Archaeologists analyzed trees engraved by the Indigenous Sámi of Arctic Europe, revealing the significance of these rare remnants of Sámi culture and the importance of preserving them from ongoing deforestation. [...]
The changes in society and the phenomena surrounding us are becoming more unexpected and interconnected than ever before. This increasing complexity challenges strategic management, making it harder to predict trends and developments. According to a new study from the University of Vaasa, Finland, increased complexity demands new approaches to strategic management. [...]
The international BIOCAL expedition, led by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), provided new evidence on the phenomenon of "atlantification" of the Arctic Ocean, a process related to climate change that involves the progressive invasion of Atlantic waters into the polar Arctic Ocean. [...]
Forests with few tree species pose a considerably higher risk of being damaged, and the introduced lodgepole pine is especially vulnerable. This is the finding of a new study published in Ecosphere by researchers from Umeå University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Science in Uppsala. The results can be useful for preventing forest damage and financial losses related to the forest industry. [...]
Ralstonia solanacearum is a soil-borne pathogen that devastates tomato and other Solanaceae crops globally. Traditional chemical controls have proven inadequate and environmentally damaging. [...]
The human skin is home to a wide variety of bacteria. The composition of the community of bacteria—called the "skin microbiota"—has serious implications for skin health. A healthy balance between different species of bacteria on the skin often translates to healthy skin. [...]
Quantitative disease resistance (QDR) is a complex but durable form of plant disease resistance that provides partial protection against a broad range of pathogens. Unlike qualitative resistance, driven by major resistance (R) genes, QDR is polygenic and manifests in various ways, such as delayed lesion development or reduced infection frequency. [...]
Rice is a staple food crop for more than half the world's population, but most farmers don't grow high-yielding varieties because the seeds are too expensive. Researchers from the University of California's Davis and Berkeley campuses have identified a potential solution: activating two genes in rice egg cells that trigger their development into embryos without the need for fertilization, which would efficiently create high-yielding clonal strains of rice and other crops. [...]
Noninvasive phenotyping has emerged as a vital tool in plant science, enabling the study of stress indicators without disrupting plant growth. While most studies have historically focused on analyzing stress responses in leaves, this novel research adopts a multi-organ view, assessing the dynamic interplay between leaves, stems, and roots when exposed to abiotic stress. [...]
Normally found only in heavy metal bands or certain post-apocalyptic films, a "flame-throwing guitar" has now been spotted moving through space. Astronomers have captured movies of this extreme cosmic object using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope. [...]
When NASA's Europa Clipper reaches its destination in 2030, the spacecraft will prepare to aim an array of powerful science instruments toward Jupiter's moon Europa during 49 flybys, looking for signs that the ocean beneath the moon's icy crust could sustain life. [...]
A research team led by Dominik Schneble, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has uncovered a novel regime, or set of conditions within a system, for cooperative radiative phenomena, casting new light on a 70-year-old problem in quantum optics. [...]
Scientists from the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences found forty new freshwater viruses infecting aquatic microorganisms this year. The first one, which they isolated and described in detail, was named Budvirus after the South Bohemian capital České Budějovice. It belongs to "Giant Viruses" and it infects unicellular algae called cryptophytes. [...]
More than 4 million people in the U.S. have glaucoma, a group of eye diseases that can damage the optic nerve and lead to vision loss. It's the second-leading cause of blindness worldwide and there's currently no cure, but there's a way to help prevent vision loss through early detection and treatment. [...]
After two decades in space, NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is performing better than ever thanks to a new operational strategy implemented earlier this year. The spacecraft has made great scientific strides in the years since scientists dreamed up a new way to explore gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe. [...]
Mortality attributable to air pollution and extreme temperatures is a major concern, and it is expected to heighten in the future. In a new study led by the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, an international research team found that, under the most probable projection, annual mortality rates linked to air pollution and extreme temperatures could reach 30 million by the end of the century. [...]
In Australia, shellfish reef restoration projects are helping to recover degraded coastal systems and enhance fish habitat, but much more research is needed to support and evaluate these efforts, researchers say. [...]
The patches of lichen you've probably seen growing on tree trunks and park benches might be easy to overlook, but they're actually some of the world's strangest living things. While they're sometimes mistaken for moss, lichens are miniature ecosystems made up of a fungus and algae or bacteria that can make energy from sunlight, living together in one body. [...]
What appears to be evidence of the oldest alphabetic writing in human history is etched onto finger-length, clay cylinders excavated from a tomb in Syria by a team of Johns Hopkins University researchers. [...]
Researchers in the UK have developed a new spray coating for greenhouses that optimizes the wavelength of light shining onto the plants, improving their growth and yield. The technology could in the future help extend the growing seasons in less sunny countries like the UK in a more sustainable way. The study is published in the journal Advanced Materials Technologies. [...]
A NASA study using a series of supercomputer simulations reveals a potential new solution to a longstanding Martian mystery: How did Mars get its moons? The first step, the findings say, may have involved the destruction of an asteroid. [...]
A spoonful of sugar might actually help medicine go down, according to recent research from the University of Mississippi. And it could reduce the harmful side effects of cancer treatment. Instead of a literal spoonful of sugar, however, the researchers tried using glycopolymers—polymers made with natural sugars like glucose—to coat tiny particles that deliver cancer-fighting medication directly to tumors. They found that glycopolymers help keep proteins from sticking to the nanoparticles, reducing the body's immune response to the treatment. [...]
Fungal contamination of cereal grains poses a substantial threat to food security and public health while causing hundreds of millions of dollars in economic losses annually. In a new study, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign evaluated far-ultraviolet C (far-UVC) light as a safe way to alleviate fungal contamination of corn and wheat and found this technology to be effective. [...]
Only one in 10 drink spiking incidents are reported to police, according to research published today by Drinkaware and Anglia Ruskin University (ARU). [...]
Youth in America are experiencing a mental health crisis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC reports that an increasing number of students are experiencing symptoms of hopelessness, depression, and anxiety, along with thoughts of self-harm. [...]
Sustainable rates of groundwater withdrawal in Oregon's Harney Basin were surpassed 20 years prior to the time declining groundwater levels were generally recognized, a new analysis found. [...]
Tires are an indispensable part of daily life. Without them, our vehicles would just be a bunch of assembled parts—convenient to sit in, but not effective for getting where you are going. [...]
People around the world associate a trilled R sound with a rough texture and a jagged shape, and an L sound with a smooth texture and a flat shape, according to the findings of a new study. Researchers believe this association may be more universal than the famous bouba/kiki effect. [...]
A team of marine biologists, ecologists and evolutionary specialists from the University of Chicago, Stanford University and Duke University has found that heart cockles have windows in their shells to allow in light needed by the algae that live inside the shells. [...]
Researchers from Seoul National University College of Engineering announced they have developed an optical design technology that dramatically reduces the volume of cameras with a folded lens system utilizing "metasurfaces," a next-generation nano-optical device. [...]
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