101 articles from FRIDAY 5.5.2023

Can brains bounce back? Recovering addicts turn to science to map the effects of meth

Cohen Irwin is part of a group of former addicts in New Zealand working with researchers to trace signs of healing in the brains of those who stop smokingEvery few months, Cohen “Coey” Irwin lies on his back and lets the walls close in. Lights move overhead, scanning over the tattoos covering his cheeks. He lies suspended, his head encased by a padded helmet, ears blocked, as his body is...

Researchers call for single approach on wild horses

The U.S. federal government's management of wild horses is doomed to fail without fundamental changes in policy and the law, according to a new paper led by researchers at the University of Wyoming and Oklahoma State University.

Exciton fission: One photon in, two electrons out

Photovoltaics, the conversion of light to electricity, is a key technology for sustainable energy. Since the days of Max Planck and Albert Einstein, we know that light as well as electricity are quantized, meaning they come in tiny packets called photons and electrons. In a solar cell, the energy of a single photon is transferred to a single electron of the material, but no more than one. Only a...

Scientist uncovers roots of antibiotic resistance

Microbiologists have uncovered the evolutionary origins of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria. His studies on the bacterium that causes cholera, Vibrio cholerae, provide insight into deciphering what conditions must occur for infectious agents to become resistant. He studied genetic variants of a protein found in bacterial membranes called OmpU. Using computational and molecular...

Single approach on wild horses

Because contrasting societal views have created an approach that simultaneously manages horses on the range as wildlife, livestock and pets, current U.S. government programs are incapable of succeeding, according to researchers.

The evolution of honey bee brains

Researchers have proposed a new model for the evolution of higher brain functions and behaviors in the Hymenoptera order of insects. The team compared the Kenyon cells, a type of neuronal cell, in the mushroom bodies (a part of the insect brain involved in learning, memory and sensory integration) of 'primitive' sawflies and sophisticated honey bees. They found that three diverse, specialized...

Scientists capture elusive chemical reaction using enhanced X-ray method

Researchers have captured one of the fastest movements of a molecule called ferricyanide for the first time by combining two ultrafast X-ray spectroscopy techniques. They think their approach could help map more complex chemical reactions like oxygen transportation in blood cells or hydrogen production using artificial photosynthesis.

A new model for the evolution of honey bee brains

Researchers have proposed a new model for the evolution of higher brain functions and behaviors in the Hymenoptera order of insects. The team compared the Kenyon cells, a type of neuronal cell, in the mushroom bodies (a part of the insect brain involved in learning, memory and sensory integration) of "primitive" sawflies and sophisticated honey bees.

Fruit fly gut research leads to discovery of new phosphate-storing organelle

Scientists at the Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School have discovered something remarkable while studying phosphate transport in fruit fly intestines—a never before seen organelle. Their results are published in the journal Nature, and a News and Views piece in the same journal discusses their findings.

Scientists capture elusive chemical reaction using enhanced X-ray method

Researchers at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory captured one of the fastest movements of a molecule called ferricyanide for the first time by combining two ultrafast X-ray spectroscopy techniques. They think their approach could help map more complex chemical reactions like oxygen transportation in blood cells or hydrogen production using artificial photosynthesis.

Herbaceous planting for ecological restoration of urban land based on mechanisms of the assembly of plant communities

Brownfield restoration has become a frontier topic in the research on urban ecosystem governance. Optimizing brownfield ecosystems through proper bioremediation approaches can provide urban landscapes and habitats with sound ecological potentials. Currently, the lagging theory and technique development of brownfield vegetation restoration, the species selection based on single causality, and the...

Study finds female astronauts more efficient, suggesting future space missions with all-female crews

As humans contemplate life on other planets, we are immediately confronted with two choices. One is a journey to another solar system that would take tens of thousands of years (with current technology), requiring around 2,000 generations to live out their existence in the cramped confines of a spacecraft while adhering to a strict population control scheme. The other choice is Mars.

Archaea in a warming climate become less diverse, more predictable

Led by Jizhong Zhou, Ph.D., the director of the Institute for Environmental Genomics at the University of Oklahoma, an international research team conducted a long term experiment that found that climate warming reduced the diversity of and significantly altered the community structure of soil archaea. Their findings are published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Need to keep your picnic cool? Try mushrooms instead of dry ice

“Cool as a cucumber” might be better phrased as “cool as a mushroom.” A research team has found that mushrooms and other fungi, including yeast and molds, stay cooler than their surroundings—and has also explained how they stay so chill. The contain a lot of water—just think how mushrooms shrink when cooked—and gradually release it in a fungal form of sweating that...

When the Fed announces a new monetary policy strategy, do households listen?

In August 2020, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell announced a change in the Fed's inflation strategy: they would be implementing a strategy called average inflation targeting (AIT), which allows inflation to move above and below the target rate of 2% so that it averages out to 2% over time. This differs from the previous strategy of traditional inflation targeting, in which the intent is to...

Uncovering the mysteries of alfalfa seed dormancy through multispectral imaging analysis

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa), commonly called the "King of Grass," is a legume grown in many parts of the world as a source of animal fodder. It is prized in the forage industry for its high protein content and biomass yield. Recently, alfalfa protein has found applications in aquaculture, pet food industry and human diet. Furthermore, it is seen as an environmentally beneficial crop, with positive...

Study reveals intense CO2 degassing process in magmas

The Okinawa Trough is a newly formed back-arc basin located in the outer margin of the continental shelf of the East China Sea. The submarine hydrothermal activities are widely developed in the Okinawa Trough. A typical feature of the basin is that the hydrothermal fluids are highly rich in CO2.

Old-growth forests continue to disappear despite EU protection commitments

Old-growth forests are of exceptional importance for biodiversity and climate protection in Europe, but they are increasingly rare. Despite the European Union's (EU) pledge in its Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, legislation to protect old-growth remnants still has not been implemented in many member states. Old-growth forest loss continues at alarming rates.

Alexandrite laser crystals found to be well suited for space applications

Alexandrite laser crystals are well suited for use in Earth observation satellites. They are robust and enable laser systems with a tunable output wavelength. In the European Horizon 2020 project GALACTIC, the partners Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (LZH), Optomaterials S.r.l. (Italy) and Altechna (Lithuania) have now succeeded in establishing a solely European supply chain for alexandrite laser...

A new nondestructive method for assessing bioengineered artificial tissues

Engineering organs to replace damaged hearts or kidneys in the human body may seem like something out of a sci-fi movie, but the building blocks for this technology are already in place. In the burgeoning field of tissue engineering, live cells grow in artificial scaffolds to form biological tissue. But to evaluate how successfully the cells develop into tissue, researchers need a reliable method...

Gas observed moving into a massive galaxy offers evidence of material recycling

An international team of space scientists has found that observation of a gas cloud stream heading into a massive galaxy may offer evidence of gas material recycling. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their observance and analysis of a gas cloud surrounding a dense galaxy cluster 11 billion light years away, and what they learned from their work.

Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency, says WHO

Declaration a major step towards end of pandemic that has killed more than 6.9m peopleThe Covid-19 pandemic, which has sickened or killed almost 800 million people over three years, no longer constitutes a global health emergency, the head of the World Health Organization has said.The WHO first gave Covid its highest level of alert on 30 January 2020, and its panel has continued to apply the label...

Why three-day weekends are great for well-being—and the economy

The coronation of King Charles III has upped the UK's public holiday count this year. The special public holiday on the Monday after the May 6 ceremony, combined with the early May bank holiday and the spring bank holiday at the end, has certainly made for a month of celebrations for many workers.