouds could help improve climate change projections
A Cranfield University designed instrument capable of remotely analyzing molecules from the air in Antarctica will help scientists understand future changes in our climate.
Improving remote operation of planetary ground robots during upcoming Mars analog mission
The Institute for Systems and Robotics and the Interactive Technologies Institute, both represented by the Laboratory of Robotics and Engineering Systems (LARSyS), are proud to announce their participation in the upcoming AMADEE-24 mission to Mars. The mission, organized by the Austrian Space Forum (OeWF), aims to advance the development of space exploration through international collaboration and...
Synergistic iron carbide catalysts enable direct conversion of syngas into higher alcohols
Higher alcohols (C2+ alcohols), which are important raw materials, have been used as the intermediates of valued products. They are also widely applied in various fields of fuel, food, fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals and energy.
Scientists uncover startling concentrations of pure DDT along seafloor off LA coast
First it was the eerie images of barrels leaking on the seafloor not far from Catalina Island. Then the shocking realization that the nation's largest manufacturer of DDT had once used the ocean as a huge dumping ground—and that as many as half a million barrels of its acid waste had been poured straight into the water.
NASA prepares for historic asteroid sample delivery on Sept. 24
NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is cruising back to Earth with a sample it collected from the rocky surface of asteroid Bennu. When its sample capsule parachutes down into the Utah desert on Sept. 24, OSIRIS-REx will become the United States' first-ever mission to return an asteroid sample to Earth.
‘Smart bandage’ with biosensors could help chronic wounds heal, study claims
Device tested that can monitor and stimulate burns, diabetic ulcers and non-healing surgical woundsA smart bandage that can monitor chronic wounds and help them to heal has been developed by scientists who say the device could aid people with diabetic ulcers, burns and non-healing surgical wounds.According to figures from 2018, there are 2.2 million people in the UK with chronic wounds, costing...
Providing help with integrated weed management
Pesticide use must be reduced. The EU has set a target to reduce pesticide use by 50% by 2030. Therefore, a strong focus on integrated weed management must be maintained in the coming years. When it comes to weeds, the focus has mainly been on improving the efficacy of pesticides, replacing or complementing them with mechanical treatments in the field.
Get help with integrated weed management
- ScienceDaily
- 23/3/24 18:52
A new digital tool can help farmers plan weed control with reduced pesticide use. The IWM Tool is one of the results of IWMPraise, a six-year European project on integrated weed management.
Photosynthesis: Varying roads lead to the reaction center
- ScienceDaily
- 23/3/24 18:52
Chemists use high-precision quantum chemistry to study key elements of super-efficient energy transfer in an important element of photosynthesis.
Blind people sense their heartbeats better than sighted
- ScienceDaily
- 23/3/24 18:52
Blind people are better at sensing their own heartbeats than sighted, shows a new study. The study indicates that blindness leads to a heightened ability in feeling signals from the inner body.
Pathogen mapped: Evolution and potential treatments
- ScienceDaily
- 23/3/24 18:52
A parasite which has devastating impacts on agriculture and human health is the first pathogen to have its proteins located and mapped within its cells -- providing clues to their function and helping to identify potential drug targets.
Graphene grows -- and we can see it
- ScienceDaily
- 23/3/24 18:52
Graphene is the strongest of all materials. On top of that, it is exceptionally good at conducting heat and electrical currents, making it one of the most special and versatile materials we know. For all these reasons, the discovery of graphene was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010. Yet, many properties of the material and its cousins are still poorly understood -- for the simple reason...
Time of day matters when it comes to cancer diagnosis and treatment
- ScienceDaily
- 23/3/24 18:52
Your circadian rhythm doesn't just govern your sleeping schedule; it can also impact cancer development, diagnosis, and treatment. Researchers discuss the role of circadian rhythms in tumor progression and spread and describe how we could better time when patients are tested for cancer and when they receive therapies to improve diagnostic accuracy and improve treatment success.
RNA vaccination in rabbit mothers confers benefits to offspring in the womb
- ScienceDaily
- 23/3/24 18:52
Newly developed mRNA vaccines against Zika virus and HIV-1 produced strong antibody responses that transferred from pregnant rabbits to their offspring, researchers report. As noted by the authors, the results support further development of their vaccine platform, LIONTM/repRNA, for maternal and neonatal settings to protect against mother-to-child transmission of pathogens in animals and humans.
Dieting: Brain amplifies signal of hunger synapses
- ScienceDaily
- 23/3/24 18:52
Many people who have dieted are familiar with the yo-yo effect: after the diet, the kilos are quickly put back on. Researchers have now shown in mice that communication in the brain changes during a diet: The nerve cells that mediate the feeling of hunger receive stronger signals, so that the mice eat significantly more after the diet and gain weight more quickly. In the long term, these findings...
More predictable renewable energy could lower costs
- ScienceDaily
- 23/3/24 18:52
Lower electricity costs for consumers and more reliable clean energy could be some of the benefits of a new study by researchers who have examined how predictable solar or wind energy generation is and the impact of it on profits in the electricity market.
Finding the sweet spot in sugar reductions
- ScienceDaily
- 23/3/24 18:52
Putting less sugar in sodas and reducing the package size of sodas sold in supermarkets may help reduce our collective sugar intake and thus lower the associated health risks. Good news for consumers, but how does it affect manufacturers? Research conducted in the US has shown that marketing diet or sugar-free varieties does not lead to an increase in the overall turnover of soda manufacturers....
Using high-precision quantum chemistry to study super-efficient energy transfer in photosynthesis
Photosynthesis drives all life on Earth. Complex processes are required for the sunlight-powered conversion of carbon dioxide and water to energy-rich sugar and oxygen. These processes are driven by two protein complexes, photosystems I and II. In photosystem I, sunlight is used with an efficiency of almost 100%. Here a complex network of 288 chlorophylls plays the decisive role.
Fly around Jezero Crater on Mars in this new video
There's a reason Jezero Crater was chosen as the landing site for the Perseverance Rover: it is considered one of the likeliest places to find any evidence if Mars was ever habitable for long periods of time. In this great new flyby video from ESA, you can get a birds-eye look at Perseverance's home.