Californians have long dealt with wildfire smoke as a seasonal fact of life, but those fires have become more intense and frequent, raising the profile of wildfire smoke as a public health issue. Now, a study led by researchers at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography finds that the time between multi-day smoke events is shrinking—leaving communities with less time to recover before smoke returns. [...]
Drug delivery researchers have vastly improved the potential of genetic therapies by overcoming the challenge of consistently getting genes and gene-editing tools where they need to be within cells. Findings of the study spearheaded by Oregon State University College of Pharmacy graduate student Antony Jozić are published in Nature Biotechnology. [...]
Electron movement and structures described in quantum physics allow researchers to better understand how and why materials like superconductors behave as they do. Rice University researchers Jianwei Huang and Ming Yi have developed a new capability, magnetoARPES, building on angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) that allows researchers to study quantum behaviors they have been unable to resolve using ARPES alone. The work has been published in Nature Physics. [...]
By 2050, up to half the world's urban population will face water scarcity. A new model of water supply, demand, and policies in a drought-prone city of 7 million in India shows how policies could prevent the poor from bearing the heaviest burden. [...]
Scientists have uncovered the first robust evidence of a black hole and neutron star crashing together but orbiting in an oval path rather than a perfect circle just before they merged. This discovery challenges long-standing assumptions about how these cosmic pairs form and evolve. [...]
Going vegan is a life-changing decision. Successfully committing to eating only ethically sourced, non-exploitative products—no dairy, no honey, no eggs, no animal output of any kind—can be daunting, especially in a society where most people are omnivorous. Foregoing meat and other animal products purely for ethical reasons can cause tension between vegans and their friends, families, partners, businesses and even other vegans. [...]
Urban scavengers like spotted hyenas are preventing more than 1,000 metric tons of carbon emissions annually in Ethiopia's second-largest city, according to new research revealing the predators' role as accidental eco-warriors. By consuming organic waste that would otherwise rot, these predators are saving the city of Mekelle over $100,000 USD in waste management costs while reducing the significant sanitation risk associated with routine roadside dumping. [...]
The genus Gracixalus belongs to the family of Old World Tree Frogs and is geographically dispersed from Myanmar and western Thailand to Laos, Vietnam, and further to southern China. Despite the considerable amount of research on the species richness of Gracixalus, little is known about their vocalizations. [...]
Lunar dust can be a pain—but it's also literally the ground we will have to traverse if we are ever to have a permanent human settlement on the moon. In that specific use case, its clingy, jagged, staticky properties can actually be an advantage, according to a new paper recently published in Research from scientists at Beihang University, who analyzed the mechanical properties of samples returned by the Chang'e 6 mission to the far side of the moon. [...]
Researchers at the University of Oxford have suggested that ultrasound-repellers could help reduce hedgehog deaths caused by cars. The proposal is based on new findings, published in Biology Letters, which demonstrate for the first time that hedgehogs can hear high-frequency ultrasound. [...]
The future for our computers will literally be at the speed of light. Extremely short light pulses can perform ultrafast logical operations: these are the findings of a study recently published in the journal Nature Photonics. The study represents an important step toward developing a new generation of information processing technologies, potentially hundreds of times faster than what we have at present. [...]
Wild garlic, oyster mushrooms and sea beet were once regularly gathered and eaten as part of meals across the UK. Today, some people have concerns about eating food growing in the woods or hedgerows, but are keen to discuss why—as our research shows. [...]
The molecular-scale design of materials is one of the major frontiers in modern science. Flat, highly conjugated organic molecules are already used in advanced technologies such as chemical sensors, optoelectronic devices, and energy conversion systems. One of the most promising strategies to enhance their performance involves "linking" multiple units together, extending their electronic structure and thereby modifying their properties. [...]
A long-standing debate about the evolutionary origin of the world's most widely cultivated "magic mushroom"—Psilocybe cubensis—may now have been settled by scientists from southern Africa and the United States. [...]
New research from Monash University and Phillip Island Nature Parks is using thermal and infrared drone technology to spot marine debris entanglements in Australian fur seals. Entanglement is an escalating threat to marine wildlife such as seals and fur seals with well-documented impacts including injury, restricted movement, and increased energy expenditure. [...]
The article presenting the research results was published online at the end of February in the journal Ichnos. The study focuses on two trackways (T1 and T2) preserved as convex hyporeliefs on the underside of a Late Jurassic sandstone layer, approximately 152 million years old, from the cliffs east of Playa de España (Villaviciosa). The specimens are now part of the museum's collection and are on display in the gallery dedicated to the Asturian Jurassic. [...]
When considering the challenges faced by children with developmental language disorder (DLD), it's natural to think of difficulties they have in understanding and using language. What tends to get overlooked, however, is how the disorder impacts how their functioning in society. [...]
When the first case of COVID-19 in the U.S. emerged in January 2020, many Americans began to confront the reality of death. Six years later, researchers at the University of Florida and Hanyang University in South Korea are revealing how people's sense of their own mortality during the pandemic influenced whether they traveled within their local communities. [...]
An article published recently in Nature Geoscience warns that Antarctica's ice masses have begun to experience a process scientists call "Greenlandification." The term refers to the unprecedented retreat of Greenland's outlet glaciers and longer surface melt seasons. [...]
When molecules fall apart, their electric charge doesn't stay put—it rearranges as bonds stretch and break. An international team of scientists has now tracked these ultrafast changes in the small molecule fluoromethane (CH₃F). It was the first time that the Small Quantum Systems (SQS) instrument at European XFEL could deliver detailed insights into transient states during chemical reactions. The research is published in the journal Physical Review X. [...]
From whale songs to lion roars, animals have evolved to stretch their voices across distances so that friends—and sometimes foes—can hear them. Each sound is coded with messages like "Come here!" "Back off!" "Danger's lurking!" or "Want to hang out?" But why can some communicate over thousands of kilometers, and others mere meters? [...]
A team from University of Toronto Engineering is the first to synthesize long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) outside the cell—a new approach to drug discovery that has already yielded some promising anti-inflammatory molecules. The team was inspired by advances in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein replacement therapies. They realized that a similar approach could be used to deliver lncRNA to the body, unlocking a potential new source of drugs. [...]
A University of Queensland analysis of genetic data from northern Australian cattle has identified key regions of the genome that influence traits like fertility, growth and body condition, sometimes all at the same time. Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation researcher Dr. Mehrnush Forutan said the study helps explain why some cattle grow faster, reach puberty earlier and maintain better body condition than others. [...]
Researchers at Utrecht University have quantitatively mapped the three-dimensional structure of photonic supraparticles for the first time. Supraparticles are microscopic spheres composed of thousands of smaller colloidal particles. Until now, researchers could only examine the outer surface of these structures. Using a combination of super-resolution microscopy and machine learning, the team shows that particles that appear disorganized on the outside are often almost perfectly crystalline on the inside. [...]
The Southern Ocean—vast, boundless waters surrounding Antarctica—plays an outsized role in global climate, largely thanks to tiny drifting organisms called plankton that soak up carbon. Reporting in Nature Communications on March 9, researchers have completed the most comprehensive survey to date of DNA associated with these microbes, paving the way for a better understanding of their role in climate change. [...]
A research team has successfully designed and developed a proprietary non-precious metal oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst featuring a layered structure optimized for anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) environments. [...]
Texas busing programs that transported newly arrived immigrants to Democratic-led cities boosted President Donald Trump's vote share in affected counties during the 2024 election, according to a new study from the USC Price School of Public Policy and the University of North Texas. [...]
Researchers from the Department of Physics and the University Institute of Materials at the University of Alicante (UA) and the Low Temperature and High Magnetic Field Laboratory at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) have succeeded in measuring, for the first time, the electrical conductance of gold and silver atomic contacts subjected to extreme magnetic fields of up to 20 teslas, an intensity equivalent to 400,000 times Earth's magnetic field. [...]
Playing a virtual reality game can increase a person's sense of altruism and influence levels of empathy, according to a new study from University of Oregon researchers. [...]
Researchers at the University of Michigan have discovered that the constant gnawing of rodents isn't just a reflex or a consequence of a tough diet. It also triggers a release of dopamine in the brain—which acts as a biochemical reward or incentive—through a newly identified neural circuit. [...]