CRISPR enables one-step hybrid seed production in crops
Crop hybrid technologies have contributed to the significant yield improvement worldwide in the past decades. However, designing and maintaining a hybrid production line has always been complex and laborious. Now, researchers in China have developed a new system combining CRISPR-mediated genome editing with other approaches that could produce better seeds compared with conventional hybrid methods...
Researchers build robot scientist that has already discovered a new catalyst
Researchers at the University of Liverpool have built an intelligent mobile robot scientist that can work 24-7, carrying out experiments by itself.
How colliding neutron stars could shed light on universal mysteries
An important breakthrough in how we can understand dead star collisions and the expansion of the Universe has been made by an international team, led by the University of East Anglia.
Scaling up the quantum chip
MIT researchers have developed a process to manufacture and integrate "artificial atoms," created by atomic-scale defects in microscopically thin slices of diamond, with photonic circuitry, producing the largest quantum chip of its type.
Supergenes play a larger role in evolution than previously thought
Massive blocks of genes—inherited together 'plug and play' style—may play a larger role in evolutionary adaption than previously thought, according to new research in Nature.
Hummingbirds found able to understand numerical order
A team of researchers from the University of St Andrews in the U.K. and the University of Lethbridge in Canada has found that hummingbirds are able to understand the concept of numerical order. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group describes experiments they conducted with wild hummingbirds and what they learned from them.
Polynesians, Native Americans made contact before European arrival, genetic study finds
Through deep genetic analyses, Stanford Medicine scientists and their collaborators have found conclusive scientific evidence of contact between ancient Polynesians and Native Americans from the region that is now Colombia—something that's been hotly contested in the historic and archaeological world for decades.
Harvard, MIT sue Trump govt over order revoking visas for foreign students
Harvard and MIT asked a court Wednesday to block an order by President Donald Trump's administration threatening the visas of foreign students whose entire courses have moved online because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Graphene: It is all about the toppings
Graphene consists of a single layer of carbon atoms. Exceptional electronic, thermal, mechanical, and optical properties have made graphene one of the most studied materials at the moment. For many applications in electronics and energy technology, however, graphene must be combined with other materials. Since graphene is so thin, its properties drastically change when other materials are brought...
Tobacco budworm moths have receptors in their eggs, laying organs that detect odorants
When most insects reproduce, they lay eggs that hatch into juveniles known as larvae. To provide good sources of food for the larvae, the adult insects have to carefully select where to lay the eggs. Host plants produce specific sets of chemicals known as odorants that the adult insects are able to smell using proteins called odorant receptors.
Novel major locus regulates beak evolution of ground tit
Classical quantitative genetics has found that most phenotypes are polygenic traits. Under this polygenic model, natural selection often acts on many loci simultaneously, resulting in the combination of a few loci with major effects and many loci with small effects controlling adaptive changes in phenotypes, which presents challenges to the understanding of the genetic basis underlying polygenic...
Shock waves from stellar explosions take preferential direction
In a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal, a team led by researchers at École Polytechnique have paved the way to unraveling the mystery as to why many supernova remnants that we observe from Earth are axisymmetric (elongated along one axis) rather than spherical.
Detecting hidden nanostructures by converting light into sound
Researchers at ARCNL have found a way to detect nanostructures buried under many layers of opaque material using high-frequency sound waves induced by light. Their findings could have applications in the semiconductor manufacturing industry, such as wafer alignment. The researchers also revealed interesting new phenomena in photo-acoustics that have not been investigated before. Their results are...
Researchers develop a unique method for creating powder composites
Scientists from South Ural State University have developed a new method for creating powder metal composites. The method can reduce waste and improve the quality of electrical products and, as a result, increase the economic efficiency of production by 30%. The study was published in the journal Metallurgist.
Spider silk made by photosynthetic bacteria
Spiders produce amazingly strong and lightweight threads called draglines that are made from silk proteins. Although they can be used to manufacture a number of useful materials, getting enough of the protein is difficult because only a small amount can be produced by each tiny spider. In a new study published in Communications Biology, a research team led by Keiji Numata at the RIKEN Center for...
Researchers discover a novel mechanism regulating planar cell polarity
Planar cell polarity (PCP), a process in which the epithelial tissues are polarized within the plane of the epithelium, plays an important role in development and organ function. Defects in PCP are associated with a variety of human diseases including cancer metastasis, neurological disorders, skeletal dysplasias and congenital heart disease. The establishment of PCP is regulated by an...
Milk lipids follow the evolution of mammals
Skoltech scientists have conducted a study of milk lipids and described the unique features of human breast milk as compared to bovids, pigs, and closely related primates. Their findings could be indicative of co-evolution of milk composition and the specific needs of the developing organism.
The complex relationship between deforestation and diet diversity in the Amazon
Ten years ago, non-indigenous households from three communities in the Ucayali region in Peru regularly ate fish, wild fruits, and other products collected from the Amazon forest. Combined with whatever they grew and harvested on their lands, this contributed to a relatively diverse diet. Today, the same households have changed their production strategy and how they get food on the table....
Climate change turning US mountain lakes green with algae
Global warming is turning clear mountain lakes green in the western United States because of an increase in algae blooms "without historical precedent", researchers reported on Tuesday.
NASA adds more safety fixes for Boeing's crew capsule
NASA has added more safety fixes for Boeing's space capsule before it can fly astronauts following a pair of close calls during last year's test flight.
Climate warming increases Asian carp threat to Lake Michigan by offsetting quagga mussel 'ecological
The ongoing warming of Lake Michigan increases its susceptibility to Asian carp, in part by reducing the capacity of quagga mussels to act as an ecological barrier against the voracious algae-eating fish, according to a new University of Michigan-led study.
New study reveals people more likely to donate when reminded of own mortality
New research from the UBC Sauder School of Business shows that people are 30 per cent more likely to donate their assets when faced with their own mortality.
Algae species discovered infesting NW Hawaiian waters has been identified
A newly-identified, fast-growing species of algae poses a major threat to coral reefs and the ocean ecosystem. It was previously discovered in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument by a team of researchers from the University of Hawaiʻi, Western Australian Herbarium, College of Charleston and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
New study detects ringing of the global atmosphere
A ringing bell vibrates simultaneously at a low-pitched fundamental tone and at many higher-pitched overtones, producing a pleasant musical sound. A recent study, just published in the Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences by scientists at Kyoto University and the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, shows that the Earth's entire atmosphere vibrates in an analogous manner, in a striking confirmation...
Does early access to pension funds improve health?
In a recent study from Singapore, early access to pension wealth was associated with improved health status. The findings are published in Economic Inquiry.