Ecological speciation occurs when local adaptation generates reproductive isolation as a by-product of natural selection. Although ecological speciation is a fundamental source of diversification, the mechanistic link between natural selection and reproductive isolation remains poorly understood, especially in natural populations. Here, we show that experimental evolution of parasite body size…
A new poll by PPRI found that nearly a quarter of Americans say it's okay to not serve atheists on religious grounds. The pro-discrimination number was even higher regarding gays and lesbians. Bias against Jews, Muslims, and African Americans is also increasing. None Discrimination has long been an ugly human trait. Bias served an important role over the long course of evolution—"Is this friend o
A method of weighing the quantities of matter in galaxy clusters – the largest objects in our universe – has shown a balance between the amounts of hot gas, stars and other materials.
The interaction between a chromosomal protein called HMGB1 and a cellular receptor called RAGE is known to trigger inflammation. Researchers have now used computer software to analyze structural similarities among existing drugs, and discovered that the popular anticonvulsant drug papaverine blocks the binding of HMGB1 to RAGE. The researchers conclude that papaverine can potentially be used to tr
One of the fundamental physical constants, the 'weak axial vector coupling constant' (gA), has now been measured with very high precision for the first time. It is needed to explain nuclear fusion in the sun, to understand the formation of elements shortly after the Big Bang, or to understand important experiments in particle physics. With the help of sophisticated neutron experiments, the value o
The fly agaric with its red hat is perhaps the most evocative of the diverse and variously colored mushroom species. Hitherto, the purpose of these colors was shrouded in mystery. Researchers have now put together the first pieces of this puzzle.
Microbiologists have shown that Toxoplasma gondii, the parasite that is responsible for toxoplasmosis, utilizes at least two modes of locomotion during its infection cycle.
There's an entire spectrum of lies on social media. On one side, there's the generally inane: Pokémon was designed for Satanists or FCC Chairman Ajit Pai tried to date a porn star. And then there are lies that have the potential to literally kill. Falling into this latter category are the spammy "miracle cures" for everything from cancer to autism that spread like wildfire on sites like Facebook
Scientists have introduced a method based on a non-classical state adapted to two measurement parameters at once. This will enable precision measurements of molecules which could reveal interactions between conventional and dark matter.
Researchers have used an extremely bright mid-infrared laser to perform an analytical technique known as spectroscopic ellipsometry. The new approach captures high-resolution spectral information in less than a second and could offer new insights into quickly changing properties of a variety of samples from plastics to biological materials.
Neuroscientists at Oregon Health & Science University, working with mice, have discovered that a short burst of exercise directly boosts the function of a gene that increases connections between neurons in the hippocampus, the region of the brain associated with learning and memory.
Techniques developed by astronomers could help in the fight against breast and skin cancer. Charlie Jeynes at the University of Exeter will present his and Prof Tim Harries team's work today (July 3, 2019) at the RAS National Astronomy Meeting (NAM 2019) at the University of Lancaster.
Tesla didn't have the greatest start to 2019, but it's looking rosier toward the middle of the year. The company set records for both production and deliveries in the second …
You probably have not heard of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), but by its name could likely guess, correctly, that its a trade group representing the likes of Walmart, Target, …
Two NASA space telescopes have identified the detailed chemical 'fingerprint' of a planet between the sizes of Earth and Neptune. No planets like this can be found in our own solar system, but they are common around other stars.
Scientists have uncovered details of a key cellular mechanism crucial for proper brain development. It involves a gene that, when mutated, had previously been linked to the development of autism.
Haunting. Several U.S. lawmakers have used the word to describe what they saw during a visit to two Border Patrol processing centers in Texas on Monday, where they say they communicated with detained children through thick glass walls and met sobbing women who lacked access to running water. "Nothing prepares you for the inhumanity of it," Representative Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania told me by
Yellow jackets in Alabama may be in the midst of a colossal craze; they're making humongous "super nests" that can house 15,000 worker wasps, according to an entomologist there.
Scientists have introduced a method based on a non-classical state adapted to two measurement parameters at once. This will enable precision measurements of molecules which could reveal interactions between conventional and dark matter.
Researchers have used an extremely bright mid-infrared laser to perform an analytical technique known as spectroscopic ellipsometry. The new approach captures high-resolution spectral information in less than a second and could offer new insights into quickly changing properties of a variety of samples from plastics to biological materials.
New research suggests that a particular type of carbohydrate plays an important role in regulating the blood pressure in the human body. This has been shown by researchers in a new study using rats. The researchers believe that the finding may have a vast potential for improved medications for high blood pressure.
Researchers have developed a computer model that simulates the metabolism of cancer cells. They used the program to investigate how combinations of drugs could be used more effectively to stop tumor growth.
The South Pacific Gyre is an ocean desert. However, due to its vast size the microbial inhabitants of the South Pacific Gyre contribute significantly to global biogeochemical cycles. In an unparalleled investigation, scientists have now made a comprehensive inventory of the microbial community of the South Pacific Gyre. This insight was achieved through the development of a novel tool that enables
Scientists are challenging the claims of two high profile papers from 2018 which reported that in the mouse, RNA has to be added to sperm for them to be fully fertile. The new findings undermine a proposed mechanism of epigenetic inheritance in which offspring inherit traits acquired by their parents.
Micro mechanical elements are indispensable components of modern electrical devices but the actuation of them requires electrical current. It becomes harder to wire the element as further downscaling of device is pursued. As a way out of this issue, researchers demonstrated a new way to deliver a force to drive micro mechanics by spin current.
The inability of long-rooted trees to reach their subsurface water supply in the Sierra Nevada mountain range led to widespread forest die-offs following the drought of 2012-2015. A new study provides a better understanding of the climatic and biological mechanisms in play.
A new study has shown how cannabis could be an effective treatment option for both pain relief and insomnia, for those looking to avoid prescription and over the counter pain and sleep medications — including opioids.
Techniques developed by astronomers could help in the fight against breast and skin cancer. Charlie Jeynes at the University of Exeter will present his and Prof Tim Harries team's work today at the RAS National Astronomy Meeting (NAM 2019) at the University of Lancaster.
Chemists have developed new tools to modify sulfur-containing biomolecules, from simple amino acids to large protein complexes such as nucleosomes. These modifications then provide attachment points for two new functional groups, enabling studies of biochemical interactions on the single-molecule level.
Women with ovarian cancer who have undergone four or more rounds of chemotherapy typically haven't had much hope that another treatment option will lengthen their lives in a meaningful way. However, a new research study shows tremendous promise for a drug called niraparib to extend life when all options have been exhausted.
July 4th is upon us. Its a celebration of US independence, and if youre like me, youll be spending it with family, eating lots of grilled food and staying up to watch the fireworks …
New work from Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Florida is showing that artificial neural nets can be trained to encode quantum mechanical laws to describe the motions of molecules, supercharging simulations potentially across a broad range of fields.
By energizing precursor molecules using a tiny, high-energy supersonic jet of inert gas, researchers have dramatically accelerated the fabrication of nanometer scale structures. The rapid additive manufacturing technique also allows them to produce structures with high aspect ratios. Now, a theory developed to describe the technique could lead to new applications for additive nanomanufacturing and
Scientists are part of an international research collaboration which has made an important discovery in the quest to lower global agricultural methane emissions.
Scientists have established that school children who use backpacks should avoid loads of more than 10% of their body weight — and those who use trolleys, 20% of their body weight.
Beryllium, a hard, silvery metal long used in X-ray machines and spacecraft, is finding a new role in the quest to bring the power that drives the sun and stars to Earth. Beryllium is one of the two main materials used for the wall in ITER, a multinational fusion facility under construction in France to demonstrate the practicality of fusion power. Now, physicists from the U.S. Department of Energ
Private spaceflight companies will carry commercial payloads to the Moon in advance of NASA's crewed landing slated for 2024. (Credit: NASA) NASA wants to return humans to the Moon by 2024 under a program called Artemis. And this time, they want the stay to be of a more permanent nature. In addition to landing humans on the lunar surface, NASA wants to put a Gateway space station in orbit around t
When forecasting weather, meteorologists use a number of models and data sources to track shapes and movements of clouds that could indicate severe storms. However, with increasingly expanding weather data sets and looming deadlines, it is nearly impossible for them to monitor all storm formations—especially smaller-scale ones—in real time.
In a world of sympathetic villains and flawed heroes, people still like fictional characters more when they have a strong sense of morality, a new study finds.
Spotted owl populations are in decline all along the West Coast, and as climate change increases the risk of large and destructive wildfires in the region, these iconic animals face the real threat of losing even more of their forest habitat.
How do the communities of microbes living in our gastrointestinal systems affect our health? Carnegie's Will Ludington was part of a team that helped answer this question.
Plant leaves have a natural superpower—they're designed with water repelling characteristics. Called a superhydrophobic surface, this trait allows leaves to cleanse themselves from dust particles. Inspired by such natural designs, a team of researchers at Texas A&M University has developed an innovative way to control the hydrophobicity of a surface to benefit to the biomedical field.
Spotted owl populations are in decline all along the West Coast, and as climate change increases the risk of large and destructive wildfires in the region, these iconic animals face the real threat of losing even more of their forest habitat.
Researchers have identified a network of brain regions that work together to determine if a robot is a worthy social partner, according to a new study.
How do the communities of microbes living in our gastrointestinal systems affect our health? Carnegie's Will Ludington was part of a team that helped answer this question.
Within the next 80 years, the world's population is expected to top 11 billion, creating a rise in global food demand—and presenting an unavoidable challenge to food production and distribution.
Aleksandr Kogan, the data scientist at the center of Facebook's Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal, said he is dropping a defamation lawsuit against the social network rather than engage in an expensive, drawn-out legal battle.
To examine the human microbiome beyond the gut, The Scientist is bringing together experts from the field to share their research, and answer questions from webinar attendees.
The most significant impact of two-screen experience was on viewers' ability to 'transport' into the narrative and become immersed in the televised story.
Researchers have demonstrated a new experimental capability for watching thin film growth in real-time. The researchers were able to produce a 'movie' of thin film growth that depicts the process more accurately than traditional techniques can.
Chemists have developed new tools to modify sulfur-containing biomolecules, from simple amino acids to large protein complexes such as nucleosomes. These modifications then provide attachment points for two new functional groups, enabling studies of biochemical interactions on the single-molecule level.
If you want your friend to see you in a crowd, you wave your arms to stand out. As University of Rochester researchers found, one reason why this works is that the brain suppresses the background, allowing the person to focus on the moving object in front of them. As we age, our brains become less adept at suppressing background and reacting to foreground movement. But people can train their brain
Search engines and social media organizations must do more to prevent the spread of inaccurate information on childhood vaccination, and governments must better support mandatory immunization programs, says an international group of leading public health scientists.
A program with clear rules, routines and activities, attentive adults and a chance to interact with peers appears to work as well at improving the quality of life, mood and self-worth of a child who is overweight or obese as a regular exercise program, researchers report.
Cancers with the same genetic weaknesses respond differently to targeted drugs depending on the tumour type of the patient, new research reveals. The study is set to prompt changes in thinking around precision medicine — because it shows that the genetics of a patient's cancer may not always be enough to tell whether it will respond to a treatment.
Scientists unravelling the mysteries of star cluster formation have taken inspiration from a 19th century magic trick, to help explain their work to the public. Researchers have developed 3D holograms that allow people to watch massive stars forming before their eyes.
Ship Shape Scottish author Iain M. Banks populated his sci-fi Culture book series with humanoid robots, alien races, and artificially intelligent spaceships that chose their own names. So: Research scientist Janelle Shane thought it would be fun to use those ship names to train a real neural network to — what else? — conjure up new names for self-aware spaceships. The results? Hilarious. Puzzling
When governments and institutions deploy epidemic forecast models when facing an outbreak, they sometimes fail to factor in human behavior and over-allocate precious resources as a result. Thanks to new research authored by a Texas A&M University engineering professor, that may no longer be the case.
By energizing precursor molecules using a tiny, high-energy supersonic jet of inert gas, researchers have dramatically accelerated the fabrication of nanometer scale structures. The rapid additive manufacturing technique also allows them to produce structures with high aspect ratios. Now, a theory developed to describe the technique could lead to new applications for additive nanomanufacturing and
Most of the 3,000+ mosquito species are opportunistic, but Princeton's Lindy McBride is most interested in the mosquitoes that scientists call 'disease vectors' — carriers of diseases that plague humans — some of which have evolved to bite humans almost exclusively. She's trying to understand how the brain and genome of these mosquitoes have evolved to make them specialize in humans — including
Plant leaves have a natural superpower — they're designed with water repelling characteristics. Called a superhydrophobic surface, this trait allows leaves to cleanse themselves from dust particles. Inspired by such natural designs, a team of researchers at Texas A&M University has developed an innovative way to control the hydrophobicity of a surface to benefit to the biomedical field.
A new article published in Nature Sustainability describes how the increase in population and the need to feed everyone will give rise to human infectious disease, a situation the authors of the paper consider 'two of the most formidable ecological and public health challenges of the 21st century.'
A typical child plays many roles, such as friend, neighbor, son or daughter. Simply reminding children of that fact can lead to better problem-solving and more flexible thinking, finds new research from Duke University. Better problem-solving was just one positive finding of the study, Gaither said. After considering their own various identities, children also showed more flexible thinking about r
A Joslin Diabetes Center study among people treated for type 1 diabetes for many years has discovered that a minority may have monogenic diabetes, a non-autoimmune inherited condition that in some cases does not require insulin treatment. 'Our finding has clinical implications,' says George L. King, MD, 'We are recommending that everyone under 18 who is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes be screened f
New work from Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Florida is showing that artificial neural nets can be trained to encode quantum mechanical laws to describe the motions of molecules, supercharging simulations potentially across a broad range of fields.
Current guidelines recommend lowering cholesterol for heart disease risk reduction. New findings indicate that if cholesterol dips too low, it may boost the risk of hemorrhagic stroke, according to researchers.
The virus has been out of the headlines, but that doesn't mean it is gone. The World Health Organization just updated its guidelines for travelers to the Zika zone.
The mosquito-transmitted virus, which can cause severe birth defects, faded after 2016, but it's still circulating and has now spread to other countries.
Newly released government emails show how climate denier groups quickly dominated the internal discussion over the historic rollback of the Obama-era climate rules.
Physicists from PPPL and General Atomics have concluded that injecting tiny beryllium pellets into ITER could help stabilize the plasma that fuels fusion reactions.
Military veterans exposed to combat were more likely to exhibit signs of depression and anxiety in later life than veterans who had not seen combat, a new study from Oregon State University shows.
Food, alcohol, and certain drugs all act to reduce the activity of hunger neurons and to release reward signals in the brain, but alcohol and drugs rely on a different pathway than does food, according to a new study led by University of Pennsylvania biologists. The findings could point researchers to new strategies to design weight-loss or anti-addiction drugs.
Spotted owl populations are in decline all along the West Coast, and as climate change increases the risk of large and destructive wildfires in the region, these iconic animals face the real threat of losing even more of their forest habitat. Wildfire management — through prescribed burning and restoration thinning — could help save the species, argues a new paper.
A pressing question in diabetes research is how elevated blood levels of sugar, cholesterol, and fat may contribute to blood vessel damage in relation to the diet. A new study by investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital set out to determine which components of the Western diet — one rich in sugar, cholesterol and fat — may worsen diabetes complications.
In humans, the gut microbiome is an ecosystem of hundreds to thousands of microbial species living within the gastrointestinal tract, influencing health and even longevity. As interest in studying the microbiome continues to increase, understanding this complexity will give us predictive power to engineer it. A research team led by Carnegie's Will Ludington built a rigorous mathematical framework
Wind-driven erosion of minerals on Mars may be the reason why methane disappears so rapidly on the red planet. Saltation causes electrical charges, that can oxidize minerals and ionize gases like methane, making the ionized methane bond to the minerals. That is the explanation proposed by an interdisciplinary research group, based on laboratory experiments in a Mars-like environment.
Researchers have identified a network of brain regions that work together to determine if a robot is a worthy social partner, according to a new study.
To examine the human microbiome beyond the gut, The Scientist is bringing together experts from the field to share their research, and answer questions from webinar attendees.
As the authors posit, contemporary pedagogical ideas and approaches cannot fully satisfy the existing graduate requirements because of rapid informatization, intellectualization and technological progress.
When forecasting weather, meteorologists use a number of models and data sources to track shapes and movements of clouds that could indicate severe storms. However, with increasingly expanding weather data sets and looming deadlines, it is nearly impossible for them to monitor all storm formations — especially smaller-scale ones — in real time.
What makes chips and chocolate so appealing at certain times of the month? (Ken Tannenbaum/Shutterstock.com/) Premenstrual food cravings are the punchline of endless jokes. Like most good jokes, they're funny because they're true. Certain parts of a woman's menstrual cycle do seem to go hand in hand with the desire for chocolate ice cream and potato chips. I hear about this every day from my OBGY
In a world of sympathetic villains and flawed heroes, people still like fictional characters more when they have a strong sense of morality, a new study finds.Researchers found that people best liked the heroes they rated as most moral, and least liked villains they rated as most immoral.
Researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences have designed and tested a prototype cathodoluminescent lamp for general lighting. The new lamp, which relies on the phenomenon of field emission, is more reliable, durable, and luminous than its analogues available worldwide.
Åldrandet börjar i cellernas inre. Med en allt högre levnadsstandard lever vi längre. Men åldrandet har ett pris i form av sjukdomar som cancer, diabetes typ II, Parkinson och Alzheimer. Men tänk om vi kan senarelägga eller förhindra sjukdomarna genom att göra något åt åldrandet i sig ? Att åldras utan att bli skröplig. Hoppet växer ju mer vi lär oss om vad som händer i cellens inre. Det pågår et
Heads up: For approximately four minutes this afternoon, the Moon will block out the Sun over parts of South America — but you don't need to be in Chile or Argentina to see the stunning spectacle. California's Exploratorium has teamed up with NASA to broadcast a livestream of the eclipse via the video linked below. The coverage will begin at 3 p.m. ET, with the eclipse expected to take place betw
Nature, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02071-z Scientists raced to study whether the scorching temperatures last week were linked to global warming.
(Credit: Sergey Uryadnikov/Shutterstock) Within the rainforests of Salonga National Park, in the heart of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, bonobos wade through swamps. The slender, three-and-a-half-foot tall apes are searching for rushes and white water lilies. They pluck the herbs from the water and then discard the flowers and leaves. The bonobos are after the soft pith at the base of the l
The researchers from Queen Mary University of London say that women who are 41 weeks pregnant should not be alarmed, as the increased risk is low — equivalent to one additional stillbirth for every 1,449 pregnancies, compared to delivering at 40 weeks.
UAB researchers say over expression of NEAT1, an noncoding RNA, appears to diminish the ability of older brains to form memories. Inhibiting NEAT1 via CRISPR technology could be a means to improve memory in older humans.
The longer a pregnancy continues past 37 weeks gestation, the higher the risk of a stillbirth, according to a new meta-analysis published this week in PLOS Medicine by Shakila Thangaratinam of Queen Mary University of London, UK, and colleagues.
Spiders start out social but later turn aggressive after dispersing and becoming solitary, according to a study publishing July 2 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Raphael Jeanson of the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France, and colleagues.
Renowned discoverer of order underlying chaos was surprising skeptical of claims that computers were creating a revolutionary new science. — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
A panel finds David Latchman's "recklessness in the conduct" of the lab and his involvement as an author on problematic papers facilitated the misconduct.
If you're stuck for inspiration, Spotify can help. (Mildly Useful via Unsplash/) With more than 50 million tracks available at the push of a button, Spotify gives you access to more music than you could possibly listen to in a lifetime—a rather daunting catalog when all you want to do is pick out a playlist for a summer drive or evening chill out. But if you don't want to build your own playlists
Spiders start out social but later turn aggressive after dispersing and becoming solitary, according to a study publishing July 2 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Raphael Jeanson of the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France, and colleagues.
Spiders start out social but later turn aggressive after dispersing and becoming solitary, according to a study publishing July 2 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Raphael Jeanson of the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France, and colleagues.
Renowned discoverer of order underlying chaos was surprising skeptical of claims that computers were creating a revolutionary new science. — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Numerous studies have confirmed the link between intelligence and substance abuse. However, the mechanism for this correlation has been difficult to pin down. Why would more intelligent people, who should ostensibly know better, practice such a risky habit? None No mathematician has ever published more papers than Paul Erdős. The 20th-century mathematician was brilliant, eccentric, and prolific,
When the U.S. women's national soccer team takes the field against England in today's Women's World Cup semifinal match, they will be playing for far more than another piece of hardware for their trophy shelf. Last week, the team's co-captain Megan Rapinoe said in a press interview that should they win the Cup, she would not go "to the fucking White House." President Donald Trump responded via Tw
On Monday, the anniversary of Britain's handover of Hong Kong to China, huge numbers of pro-democracy protesters marched peacefully through the city. Late in the day, a large group of demonstrators from the mostly leaderless movement broke off and faced off against riot police at Hong Kong's Legislative Council building. Eventually, they smashed their way into the building and swarmed inside, dam
Albert Einstein was famous for many things, but his greatest brainchild is the theory of relativity. It forever changed our understanding of space and time.
Austrian lawmakers on Tuesday approved a total ban on glyphosate, putting the country on track to becoming the first EU member to forbid all use of the controversial herbicide.
New research finds that irrigated farms within Wisconsin's vegetable-growing Central Sands region significantly cool the local climate compared to nearby rain-fed farms or forests.
NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites passed over the Eastern Pacific Ocean after Tropical Storm Barbara strengthened into the first hurricane of the season. Barbara intensified rapidly into a major hurricane.
Austrian lawmakers on Tuesday approved a total ban on glyphosate, putting the country on track to becoming the first EU member to forbid all use of the controversial herbicide.
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are among the most enigmatic and powerful events in the cosmos. Around 80 of these events—intensely bright millisecond-long bursts of radio waves coming from beyond our galaxy—have been witnessed so far, but their causes remain unknown.
Scientists from the University of Bath are challenging the claims of two high profile papers from 2018 which reported that in the mouse, RNA has to be added to sperm for them to be fully fertile. The Bath findings undermine a proposed mechanism of epigenetic inheritance in which offspring inherit traits acquired by their parents.
What links the building you live in, the glass you drink from and the computer you work on? The answer is smaller than you think and is something we are rapidly running out of: sand.
Scientists from the University of Bath are challenging the claims of two high profile papers from 2018 which reported that in the mouse, RNA has to be added to sperm for them to be fully fertile. The Bath findings undermine a proposed mechanism of epigenetic inheritance in which offspring inherit traits acquired by their parents.
A new study suggests that targeting B cells with gold nanoparticles could be a safe way to improve vaccines and treatments for cancer and other diseases.
Facebook and YouTube said Tuesday they were moving to reduce the spread of misleading health care claims after a media report showed the proliferation of bogus cancer cures on social media.
The record-breaking heatwave that gripped France last week was made at least five times more likely by climate change, scientists said Tuesday as other data showed that last month was the hottest June worldwide in history.
The rooms at Crappie King Cabins near northwestern Oklahoma's Canton Lake were mostly empty when much of the state and the rest of the Southern Plains were in the grip of a prolonged, withering drought that sent lake levels plummeting.
Environmental activists chained themselves to gates and turnstiles Tuesday as they occupied an Amazon building near Paris, accusing the online company of destroying jobs and hurting the planet.
Norwegian researchers say an arctic fox walked from northern Norway to Canada's far north, a distance of 4,415 kilometers (2,737 miles), in four months.
"We are crossing over into an era where we have to be skeptical of what we see on video," says John Villasenor, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Villasenor is talking about deepfakes —videos that are digitally manipulated in imperceptible ways, often using a machine-learning technique that superimposes existing images or audio onto source material. The technology's verisimilitude is
Norwegian researchers say an arctic fox walked from northern Norway to Canada's far north, a distance of 4,415 kilometers (2,737 miles), in four months.
MRI for Ants Atoms Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines are great for creating detailed images of a person's internal organs and tissues. Using magnets and radio waves, the machines temporarily change how the billions of protons in the person's body spin. Then they measure and image energy released by these protons once they return to their normal state. Now, researchers have created a versi
NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites passed over the Eastern Pacific Ocean after Tropical Storm Barbara strengthened into the first hurricane of the season. Barbara intensified rapidly into a major hurricane.
Producing high-quality and realistic water wave animations that interact with complex objects is often computationally expensive with designers frequently opting for methods that are fast to compute but of lower quality. Researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria) have developed a technique to produce more realistic water wave animations at a similar computational
Irrigation dropped maximum temperatures by one to three degrees Fahrenheit on average while increasing minimum temperatures up to four degrees compared to unirrigated farms or forests, new research shows In all, irrigated farms experienced a three- to seven-degree smaller range in daily temperatures compared to other land uses. These effects persisted throughout the year.
When Jeff Weakley tweezed open a blister-like bulge on his foot, he was not expecting to find a piece of tooth from a shark that bit him while he was surfing off Flagler Beach in 1994.
University of Houston associate professor of chemistry, Vassiliy Lubchenko, is reporting a new finding in Nature Communications on how sickle cells are formed. Lubchenko reports that droplets of liquid, enriched in hemoglobin, form clusters inside some red blood cells when two hemoglobin molecules form a bond—but only briefly, for one thousandth of a second or so.
When Jeff Weakley tweezed open a blister-like bulge on his foot, he was not expecting to find a piece of tooth from a shark that bit him while he was surfing off Flagler Beach in 1994.
University of Houston associate professor of chemistry, Vassiliy Lubchenko, is reporting a new finding in Nature Communications on how sickle cells are formed. Lubchenko reports that droplets of liquid, enriched in hemoglobin, form clusters inside some red blood cells when two hemoglobin molecules form a bond—but only briefly, for one thousandth of a second or so.
Forget bitcoin—skills are the global currency for 21st century economies. Lori Foster, professor of Psychology at North Carolina State University and the University of Cape Town, says, "Without proper investment in skills, individuals languish on the margins of societies, technology does not convert into economic prosperity, and it's difficult if not impossible for countries to compete in an incre
For more than a billion people around the world, running water comes from "intermittent systems" that turn on and off at various times of the week. A new paper by University of Toronto Engineering professor David Taylor proposes a simple, yet powerful model to explain why and how these systems come to be—and how they fit into the global challenge of meeting international targets for human developm
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have developed a unique method for studying proteins which could open new doors for medicinal research. Through capturing proteins in a nano-capsule made of glass, the researchers have been able to create a unique model of proteins in natural environments. The results are published in the scientific journal, Small.
A small shark spots its prey—a meaty, seemingly defenseless octopus. The shark ambushes, and then, in one of the most astonishing sequences in the series Blue Planet II , the octopus escapes. First, it shoves one of its arms into the predator's vulnerable gills. Once released, it moves to protect itself—it grabs discarded seashells and swiftly arranges them into a defensive dome. Thanks to acts l
A comprehensive analysis from scientists at the University of Maryland and other institutions has ruined our fun once and for all. 'Oumuamua isn't an alien spaceship. The post Scientists: Sorry, 'Oumuamua Still Isn't an Alien Spaceship appeared first on ExtremeTech .
Mixing microbes with carbon nanomaterials could help the transition to renewable energy. KAUST research shows microbes and nanomaterials can be used together to form a biohybrid material that performs well as an electrocatalyst. The material could be used in the solar-powered production of carbon-free fuels and several other green-energy applications.
Two NASA space telescopes have teamed up to identify, for the first time, the detailed chemical "fingerprint" of a planet between the sizes of Earth and Neptune. No planets like this can be found in our own solar system, but they are common around other stars.
Researchers have used an extremely bright mid-infrared laser to perform an analytical technique known as spectroscopic ellipsometry. The new approach captures high-resolution spectral information in less than a second and could offer new insights into quickly changing properties of a variety of samples from plastics to biological materials.
Racial disparity in special education is growing, and it's more complex than previously thought. New research from Michigan State University examined how often black and Hispanic students are identified as needing special education compared to white students, leading to new findings on disproportionality and racial gaps.
From paint on a wall to tinted car windows, thin films make up a wide variety of materials found in ordinary life. But thin films are also used to build some of today's most important technologies, such as computer chips and solar cells. Seeking to improve the performance of these technologies, scientists are studying the mechanisms that drive molecules to uniformly stack together in layers—a proc
Matter surrounds us day and night in all its forms—trees, houses, furniture, and even the air we breathe. But, according to physicists, the visible matter familiar to us may only account for approximately 20 percent of all material in the universe. According to the current theory, as much as 80 percent may be dark matter. This claim is based on several observations, one of which is that stars and
In 1665, Lord Christiaan Huygens found that two pendulum clocks, hung in the same wooden structure, oscillated spontaneously and perfectly in line but in opposite directions: the clocks oscillated in anti-phase. Since then, synchronization of coupled oscillators in nature has been described at several scales: from heart cells to bacteria, neural networks and even in binary star systems -spontaneou
Injection of Interleukin-2 (IL-2) complexed with a particular anti–IL-2 monoclonal antibody (mab) JES6-1 has been shown to selectively expand CD4+Foxp3+ T regulatory T cells (Tregs) in vivo. Although the potency of this approach with regard to transplantation has already been proven in an islet transplantation model, skin graft survival could…
Prolonged exposure to opioids results in analgesic tolerance, drug overdose, and death. The mechanism underlying morphine analgesic tolerance still remains unresolved. We show that morphine analgesic tolerance was significantly attenuated in germfree (GF) and in pan-antibiotic−treated mice. Reconstitution of GF mice with naïve fecal microbiota reinstated morphine analgesic tolerance. We…
Liver ischemia and reperfusion injury (IRI) is a major challenge in liver surgery. Diet restriction reduces liver damage by increasing stress resistance; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. We investigated the preventive effect of 12-h fasting on mouse liver IRI. Partial warm hepatic IRI model in wild-type male C57BL/6…
Filamentous fungi that colonize microenvironments, such as animal or plant tissue or soil, must find optimal paths through their habitat, but the biological basis for negotiating growth in constrained environments is unknown. We used time-lapse live-cell imaging of Neurospora crassa in microfluidic environments to show how constraining geometries determine the…
Biofilm formation by Bacillus subtilis is a communal process that culminates in the formation of architecturally complex multicellular communities. Here we reveal that the transition of the biofilm into a nonexpanding phase constitutes a distinct step in the process of biofilm development. Using genetic analysis we show that B. subtilis…
The pathogen Staphylococcus aureus colonizes and infects a variety of different sites within the human body. To adapt to these different environments, S. aureus relies on a complex and finely tuned regulatory network. While some of these networks have been well-elucidated, the functions of more than 50% of the transcriptional…
The ability to regulate gene expression through transcription initiation underlies the adaptability and survival of all bacteria. Recent work has revealed that the transcription machinery in many bacteria diverges from the paradigm that has been established in Escherichia coli. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) encodes the RNA polymerase (RNAP)-binding protein CarD, which…
Intracellular trafficking pathways in eukaryotic cells are essential to maintain organelle identity and structure, and to regulate cell communication with its environment. Shigella flexneri invades and subverts the human colonic epithelium by the injection of virulence factors through a type 3 secretion system (T3SS). In this work, we report the…
Essential tremor (ET) is among the most prevalent movement disorders, but its origins are elusive. The inferior olivary nucleus (ION) has been hypothesized as the prime generator of tremor because of the pacemaker properties of ION neurons, but structural and functional changes in ION are unlikely under ET. Abnormalities have…
Here, we investigated the properties of presynaptic N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (pre-NMDARs) at corticohippocampal excitatory connections between perforant path (PP) afferents and dentate granule cells (GCs), a circuit involved in memory encoding and centrally affected in Alzheimer's disease and temporal lobe epilepsy. These receptors were previously reported to increase PP release probability.
Patterns of postsynaptic activity that induce long-term potentiation of fast excitatory transmission at glutamatergic synapses between hippocampal neurons cause enlargement of the dendritic spine and promote growth in spine endoplasmic reticulum (ER) content. Such postsynaptic activity patterns also impact Ca2+ signaling in the adjoining dendritic shaft, in a zone centered…
Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability. Neurogenesis after stroke is associated with repair; however, the mechanisms regulating poststroke neurogenesis and its functional effect remain unclear. Here, we investigate multiple mechanistic routes of induced neurogenesis in the poststroke brain, using both a forelimb overuse manipulation that models a clinical…
Motion in depth (MID) can be cued by high-resolution changes in binocular disparity over time (CD), and low-resolution interocular velocity differences (IOVD). Computational differences between these two mechanisms suggest that they may be implemented in visual pathways with different spatial and temporal resolutions. Here, we used fMRI to examine how…
Learning to avoid aversive outcomes is an adaptive strategy to limit one's future exposure to stressful events. However, there is considerable variance in active avoidance learning across a population. The mesolimbic dopamine system contributes to behaviors elicited by aversive stimuli, although it is unclear if the heterogeneity in active avoidance…
Adult hippocampal neurogenesis involves the lifelong generation of neurons. The process depends on the homeostasis of the production of neurons and maintenance of the adult neural stem cell (NSC) pool. Here, we report that α2-chimaerin, a Rho GTPase-activating protein, is essential for NSC homeostasis in adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Conditional deletion…
The thalamus is 1 of 4 major divisions of the forebrain and is usually subdivided into epithalamus, dorsal thalamus, and ventral thalamus. The 39 gray matter regions comprising the large dorsal thalamus project topographically to the cerebral cortex, whereas the much smaller epithalamus (2 regions) and ventral thalamus (5 regions)…
Leptin informs the brain about sufficiency of fuel stores. When insufficient, leptin levels fall, triggering compensatory increases in appetite. Falling leptin is first sensed by hypothalamic neurons, which then initiate adaptive responses. With regard to hunger, it is thought that leptin-sensing neurons work entirely via circuits within the central nervous…
The physiological activity of proteins is often studied with loss-of-function genetic approaches, but the corresponding phenotypes develop slowly and can be confounding. Photopharmacology allows direct, fast, and reversible control of endogenous protein activity, with spatiotemporal resolution set by the illumination method. Here, we combine a photoswitchable allosteric modulator (alloswitch) and.
Gene dosage variation and the associated changes in gene expression influence a wide variety of traits, ranging from cancer in humans to yield in plants. It is also expected to affect important traits of ecological and agronomic importance in forest trees, but this variation has not been systematically characterized or…
As bacterial resistance to traditional antibiotics continues to emerge, new alternatives are urgently needed. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are important candidates. However, how AMPs are designed with in vivo efficacy is poorly understood. Our study was designed to understand structural moieties of cationic peptides that would lead to their successful use…
SOCIAL SCIENCES Correction for "Systematic assessment of the sex ratio at birth for all countries and estimation of national imbalances and regional reference levels," by Fengqing Chao, Patrick Gerland, Alex R. Cook, and Leontine Alkema, which was first published April 15, 2019; 10.1073/pnas.1812593116 (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 116, 9303–9311)….
BIOPHYSICS AND COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY Correction for "Deciphering the rules by which 5′-UTR sequences affect protein expression in yeast," by Shlomi Dvir, Lars Velten, Eilon Sharon, Danny Zeevi, Lucas B. Carey, Adina Weinberger, and Eran Segal, which was first published July 5, 2013; 10.1073/pnas.1222534110 (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 110, E2792–E2801)….
NEUROSCIENCE, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES Correction for "In vivo evidence for dysregulation of mGluR5 as a biomarker of suicidal ideation," by Margaret T. Davis, Ansel Hillmer, Sophie E. Holmes, Robert H. Pietrzak, Nicole DellaGioia, Nabeel Nabulsi, David Matuskey, Gustavo Angarita-Africano, Richard E. Carson, John H. Krystal, and Irina Esterlis, which…
PLANT BIOLOGY Correction for "Degradation of the antiviral component ARGONAUTE1 by the autophagy pathway," by Benoît Derrien, Nicolas Baumberger, Mikhail Schepetilnikov, Corrado Viotti, Julia De Cillia, Véronique Ziegler-Graff, Erika Isono, Karin Schumacher, and Pascal Genschik, which was first published September 10, 2012; 10.1073/pnas.1209487109 (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 109, 15942–15946)..
Controlled twisting of advanced materials into complex structures 3D microstructure in the form of a flower, created by buckling and twisting a 2D precursor. Advances in 3D manufacturing have enabled the production of complex 3D architectures, but existing manufacturing techniques are limited in the types of achievable geometries. Hangbo Zhao,…
In PNAS, Naserifar and Goddard (1) report that their RexPoN water model under ambient conditions comprises a "dynamic polydisperse branched polymer," which they speculate explains the existence of the liquid–liquid critical point (LLCP) in the supercooled region. The observable they rely on to support this is the oxygen–oxygen radial distribution…
How the mammalian circadian clock interacts with metabolism and its possible implications in metabolic diseases are actively studied. In PNAS, Foteinou et al. (1) propose a mathematical model of the circadian clock that incorporates the metabolic sensor SIRT1 and validate it with cell experiments. Their findings shed light on conflicting…
As the mathematical model developed by Woller et al. (1) also considers the role of SIRT1 in circadian clock, we regret not citing this work. However, we feel the inferences drawn in Furlan et al.'s (2) letter conflate 2 distinct studies with disparate purposes and methods. In Foteinou et al….
Sydney Brenner died on April 5, 2019, at age 92. His fame arose from three domains in which he operated with uncommon intellectual vibrancy. First were his prescient ideas and breakthrough experiments that defined the DNA genetic code and how the information it contains is transmitted into proteins. Second, in…
Most people view paintings orthogonally. Usually, this is what the artist intended. However, historically and technically minded artists, art conservators, technical art historians, and indeed forgers are also interested in what paintings look like in microscopic cross-section. From this vantage point, other dimensions of the art are revealed. The stratigraphic…
The history of life and environmental change on Earth is told largely by physical and chemical indicators hosted within the sedimentary rock record. Barite (BaSO4) is one of the few minerals that is known to crystallize from seawater, and due to its relatively high chemical resiliency in nature, its trace…
The immune system sustains a continuous dialogue with the endogenous microbial communities residing at the mucosal surfaces, mediated by many factors, including IgA, the most abundant antibody isotype. In PNAS, Xiong et al. (1) explore the role of a B cell-specific factor in regulation of IgA secretion in the gut….
The entorhinal cortex (EC) conveys spatial, limbic, and sensory information to the hippocampus, which performs critical brain functions, including learning and memory processes and spatial information coding. Axons from superficial [layer (L)2] EC neurons make excitatory synapses onto granule cells (GCs) of the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG), which prepare the…
School-closure policies are considered one of the most promising nonpharmaceutical interventions for mitigating seasonal and pandemic influenza. However, their effectiveness is still debated, primarily due to the lack of empirical evidence about the behavior of the population during the implementation of the policy. Over the course of the 2015 to…
Cells sense mechanical signals from their microenvironment and transduce them to the nucleus to regulate gene expression programs. To elucidate the physical mechanisms involved in this regulation, we developed an active 3D chemomechanical model to describe the three-way feedback between the adhesions, the cytoskeleton, and the nucleus. The model shows…
Recently developed methods in mechanically guided assembly provide deterministic access to wide-ranging classes of complex, 3D structures in high-performance functional materials, with characteristic length scales that can range from nanometers to centimeters. These processes exploit stress relaxation in prestretched elastomeric platforms to affect transformation of 2D precursors into 3D shapes…
The causes of obesity are complex and multifactorial. We propose that one unconsidered but likely important factor is the energetic demand of brain development, which could constrain energy available for body growth and other functions, including fat deposition. Humans are leanest during early childhood and regain body fat in later…
Cellular senescence defines an irreversible cell growth arrest state linked to loss of tissue function and aging in mammals. This transition from proliferation to senescence is typically characterized by increased expression of the cell-cycle inhibitor p16INK4a and formation of senescence-associated heterochromatin foci (SAHF). SAHF formation depends on HIRA-mediated nucleosome assembly…
Cyclic AMP (cAMP) phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) enzymes degrade cAMP and underpin the compartmentalization of cAMP signaling through their targeting to particular protein complexes and intracellular locales. We describe the discovery and characterization of a small-molecule compound that allosterically activates PDE4 long isoforms. This PDE4-specific activator displays reversible, noncompetitive kine
Despite the crucial role of RAF kinases in cell signaling and disease, we still lack a complete understanding of their regulation. Heterodimerization of RAF kinases as well as dephosphorylation of a conserved "S259" inhibitory site are important steps for RAF activation but the precise mechanisms and dynamics remain unclear. A…
Ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) are responsible for fast synaptic transmission throughout the vertebrate nervous system. Conformational changes of the transmembrane domain (TMD) underlying ion channel activation and desensitization remain poorly understood. Here, we explored the dynamics of the TMD of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA)-type iGluRs using genetically
DNA damage-induced signaling by ATR and CHK1 inhibits DNA replication, stabilizes stalled and collapsed replication forks, and mediates the repair of multiple classes of DNA lesions. We and others have shown that ATR kinase inhibitors, three of which are currently undergoing clinical trials, induce excessive origin firing during unperturbed DNA…
Sensing misfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), cells initiate the ER stress response and, when overwhelmed, undergo apoptosis. However, little is known about how cells prevent excessive ER stress response and cell death to restore homeostasis. Here, we report the identification and characterization of cellular suppressors of ER stress-induced…
Increased glycolysis in the lung vasculature has been connected to the development of pulmonary hypertension (PH). We therefore investigated whether glycolytic regulator 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2, 6-bisphosphatase (PFKFB3)-mediated endothelial glycolysis plays a critical role in the development of PH. Heterozygous global deficiency of Pfkfb3 protected mice from developing hypoxia-induced
BRUCE/Apollon is a membrane-associated inhibitor of apoptosis protein that is essential for viability and has ubiquitin-conjugating activity. On initiation of apoptosis, the ubiquitin ligase Nrdp1/RNF41 promotes proteasomal degradation of BRUCE. Here we demonstrate that BRUCE together with the proteasome activator PA28γ causes proteasomal degradation of LC3-I and thus inhibits autophagy….
The molecular mechanisms regulating sympathetic innervation of the heart during embryogenesis and its importance for cardiac development and function remain to be fully elucidated. We generated mice in which conditional knockout (CKO) of the Hif1a gene encoding the transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) is mediated by an Islet1-Cre transgene…
In many animal species with a bilateral symmetry, Hox genes are clustered either at one or at several genomic loci. This organization has a functional relevance, as the transcriptional control applied to each gene depends upon its relative position within the gene cluster. It was previously noted that vertebrate Hox…
Environmentally induced phenotypes have been proposed to initiate and bias adaptive evolutionary change toward particular directions. The potential for this to happen depends in part on how well plastic responses are aligned with the additive genetic variance and covariance in traits. Using meta-analysis, we demonstrate that plastic responses to novel…
IgA is the most abundantly produced antibody in the body and plays a crucial role in gut homeostasis and mucosal immunity. IgA forms a dimer that covalently associates with the joining (J) chain, which is essential for IgA transport into the mucosa. Here, we demonstrate that the marginal zone B…
Resident fibroblasts at sites of infection, chronic inflammation, or cancer undergo phenotypic and functional changes to support leukocyte migration and, in some cases, aggregation into tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS). The molecular programming that shapes these changes and the functional requirements of this population in TLS development are unclear. Here, we…
Lyme disease is a multisystem disorder caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. A common late-stage complication of this disease is oligoarticular arthritis, often involving the knee. In ∼10% of cases, arthritis persists after appropriate antibiotic treatment, leading to a proliferative synovitis typical of chronic inflammatory arthritides. Here, we provide evidence…
Zygotes at the 1-cell stage have been genetically modified by microinjecting the CRISPR/Cas9 components for the generation of targeted gene knockout in mammals. In the avian species, genetic modification of the zygote is difficult because its unique reproductive system limits the accessibility of the zygote at the 1-cell stage. To…
The ever-increasing global need for potable water requires practical, sustainable approaches for purifying abundant alternative sources such as seawater, high-salinity processed water, or underground reservoirs. Evaporation-based solutions are of particular interest for treating high salinity water, since conventional methods such as reverse osmosis have increasing energy requirements for higher c
The tracheary system of plant leaves is composed of a cellulose skeleton with diverse hierarchical structures. It is built of polygonally bent helical microfilaments of cellulose-based nanostructures coated by different layers, which provide them high compression resistance, elasticity, and roughness. Their function includes the transport of water and nutrients from…
The self-assembly of block polymers into well-ordered nanostructures underpins their utility across fundamental and applied polymer science, yet only a handful of equilibrium morphologies are known with the simplest AB-type materials. Here, we report the discovery of the A15 sphere phase in single-component diblock copolymer melts comprising poly(dodecyl acrylate)−block−poly(lactide). A…
The linear ubiquitin assembly complex (LUBAC) comprises 3 components: HOIP, HOIL-1, and Sharpin, of which HOIP and HOIL-1 are both members of the RBR subfamily of E3 ubiquitin ligases. HOIP catalyses the formation of Met1-linked ubiquitin oligomers (also called linear ubiquitin), but the function of the E3 ligase activity of…
The synthetic auxin 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) is an active ingredient of thousands of commercial herbicides. Multiple species of bacteria degrade 2,4-D via a pathway initiated by the Fe(II) and α-ketoglutarate (Fe/αKG)-dependent aryloxyalkanoate dioxygenases (AADs). Recently, genes encoding 2 AADs have been deployed commercially in herbicide-tolerant crops. Some AADs can also…
Mycophenolic acid (MPA) from filamentous fungi is the first natural product antibiotic to be isolated and crystallized, and a first-line immunosuppressive drug for organ transplantations and autoimmune diseases. However, some key biosynthetic mechanisms of such an old and important molecule have remained unclear. Here, we elucidate the MPA biosynthetic pathway…
Although the key promoter elements necessary to drive transcription in Escherichia coli have long been understood, we still cannot predict the behavior of arbitrary novel promoters, hampering our ability to characterize the myriad sequenced regulatory architectures as well as to design new synthetic circuits. This work builds upon a beautiful…
The spatial regulation of messenger RNA (mRNA) translation is central to cellular functions and relies on numerous complex processes. Biomimetic approaches could bypass these endogenous complex processes, improve our comprehension of the regulation, and allow for controlling local translation regulations and functions. However, the causality between local translation and nascent…
Pneumolysin (PLY), a major virulence factor of Streptococcus pneumoniae, perforates cholesterol-rich lipid membranes. PLY protomers oligomerize as rings on the membrane and then undergo a structural transition that triggers the formation of membrane pores. Structures of PLY rings in prepore and pore conformations define the beginning and end of this…
TMEM16K, a membrane protein carrying 10 transmembrane regions, has phospholipid scramblase activity. TMEM16K is localized to intracellular membranes, but whether it actually scrambles phospholipids inside cells has not been demonstrated, due to technical difficulties in studying intracellular lipid distributions. Here, we developed a freeze-fracture electron microscopy method that enabled us…
Art forgeries have existed since antiquity, but with the recent rapidly expanding commercialization of art, the approach to art authentication has demanded increasingly sophisticated detection schemes. So far, the most conclusive criterion in the field of counterfeit detection is the scientific proof of material anachronisms. The establishment of the earliest…
Research on plasmons of gold nanoparticles has gained broad interest in nanoscience. However, ultrasmall sizes near the metal-to-nonmetal transition regime have not been explored until recently due to major synthetic difficulties. Herein, intriguing electron dynamics in this size regime is observed in atomically precise Au333(SR)79 nanoparticles. Femtosecond transient-absorption spectroscopy revea
The North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP) erupted in two major pulses that coincide with the continental breakup and the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean over a period from 62 to 54 Ma. The unknown mantle structure under the North Atlantic during the Paleocene represents a major missing link in…
The overturning circulation of the global ocean is critically shaped by deep-ocean mixing, which transforms cold waters sinking at high latitudes into warmer, shallower waters. The effectiveness of mixing in driving this transformation is jointly set by two factors: the intensity of turbulence near topography and the rate at which…
Identifying the drivers and processes that determine globally the geographic range size of species is crucial to understanding the geographic distribution of biodiversity and further predicting the response of species to current global changes. However, these drivers and processes are still poorly understood, and no ecological explanation has emerged yet…
The NIH is the federal steward of biomedical research in the United States. Taxpayers fund the NIH; the NIH supports research into the underlying biology, etiology, and treatment of diseases; and benefits of that research are returned to taxpayers. This is a large and complex enterprise, but at its core…
Cooperation can be sustained by institutions that punish free-riders. Such institutions, however, tend to be subverted by corruption if they are not closely watched. Monitoring can uphold the enforcement of binding agreements ensuring cooperation, but this usually comes at a price. The temptation to skip monitoring and take the institution's…
Sr-bearing marine barite [(Bax, Sr1−x)SO4] cycling has been widely used to reconstruct geochemical evolutions of paleoenvironments. However, an understanding of barite precipitation in the ocean, which is globally undersaturated with respect to barite, is missing. Moreover, the reason for the occurrence of higher Sr content in marine barites than expected…
Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) and brown bear (Ursus arctos) are recently diverged species that inhabit vastly differing habitats. Thus, analysis of the polar bear and brown bear genomes represents a unique opportunity to investigate the evolutionary mechanisms and genetic underpinnings of rapid ecological adaptation in mammals. Copy number (CN) differences…
Boundaries in the bithorax complex (BX-C) delimit autonomous regulatory domains that drive parasegment-specific expression of the Hox genes Ubx, abd-A, and Abd-B. The Fab-7 boundary is located between the iab-6 and iab-7 domains and has two key functions: blocking cross-talk between these domains and at the same time promoting communication…
B lymphocytes have the ability to sense thousands of structurally different antigens and produce cognate antibodies against these molecules. For this they carry on their surface multiple copies of the B cell antigen receptor (BCR) comprising the membrane-bound Ig (mIg) molecule and the Igα/Igβ heterodimer functioning as antigen binding and…
A major obstacle to vaccination against antigenically variable viruses is skewing of antibody responses to variable immunodominant epitopes. For influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA), the immunodominance of the variable head impairs responses to the highly conserved stem. Here, we show that head immunodominance depends on the physical attachment of head to…
The CuO2 antiferromagnetic insulator is transformed by hole-doping into an exotic quantum fluid usually referred to as the pseudogap (PG) phase. Its defining characteristic is a strong suppression of the electronic density-of-states D(E) for energies |E| < Δ*, where Δ* is the PG energy. Unanticipated broken-symmetry phases have been detected…
Bismuth-based materials have been instrumental in the development of topological physics, even though bulk bismuth itself has been long thought to be topologically trivial. A recent study has, however, shown that bismuth is in fact a higher-order topological insulator featuring one-dimensional (1D) topological hinge states protected by threefold rotational and…
Electronic matter waves traveling through the weak and smoothly varying disorder potential of a semiconductor show a characteristic branching behavior instead of a smooth spreading of flow. By transferring this phenomenon to optics, we demonstrate numerically how the branched flow of light can be controlled to propagate along a single…
Improved cookstoves (ICS) can deliver "triple wins" by improving household health, local environments, and global climate. Yet their potential is in doubt because of low and slow diffusion, likely because of constraints imposed by differences in culture, geography, institutions, and missing markets. We offer insights about this challenge based on…
The last, large, isolated, healthy chlamydia-free population of koalas in Australia may have been identified on Kangaroo Island, said Morris Animal Foundation-funded researchers at the University of Adelaide.
In 1665, Lord Christiaan Huygens found that two pendulum clocks, hung in the same wooden structure, oscillated spontaneously and perfectly in line but in opposite directions: the clocks oscillated in anti-phase. An article published in the journal Physical Review Letters -led by researchers from the University of Barcelona showed a nanoscale version of mechanic oscillators.
The processes behind the release and consumption of methane on Mars have been discussed since methane was measured for the first time for approximately 15 years ago. Now, an interdisciplinary research group from Aarhus University has proposed a previously overlooked physical-chemical process that can explain methane's consumption.
For centuries, humans have been expanding their understanding of the world through more and more precise measurement of light and matter. Today, quantum sensors achieve extremely accurate results. An example of this is the development of atomic clocks, which are expected to neither gain nor lose more than a second in thirty billion years. Gravitational waves were detected via quantum sensors as we
University of California San Diego researchers have calculations for how to create high-intensity twisted laser beams—a flavor of laser pulse the world has likely never seen. These researchers also have done the math on how to use these corkscrew shaped laser pulses to do cutting-edge research. Finally, they have predictions on how the materials that they plan to "drill" into with corkscrew light
How to Help Your Dog Stay Calm During Fireworks A survey of 1,225 dog owners reveals what works and what doesn't to help dogs with firework fear. 00-frightened-dog_cropped.jpg Image credits: Evdoha_spb/ Shutterstock Culture Tuesday, July 2, 2019 – 11:45 Nala Rogers, Staff Writer (Inside Science) — For many dogs, the Fourth of July is less a celebration than a night of agonizing terror. But there
Although she is very special to me, Midge, my three-year-old rescue Chihuahua, is not all that special in general. She's the average weight for her size. She has no known medical problems, besides anxiety, which is probably rational given that she's eight inches tall. Nothing I've ever fed her has seemed to irritate her tiny little tummy. Nevertheless, I feed her only grain-free dog food. The kin
The permanent human occupation on the Tibetan Plateau was facilitated by the introduction of cold-tolerant barley around 3600 years before present (BP), however, how barley agriculture spread onto the Tibetan Plateau remains unknown. Now by using both genetics and archaeological data, researchers from Kunming Institute of Zoology, CAS and Lanzhou University revealed that barley agriculture was mai
There are two sound velocities in a Bose-Einstein condensate. In addition to the normal sound propagation there is second sound, which is a quantum phenomenon. Scientists in Ludwig Mathey's group from the University of Hamburg have put forth a new theory for this phenomenon.
Researchers at the Universities of Turku and Helsinki found that women were more likely to volunteer for all-female paramilitary organizations if they had brothers or husbands who were currently serving in the military. This result suggests that bonding with larger and frequently imagined communities, such as the nation state or religious groups, can arise from psychology mechanisms designed by ev
River dikes are small dams made of earth that are used to hold in the water of the course of a river, without affecting the course too much. However, when the water exceeds a certain level due to flooding, the dike breaks, causing disasters that can be devastating for human life or cause huge financial losses.
The fly agaric with its red hat is perhaps the most evocative of the diverse and variously colored mushroom species. Hitherto, the purpose of these colors was shrouded in mystery. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), in collaboration with the Bavarian Forest National Park, have now put together the first pieces of this puzzle.
The fly agaric with its red hat is perhaps the most evocative of the diverse and variously colored mushroom species. Hitherto, the purpose of these colors was shrouded in mystery. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), in collaboration with the Bavarian Forest National Park, have now put together the first pieces of this puzzle.
The South Pacific Gyre is an ocean desert. However, due to its vast size the microbial inhabitants of the South Pacific Gyre contribute significantly to global biogeochemical cycles. In an unparalleled investigation, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany, have now made a comprehensive inventory of the microbial community of the South Pacific Gyre. This
The decision by Japan to resume commercial whaling should be condemned – if not for its uncertain effect on whales, then for its contempt for international agreements
Intermittent fasting is known to improve sensitivity to the blood glucose-lowering hormone insulin and to protect against fatty liver. DZD scientists from DIfE have now discovered that mice on an intermittent fasting regimen also exhibited lower pancreatic fat. In their current study published in the journal Metabolism, the researchers showed the mechanism by which pancreatic fat could contribute
Russian researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) and Valiev Institute of Physics and Technology have demonstrated resonant absorption of terahertz radiation in commercially available graphene. This is an important step toward designing efficient terahertz detectors, which would enable faster internet and a safe replacement for X-ray body scans.
Racial disparity in special education is growing, and it's more complex than previously thought. New research from Michigan State University examined how often black and Hispanic students are identified as needing special education compared to white students, leading to new findings on disproportionality and racial gaps.
Wind-driven erosion of minerals on Mars may be the reason why methane disappears so rapidly on the red planet. Saltation causes electrical charges, that can oxidize minerals and ionize gases like methane, making the ionized methane bond to the minerals. That is the explanation proposed by an interdisciplinary research group from Aarhus University, based on laboratory experiments in a Mars-like env
Canada's largest-ever concussion study, led by researchers at Toronto Rehab, has uncovered rates that are nearly double what has previously been recorded, showcasing the need for increased education about concussion and access to more specialized, best-in-practice concussion care.
Orion Exit Strategy Before NASA can attempt to send astronauts back to the Moon, it needs to know they have a way to GTFO of harm's way if something goes wrong during the trip. To that end, the space agency tested its Orion spacecraft's Launch Abort System (LAS) on Tuesday — and it seems NASA's astronaut escape plan works exactly as hoped. Mission Aborted To start the three-minute-long Ascent Abo
Scientists have identified mechanisms in the human brain that could help explain the phenomenon of the 'Uncanny Valley' — the unsettling feeling we get from robots and virtual agents that are too human-like. They have also shown that some people respond more adversely to human-like agents than others.
Facebook and YouTube said Tuesday they were moving to reduce the spread of misleading health care claims after a media report showed the proliferation of bogus cancer cures on social media.
Accompanying the teaser is short 13-second video that spans through the Windows logos in reverse chronological order, from Windows 10 back through Windows 1.0. Fittingly, it is set to a catchy …
For more than a billion people around the world, running water comes from water systems that turn on and off at certain times. A new paper by University of Toronto Engineering professor David Taylor proposes a model to explain why and how these systems come to be — and how they fit into meeting international targets for human development and safe drinking water.
A weakness in one common open source software for genomic analysis left DNA-based medical diagnostics vulnerable to cyberattacks. Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories identified the weakness and notified the software developers, who issued a patch to fix the problem. The issue has also been fixed in the latest release of the software, and no attack from this vulnerability is known.
California's Institute for Regenerative Medicine, a kind of mini-NIH, does crucial basic research without federal funding — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Domestic violence survivors commonly suffer repeated blows to the head and strangulation, trauma that has lasting effects that should be widely recognized by advocates, health care providers, law enforcement and others who are in a position to help, according to the authors of a new study.
Two NASA space telescopes have teamed up to identify, for the first time, the detailed chemical 'fingerprint' of a planet between the sizes of Earth and Neptune. No planets like this can be found in our own solar system, but they are common around other stars.
A team of researchers found that DNA damaged by the widely used chemotherapy drug cisplatin is mostly good as new in noncancerous tissue within two circadian cycles, or two days. The results could inform the development of chronochemotherapies — strategies aimed at administering chemotherapy drugs at times that maximize tumor damage while minimizing side effects.
Indwelling devices like catheters cause roughly 25% of hospital infections, but ongoing efforts to reduce catheter use and misuse haven't succeeded as much as health care workers would like.
Using blood pressure self-monitoring is an effective way to empower patients with hypertension to stick with an exercise program, according to a first-of-its-kind study conducted by a multidisciplinary team of researchers.
The things we appeal to when making excuses are myriad: tiredness, stress, a looming work deadline, a wailing infant. But what do these various excuses have in common that allows us to recognize them all as plausible? A researcher has suggested that the answers lie in what they all tell us about our underlying motivation. When excuses are permissible, it's because they show that while we acted wro
Scientists have identified mechanisms in the human brain that could help explain the phenomenon of the 'Uncanny Valley' — the unsettling feeling we get from robots and virtual agents that are too human-like. They have also shown that some people respond more adversely to human-like agents than others.
A new article might make you squirm if you plan to hit the beach. This article presents the draft genomes of three jellyfish species, which have a range of physical traits and level of toxicity. Jellyfish kill more people than sharks, stingrays, and sea snakes combined; thus, having sequences and their analyses available provides an essential resource for future investigation of toxin gene evoluti
California's Institute for Regenerative Medicine, a kind of mini-NIH, does crucial basic research without federal funding — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
This summer, whether you're at home, fishing on a lake, or walking along the beach, consider getting involved in one or more of the citizen science projects featured below. Each one empowers us to keep an eye on the health of our water sources. Cheers! The SciStarter Team Stream Selfie More than one-third of us drink water that runs through streams. But how clean are those streams? To find out, we
The crew capsule and its launch abort safety system lifted off on time from Cape Canaveral. (Credit: NASA) On Tuesday morning at 7am EDT, NASA successfully completed the final major flight test for their Orion crew capsule. This is the new craft NASA will use to transport humans to the Moon and Mars as a new age of space exploration begins. The Artemis Moon mission is slated to begin next year wit
Your browser may have thrown up the "502 Bad Gateway" error if you have been trying to access some websites this morning. Quite a few have been affected by a massive Cloudflare …
Animal studies on cardiac arrest found that a combination of epinephrine with esmolol attenuates post-resuscitation myocardial dysfunction. Based on these findings, the researchers hypothesized that esmololepinephrine combination therapy would be superior to a reported cardioprotective esmolol therapy alone in a mouse model of myocardial ischemia and reperfusion (IR) injury.
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have developed a unique method for studying proteins which could open new doors for medicinal research. Through capturing proteins in a nano-capsule made of glass, the researchers have been able to create a unique model of proteins in natural environments. The results are published in the scientific journal, Small.
Quick Roundup of Monthly Science Stories A month's worth of cool science stories summed up: Saturn's rings, space sperm, better blood donation, and puppy dog eyes. Saturn's Rings, Space Sperm, Better Blood Donation, and Puppy Dog Eyes (June 2019 Monthly Roundup) Video of Saturn's Rings, Space Sperm, Better Blood Donation, and Puppy Dog Eyes (June 2019 Monthly Roundup) On this monthly roundup
Some mice receiving a therapy that includes CRISPR gene editing appear to have been cured of HIV, but safety concerns must be overcome before human trials
Prostate cancer represents a major health challenge and there is currently no effective treatment once it has advanced to the aggressive, metastatic stage. A new has revealed a key cellular mechanism that contributes to aggressive prostate cancer, and supporting a new clinical trial.
Overweight, diabetes, heart disease, and many forms of cancer are driven by unhealthful diets, but most doctors do not have the knowledge to turn this problem around.
University of Houston chemist Vassiliy Lubchenko is reporting a new finding in Nature Communications on how sickle cells are formed, which may lead not only to stopping their formation, but to new avenues for making uniformly-sized nanoparticles for industry.
In 2018, a Florida man found a piece of tooth embedded in his foot from a shark bite off Flagler Beach 24 years earlier. A DNA test of the tooth, conducted by scientists at the Florida Museum of Natural History, revealed the kind of shark that had nabbed his foot nearly a quarter century ago: a blacktip.
Researchers have used an extremely bright mid-infrared laser to perform an analytical technique known as spectroscopic ellipsometry. The new approach captures high-resolution spectral information in less than a second and could offer new insights into quickly changing properties of a variety of samples from plastics to biological materials.
Researchers from the University of Vermont, Boston University, and Brookhaven National Laboratory have demonstrated a new experimental capability for watching thin film growth in real-time. Using the National Synchrotron Light Source II, the researchers were able to produce a 'movie' of thin film growth that depicts the process more accurately than traditional techniques can.
Researchers from the Life Sciences Research Unit (LSRU) of the University of Luxembourg have developed a computer model that simulates the metabolism of cancer cells. They used the programme to investigate how combinations of drugs could be used more effectively to stop tumour growth. The biologists now published their findings in the scientific journal EBioMedicine of the prestigious Lancet group
EPFL chemists have developed new tools to modify sulfur-containing biomolecules, from simple amino acids to large protein complexes such as nucleosomes. These modifications then provide attachment points for two new functional groups, enabling studies of biochemical interactions on the single-molecule level.
Antibiotics can leave the lung vulnerable to flu viruses, leading to significantly worse infections and symptoms, finds a new study in mice led by the Francis Crick Institute.The research, published in Cell Reports, discovered that signals from gut bacteria help to maintain a first line of defense in the lining of the lung. When mice with healthy gut bacteria were infected with the flu, around 80%
This Arts and Medicine feature reviews 'Three Identical Strangers' and 'The Twinning Reaction,' two documentaries telling the story of identical twins and triplets adopted as infants into separate families who were unknowing participants in a two-decade nature vs. nurture study of child development beginning in 1960.
Legislative and administrative actions by the state of California were associated with a decrease in the rate of kindergartners entering school without up-to-date vaccinations.
UNC School of Medicine scientists found that a gene mutation linked to autism normally works to organize the scaffolding of brain cells called radial progenitors necessary for the orderly formation of the brain. The discovery, published in Neuron, illuminates details of a key process in brain development and adds to the scientific understanding of the biological basis of autism spectrum disorder (
In a major collaborative effort, researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) have for the first time eliminated replication-competent HIV-1 DNA — the virus responsible for AIDS — from the genomes of living animals. The study, reported online July 2 in the journal Nature Communications, marks a critical step toward the
Commensal gut microbes stimulate antiviral signals in non-immune lung cells to protect against the flu virus during early stages of infection, researchers report July 2 in the journal Cell Reports. Enhanced baseline type I interferon (IFNα/β) signaling, which drives antiviral responses, reduced flu virus replication and weight loss in mice, but this protective effect was attenuated by antibiotic t
Why is eating a high fat diet a recipe for obesity? According to a new study from the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences (IMS) in Japan, the answer involves the activity of a specific type of immune cell that lives in the small intestine. Experiments showed that without group-2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) in the small intestines, mice can eat high-fat diets without gaining extra weigh
Long before the modern obesity epidemic, evolution made us fat. "We're the fat primates," says Devi Swain-Lenz, a postdoctoral associate in biology at Duke University. The fact that humans are chubbier than chimpanzees isn't news to scientists, but new evidence could help explain how we got that way. Despite having nearly identical DNA sequences, chimps and early humans underwent critical shifts
Understanding the structure and metabolism of cells and living organisms is essential for the development of new drugs and diagnostics. The availability of chemical tools that allow scientists to edit biomolecules, like proteins, with atom-level resolution have greatly contributed to the progress of chemical biology.
A particular type of carbohydrate plays an important role in regulating the blood pressure in the human body, according to new research in rats. The researchers believe that the finding may have the potential to improve medications for high blood pressure. Both hypertension and hypotension can have adverse health consequences and lead to cardiovascular diseases and syncope, respectively. "It may
It's not every day that something from the 17 th century gets radically reinvented. But this month, a team from the Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard took aim at one of the most iconic pieces of lab ware—the microscope—and tore down the entire concept to recreate it from scratch. I'm sure you have a mental picture of a scope: a stage to put samples on, a bunch of dials to focus the image, tunnel
Scientists from the University of Bath are challenging the claims of two high profile papers from 2018 which reported that in the mouse, RNA has to be added to sperm for them to be fully fertile. The Bath findings undermine a proposed mechanism of epigenetic inheritance in which offspring inherit traits acquired by their parents.
One of the fundamental physical constants, the 'weak axial vector coupling constant' (gA), has now been measured with very high precision for the first time. It is needed to explain nuclear fusion in the sun, to understand the formation of elements shortly after the Big Bang, or to understand important experiments in particle physics. With the help of sophisticated neutron experiments, the value o
The South Pacific Gyre is an ocean desert. However, due to its vast size the microbial inhabitants of the South Pacific Gyre contribute significantly to global biogeochemical cycles. In an unparalleled investigation, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany, have now made a comprehensive inventory of the microbial community of the South Pacific Gyre. This
The fly agaric with its red hat is perhaps the most evocative of the diverse and variously colored mushroom species. Hitherto, the purpose of these colors was shrouded in mystery. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), in collaboration with the Bavarian Forest National Park, have now put together the first pieces of this puzzle.
New research suggests that a particular type of carbohydrate plays an important role in regulating the blood pressure in the human body. This has been shown by researchers from the University of Copenhagen and Rigshospitalet in a new study using rats. The researchers believe that the finding may have a vast potential for improved medications for high blood pressure.
The most significant impact of two-screen experience was on viewers' ability to 'transport' into the narrative and become immersed in the televised story.
Microbiologists at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich have shown that Toxoplasma gondii, the parasite that is responsible for toxoplasmosis, utilizes at least two modes of locomotion during its infection cycle.
Scientists from Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU), V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Dmitry Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology, and Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FEB RAS), assumed the risks of primary skin cancer and its recurrences can be significantly reduced by applying the ointment with antisense oligonucleotides which are short DNA, RNA fragments
In Raiders of the Lost Ark , Indiana Jones must find a secret chamber that contains the legendary Ark of the Covenant. To identify its exact location, Indy must uncover a special map that's only visible when the sun shines through a special crystal in a certain room at a certain time of day. This idea — that essential information can be revealed when circumstances are just right — occurs in many
Understanding the structure and metabolism of cells and living organisms is essential for the development of new drugs and diagnostics. The availability of chemical tools that allow scientists to edit biomolecules, like proteins, with atom-level resolution have greatly contributed to the progress of chemical biology.
Nature, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02067-9 Existing power plants must be shut down or retrofitted to limit global warming, time is running out for sand, and how to support open-source software and stay sane.
Nature, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02063-z Researchers describe how a government crackdown on foreign influence is affecting them following a statement of support from their university.
Scientists at the QUEST Institute at Leibniz University, Hannover, and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, have, together with colleagues in Florence, Italy, introduced a method based on a non-classical state adapted to two measurement parameters at once. This will enable precision measurements of molecules which could reveal interactions between conventional and dark matter. They report on
Salmonella and listeria are among the most widely distributed and deadliest causes of foodborne infections. Their rapid and reliable detection on food and industrial food processing equipment is very important. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, scientists have introduced a new, ultrasensitive, chemiluminescence-based method for the direct detection of Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes. Because
A new publication by the IOF Cancer and Bone Working Group provides succinct recommendations for essential long-term follow-up of bone health in childhood cancer survivors. It aims to help clinicians define specific groups at higher risk of long-term bone complications, identify unrecognized long-term adverse effects, and ultimately improve patient care. It includes a concise diagnostic-therapeuti
Scientists from the University of Granada and Liverpool John Moores University (UK) have established that school children who use backpacks should avoid loads of more than 10% of their body weight — and those who use trolleys, 20% of their body weight.
Scientists from the University of Bristol and the Technical University of Denmark have found a promising new way to build the next generation of quantum simulators combining light and silicon micro-chips.
Scott Borchetta is widely recognized as the man who made Taylor Swift's career by signing, in 2006, the then-15-year-old unknown singer. But it could also be said that Swift made Borchetta's career. In 2005, the Nashville record exec left DreamWorks Records "to roll all the dice," as he later put it , and start a new label, Big Machine Records, with just three artists: Jack Ingram, Danielle Peck,
"Most of what we send into outer space never comes back," says astrodynamicist and TED Fellow Moriba Jah. In this forward-thinking talk, Jah describes the space highways orbiting earth and how they're mostly populated by space junk. Learn more about his quest to develop and scale the world's first crowdsourced space traffic monitoring system — and how it could help solve the debris problem in nea
If you saw the movie Alien , or any of its sequels, you know what happens when you're marooned in space and you don't work together as a team. Cooperation is key in all dangerous environments, and that's especially true in a malfunctioning spaceship. And that's pretty much the entire premise behind Spaceteam, a fast-paced, a science-fiction-themed cooperative card game . Spaceteam is an adaptatio
The Atlantic announced today the hire of Linzee Troubh as development director, a new role that will oversee the development of scripted and unscripted content from The Atlantic's journalism, past and present. Troubh will support a recently announced first-look deal between The Atlantic and Anonymous Content; she will assist in the development of creative material optioned through the multi-year
On the first day of play at the 2019 edition of Wimbledon, three remarkably talented players under the age of 23 suffered upsets. In the women's draw, 21-year-old Naomi Osaka, currently ranked No. 2 in the world, lost in straight sets to Yulia Putintseva, the same player who defeated Osaka a little less than two weeks ago at the Birmingham Classic . On the men's side, both 22-year-old Alexander Z
A method of weighing the quantities of matter in galaxy clusters – the largest objects in our universe – has shown a balance between the amounts of hot gas, stars and other materials.
The interaction between a chromosomal protein called HMGB1 and a cellular receptor called RAGE is known to trigger inflammation. Researchers from Tokyo University of Science have now used computer software to analyze structural similarities among existing drugs, and discovered that the popular anticonvulsant drug papaverine blocks the binding of HMGB1 to RAGE. The researchers conclude that papaver
Over the past decades, the idea that all adults should get regularly screened for cancer — with mammograms, colonoscopies and prostate specific antigen blood tests — has been conveyed to the public time after time. But current clinical guidelines recommend against screening many older adults, such as those with less than 10 years' life expectancy. For doctors, talking to a patient about the idea
The permanent human occupation on the Tibetan Plateau was facilitated by the introduction of cold-tolerant barley around 3600 years before present, however, how barley agriculture spread onto the Tibetan Plateau remains unknown. Researchers revealed that the barley agriculture was mainly brought onto the plateau by the millet farmers from northern China. Moreover, the genetic contribution from mil
There are two sound velocities in a Bose-Einstein condensate. In addition to the normal sound propagation there is second sound, which is a quantum phenomenon. Scientists around Ludwig Mathey from the University of Hamburg have put forth a new theory for this phenomenon.
People of all ages tend to misjudge the strength of other people's emotions based on an egocentric bias, according to a new study by Associate Professor Hajimu Hayashi, Kobe University Graduate School of Human Development and Environment. The findings were published on June 1, 2019 in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.
A new study in marmoset monkeys suggests that individual variation in genes alters our ability to regulate emotions, providing new insights that could help in the development of personalised therapies to tackle anxiety and depression.
Researchers at the Universities of Turku and Helsinki found that women were more likely to volunteer for all-female paramilitary organizations if they had brothers or husbands who were currently serving in the military. This result suggests that bonding with larger and frequently imagined communities, such as the nation state or religious groups, can arise from psychology mechanisms designed by ev
Researchers at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) and the ProCure Program of the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) published today at Cancer Research a study describing a new mechanism in cancer that turns cells into malignant cells and contradicts what had been published so far about drug resistance that prevent the formation of blood vessels (anti-angiogenics). The research
People have a limited ability to regenerate nerves after injury or illness. In glaucoma patients, degeneration of the optic nerve that connects the retina and the brain causes permanent blindness, and there is currently no effective treatment. Now, researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, USA, can induce human retinal ganglion cells, which form the optic nerve, to regenerate nerve
14 asteroid and comet experts, including two from the University of Hawaii, determine that Oumuamua, the first recorded interstellar visitor, has natural origins, despite previous speculation by some other astronomers that the object could be an alien spacecraft sent from a distant civilization to examine our star system.
University of Otago scientists are part of an international research collaboration which has made an important discovery in the quest to lower global agricultural methane emissions.
The inability of long-rooted trees to reach their subsurface water supply in the Sierra Nevada mountain range led to widespread forest die-offs following the drought of 2012-2015. A new study from UC Irvine and UC Merced scientists provides a better understanding of the climatic and biological mechanisms in play.
From telecommunications to road traffic, from healthcare to the workplace—digital technology is now an intrinsic part of almost every area of life. Yet how can we ensure that developments in this field, especially those that rely on artificial intelligence (AI), meet all our ethical, legal and technological concerns? In a project led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Informa
The Windows 10 May update did bring a lot of feature improvements including a native variable refresh rate setting, a light theme, better control over updates and improved Windows Hello. But …
Pointing turbines slightly away from oncoming wind—called wake-steering—can reduce that interference and improve both the quantity and quality of power from wind farms, research finds. The change would probably lower operating costs, too. Solitary wind turbines produce the most power when pointing directly into the wind. But when tightly packed lines of turbines face the wind on wind farms, wakes
New research may explain why bats have a low incidence of cancer. The findings could eventually lead to treatments for people. "Our team investigated the unique anti-cancer mechanisms in bats and found that exposure to toxic drugs caused significantly less DNA damage in bat cells than human cells due to the presence of the important ABCB1 protein," says senior author Koji Itahana, an associate pr
To create the best collaboration in a work group, organizations should strike the right balance of different cognitive styles among the participants, according to a new study. In the study, researchers found that participants had to have just the right mix of cognitive diversity to create the highest collective intelligence. The ideal mix follows "the Goldilocks principle: Not too little (diversi
Dogs can have a hard time on the Fourth of July, but there are ways to ensure their safety. Our celebrations could put pets at an increased risk for anxiety or injuries, explains Stacy Eckman, a clinical associate professor for the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University. "Most of the time, injuries to pets during the holiday are related to them getting out of
Sorry, SETI In 2017, an asteroid came barreling past the Earth. That alone isn't particularly noteworthy, but this object was unlike any other. Not only was it the first to hail from outside our solar system , but it also had a weird shape and spin, plus it accelerated in an unexpected way while passing the Sun. Astronomers dubbed the strange asteroid 'Oumuamua, and soon, speculation swirled that
Explosions in the Sky Roughly 7,500 light-years away from Earth is a double star system called Eta Carinae. In 1838, one of the system's two stars underwent a near-death experience astronomers dubbed the "Great Eruption," and for nearly two centuries, scientists have been watching the stunning aftermath of that event. On Monday, researchers from NASA and the ESA released new photos of Eta Carinae
East Timor's origin is shrouded in myth. The Southeast Asian island is said to have formed from "Grandfather Crocodile." That is why many who live on East Timor revere the animal who they believe established the island. A doctoral candidate of the Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Freiburg, Sebastian Brackhane, investigated the challenges the belief poses for wildli
Andrew Yang's universal basic income proposal has gained a lot of attention, but it is just one part of his "human-center capitalism" philosophy. Human-centered capitalism calls for government to refocus on human wellbeing, not GDP growth, as the go-to metric of economic success. Yang is one of many thinkers looking to update capitalism for the 21 st century. Andrew Yang's presidential bid has be
Late in Midsommar , the bewildered American tourist Christian (played by Jack Reynor) finally blurts out the question he's been holding in for his entire trip to the strange Swedish enclave of Harga. "Excuse me," he asks a bearded townsperson. "What is going on ?" He doesn't get a straight answer in return—the man just claps in his face, sending Christian's poor soul into yet another wave of psyc
In astronomy, we have a common saying: "good luck, and clear skies." For an eclipse chaser like me, this is especially important. We have two minutes and no second chance—one small cloud can spoil everything.
East Timor's origin is shrouded in myth. The Southeast Asian island is said to have formed from "Grandfather Crocodile." That is why many who live on East Timor revere the animal who they believe established the island. A doctoral candidate of the Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Freiburg, Sebastian Brackhane, investigated the challenges the belief poses for wildli
When it comes to electric charge, there is one overriding theme: opposites attract, and like charges repel. But in a new study, physicists have made the surprising discovery that two spherical like-charged metal nanoparticles with unequal charges can attract one another in a dilute electrolyte solution. The reason, in short, is that the more strongly charged nanoparticle polarizes the metal core o
Unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, are increasingly used for tasks that are too difficult or dangerous for people to complete. But better control and communication among groups of similarly tasked UAVs is still needed, experts say.
SpaceX recovered its first fairing last week after a Falcon Heavy launch. Here's how to estimate the challenge faced by *Ms. Tree*, the retrieval boat.
PLUS. Omkring 3.000 medarbejdere hos Rambøll i Danmark kan fremover ikke holde fri med løn, når de skal til begravelser og ordinære lægebesøg. Ingeniørforeningen følger sagen.
Toggling between viewing entertainment and social media lessens a person's ability to escape reality and enjoy a show, according to a new University of Connecticut study.
Rewilding is often thought of as a fantastical vision of the future. One day we might share the landscape with wolves and bears, but in the present day, it seems unlikely. For many people in Europe though, that's exactly what they've been doing for at least the past decade.
In America today, it's easy to believe that marriage is a social good—that our lives and our communities are better when more people get and stay married. There have, of course, been massive changes to the institution over the past few generations, leading the occasional cultural critic to ask: Is marriage becoming obsolete? But few of these people seem genuinely interested in the answer . More o
Rewilding is often thought of as a fantastical vision of the future. One day we might share the landscape with wolves and bears, but in the present day, it seems unlikely. For many people in Europe though, that's exactly what they've been doing for at least the past decade.
Scientists from the University of Bristol and the Technical University of Denmark have found a promising new way to build the next generation of quantum simulators combining light and silicon micro-chips.
Dozens of shipping containers full of waste will be returned to France and other developed countries, Indonesia said Tuesday, as Southeast Asian nations increasingly reject serving as dumping grounds for international trash.
A global boom in natural gas pipelines and terminals is putting the energy industry on a "collision course" with the Paris climate goals, according to a new analysis of investment in the world's new favourite fuel.
A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in Spain has found evidence that suggests the dwarf planet Ceres is experiencing wrinkling on its surface. In their paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy, the group explains their study of data from the Dawn spacecraft and what it revealed.
Emerging single-cell diagnostics rely on the potential to rapidly and efficiently isolate bacteria from complex biological matrices. In a recent study now published in Microsystems and Nanoengineering, Jung Y. Han and colleagues at the interdisciplinary Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Biomolecular Engineering and Bioengineering in the U.S. developed a device to isolate intact and v
Facebook's new cryptocurrency, libra, is being heralded as the moment that cryptocurrencies and blockchain, the technology that supports them, become truly mainstream. A notable rise in the price of bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies in the run up to the libra announcement on June 18, and since, suggests a market directly responding to this possibility and bolstered by it.
Over time, scientists have developed different theories to explain exactly what the mysterious dark matter might be made of. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have now found a way of detecting axions with the help of the Cosmic Axion Spin Precession Experiment (CASPEr) program. The basic assumption is that dark matter can influence the spin of nuclei, hence providing researc
University of Cordoba researchers developed a mathematical model that allows for anticipating the failure of dikes that hold in overflowing river water.
Teenagers with large amounts of grey matter in the brain at age 14 are more likely to increase their alcohol use over the next five years, according to a whole brain imaging study reported today in eLife.
Researchers examined the impact of preterm birth on language outcomes in preschoolers born preterm and full-term, using both standardized assessment and language sample analysis. They also explored semantic skills and grammatical ability, and nonlinguistic developmental skills of nonverbal intelligence, attention, and hyperactivity. Results show that language difficulties at the discourse level ma
Partnerships between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local police departments designed to enforce immigration laws reduced the number of Hispanic students in US public schools in adopting counties by 10 percent after two years.
Antidepressants reduce deaths by more than a third in patients with diabetes and depression, according to a study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Carefully designed, integrated multi-'omic' studies could accelerate the use of precision medicine for asthma patients, according to researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Earlier today, we presented you with our review of the GeForce RTX 2060 Super and GeForce RTX 2070 Super. You can think of both cards as a preemptive strike against the yet-to-be-released Radeon …
The first Emerald Bay vacation camp on Lake Tahoe sprang up on the southwestern shores of the picturesque bay in 1884, some 20 years after railroads had begun to snake over mountain passes, making it possible for city dwellers to escape the hubbub of city life and find peace, solace and recreation in nature. As a result, Lake Tahoe became a mecca for wilderness lovers. Boating, fishing and hiking
The 2012 hurricane widely known as Superstorm Sandy left at least an estimated 325,000 New Jersey homes damaged or destroyed. Nearly seven years later, many of the New Jersey residents who have not fully recovered have to fend for themselves.
In the earliest days of the United States, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail about the celebration of independence, "It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more." "Bonfires and illuminations" refer directly to what we know as pyrotechnics and fir
An award-winning scientist and professor of evolutionary biology, Adriana Briscoe studies the evolution of vision in butterflies and how they see color. Briscoe is currently working on her first book, which is a memoir about, what else? Butterflies. A descendant of Mexican immigrants who fled the Mexican Revolution at the turn of the century and settled in San Bernardino, California, Briscoe has c
An award-winning scientist and professor of evolutionary biology, Adriana Briscoe studies the evolution of vision in butterflies and how they see color. Briscoe is currently working on her first book, which is a memoir about, what else? Butterflies. A descendant of Mexican immigrants who fled the Mexican Revolution at the turn of the century and settled in San Bernardino, California, Briscoe has c
In the past several decades, a mutation has spread among male Pacific field crickets (Teleogryllus oceanicus) in Hawaii that leads to wing structures that are unable to produce the crickets' signature chirping. While the mutation has kept crickets safe from a parasitic fly that uses cricket song to find its hosts, it also means the crickets are unable to sing to attract females. The fly's larvae b
When a patient takes an oral dose of a drug, you can picture it as being a little like one of the those Japanese pachinko machines, where a ball drops into a maze of complicated bouncing paths on its way to the bottom. There are a lot of things that happen once a pill hits the gut, the broad features of which process are described by the acronym ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and exc
Nature, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02045-1 How Nature reported the official end of the First World War, and a chemical analysis of onion flavour and pungency.
NASA's satellite imagery and model forecasts regularly help agricultural and aid agencies to monitor the performance of crops worldwide and prepare for food shortages.
In the past several decades, a mutation has spread among male Pacific field crickets (Teleogryllus oceanicus) in Hawaii that leads to wing structures that are unable to produce the crickets' signature chirping. While the mutation has kept crickets safe from a parasitic fly that uses cricket song to find its hosts, it also means the crickets are unable to sing to attract females. The fly's larvae b
Colleges and universities across the nation lack the diversity needed among faculty to deliver a well-rounded education, says a new study in the recently launched South Texas College of Law Houston Hispanic Journal of Law and Policy.
A child's chance of entering the child protection system is intrinsically linked to the deprivation of the area in which they live, University of Otago research has highlighted.
Download this eBook to learn about Microfluidic Modulation Spectroscopy, how it works, how it compares to Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and how it can be used to measure protein aggregation, quantitation, structure, stability, and similarity!
A statistical analysis of volatility in cryptocurrencies has been carried out using a news impact curve. The analysis provides empirical evidence that could help economists decide whether these modern digital currencies are trust-based but intrinsically worthless like the "fiat" paper money system of familiar currencies we use or the new "gold standard." The research team offers details of their a
It will be very difficult to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by enough to halt global heating at 1.5°C—the threshold at which catastrophic climate change becomes more likely—according to a new paper published in Nature.
Microbiologists at LMU have shown that Toxoplasma gondii, the parasite that is responsible for toxoplasmosis, utilizes at least two modes of locomotion during its infection cycle.
For the first time, researchers at the University of Michigan have detected bromine atoms in the atmosphere, and in doing so, have confirmed the reaction pathway through which mercury is removed from the atmosphere and enters the ecosystem in the springtime Arctic.
Microbiologists at LMU have shown that Toxoplasma gondii, the parasite that is responsible for toxoplasmosis, utilizes at least two modes of locomotion during its infection cycle.
Micro mechanical elements are indispensable components of modern electrical devices but the actuation of them requires electrical current. It becomes harder to wire the element as further downscaling of device is pursued. As a way out of this issue, researchers demonstrated a new way to deliver a force to drive micro mechanics by spin current.
Scientists create artificial cells that can express distinct genes in response to specific chemical signals, opening the door to new ways of delivering drugs.
Researchers at ECU's School of Nursing developed the 'Needs of Children Questionnaire' (NCQ), the first of its kind to measure children's self-reported psychosocial, physical and emotional needs in paediatric wards.
A compound with potential as a treatment for ALS has gained further promise in a new study that showed it improved the condition of mice whose motor neurons had been damaged by an environmental toxin known to cause features of ALS.
Using Dragonfly Telephoto Array, astronomers have revisited the spiral galaxy NGC 5907 and provided more insights into the morphology of its stellar stream. The new observations indicate that this feature has a qualitatively different morphology than when it was observed about a decade ago. The new findings are reported in a paper published June 26 on arXiv.org.
A new OECD report, "Under Pressure: The Squeezed Middle Class," analyses how the middle class has fared in high-income countries between the 1980s and 2016. The results for the UK have some striking features.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is already firmly embedded in our everyday lives and is conquering more and more territory. For example, voice assistants are already an everyday item in many people's smartphones, cars and homes. Progress in the field of AI is based primarily on the use of neural networks. Mimicking the functionality of the human brain, neural networks link mathematically defined unit
In a lake in Finland, Senckenberg scientist Kay Van Damme rediscovered in collaboration with an international team a species of water flea that had long been considered extinct. While there are numerous fossil records of this cladoceran species, researchers were now able to document the first living specimens. Based on the small crustacean's morphology, the scientists were able to describe the ani
University of Otago scientists are part of an international research collaboration which has made an important discovery in the quest to lower global agricultural methane emissions.
Det är första gången som vegetation och markanvändning, och i synnerhet på den här detaljerade nivån, finns med i den klimatmodellering som görs inom EC-Earth, en global klimat- och jordsystemsmodell där forskare från Lunds universitet är delaktiga. – Nu kan vi göra riktade experiment för att förstå vilken betydelse markanvändning och dynamisk vegetation har för det globala klimatet, säger Paul M
An entirely new class of astronomical object—a synestia—may be the key to solving the lingering mysteries of lunar origin — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
In a lake in Finland, Senckenberg scientist Kay Van Damme rediscovered in collaboration with an international team a species of water flea that had long been considered extinct. While there are numerous fossil records of this cladoceran species, researchers were now able to document the first living specimens. Based on the small crustacean's morphology, the scientists were able to describe the ani
The Ford Ranger is a solid pickup let down by an aging cockpit and no full-range adaptive cruise control. But there's nothing else this size with the 7,500-pound tow capacity. The post 2019 Ford Ranger Midsize Pickup Review: What's New Again Is Old appeared first on ExtremeTech .
South Australia's Kangaroo Island koalas have been found to be free from the disease that is threatening koala populations around Australia, particularly in Australia's north-east where populations …
Stem cells are jacks of all trades, capable of alleviating the consequences of such diverse pathologies as heart attacks, strokes and cancer. However, stem cell therapies have been hampered by possible side effects, which are frequently hard to predict. One way around this conundrum is to understand how stem cells conjure up their therapeutic effects, and then try to mimic them.
ETH researchers have discovered Boletus edulis (porcini mushrooms) growing at an elevation of over 2,400 metres in the Lower Engadine—the highest altitude ever recorded for these popular edible mushrooms in the Alps. Moreover, the mushrooms have "hooked up" with a new plant partner that was not on their list of possible symbionts to date.
Micro mechanical elements are indispensable components of modern electrical devices, but the actuation of them requires electrical current. It becomes harder to wire the element as further downscaling of device is pursued. As a way out of this issue, researchers demonstrated a new way to deliver a force to drive micro mechanics by spin current.
South Australia's Kangaroo Island koalas have been found to be free from the disease that is threatening koala populations around Australia, particularly in Australia's north-east where populations are declining dramatically.
A method of weighing the quantities of matter in galaxy clusters—the largest objects in our universe—has shown a balance between the amounts of hot gas, stars and other materials.
A recently documented long-term drying trend over the Congo Basin could have important implications on the future of the world's second largest rainforest, according to a study published today in Nature Climate Change.
The view of the Sea of Tranquility rising up to meet Neil Armstrong during the first astronaut landing on the Moon was not what Apollo 11 mission planners had intended. They had hoped to send the lunar module Eagle toward a relatively flat landing zone with few craters, rocks and boulders. Instead, peering through his small, triangular commander's window, Armstrong saw a boulder field—very unfrien
Stem cells are jacks of all trades, capable of alleviating the consequences of such diverse pathologies as heart attacks, strokes and cancer. However, stem cell therapies have been hampered by possible side effects, which are frequently hard to predict. One way around this conundrum is to understand how stem cells conjure up their therapeutic effects, and then try to mimic them.
ETH researchers have discovered Boletus edulis (porcini mushrooms) growing at an elevation of over 2,400 metres in the Lower Engadine—the highest altitude ever recorded for these popular edible mushrooms in the Alps. Moreover, the mushrooms have "hooked up" with a new plant partner that was not on their list of possible symbionts to date.
South Australia's Kangaroo Island koalas have been found to be free from the disease that is threatening koala populations around Australia, particularly in Australia's north-east where populations are declining dramatically.
Salmonella and listeria are among the most widely distributed and deadliest causes of foodborne infections. Their rapid and reliable detection on food and industrial food processing equipment is very important. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, scientists have introduced a new, ultrasensitive, chemiluminescence-based method for the direct detection of salmonella and listeria monocytogenes. Because
With a light-spinning device inspired by the Japanese art of paper cutting, University of Michigan researchers have detected microscopic twists in the internal structure of plant and animal tissue without harmful X-rays.
A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in Italy has found a way to use three complementary vibrational spectroscopic techniques to test ancient burned bones. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes the techniques they used and what they observed.
Powering Past Coal Alliance , eller PPCA, är en sammanslutning av 30 länder och 22 städer och stater, som syftar till att avveckla kolkraft. Men medlemmar lovar främst att stänga äldre kraftverk som ändå är nära slutet av sin livslängd, vilket bara ger små utsläppsminskningar. Att utöka alliansen med de länder som använder mest kol skulle dessutom möta ekonomiska och politiska svårigheter. Genom
Black holes are usually surrounded by disks of very, very bright, very hot material. And that's how we find them. Black holes themselves give off no radiation at all. Any light gets absorbed into the black hole — all forms of light, from gamma rays to radio waves. A black hole's gravity is so strong it actually bends space itself. What does this mean? There's no way to get out of the black hole —
Searing heat shows crisis is 'here and now', say scientists, and worse than predicted The record-breaking heatwave that struck France and other European nations in June was made at least five – and possibly 100 – times more likely by climate change, scientists have calculated . Such heatwaves are also about 4C hotter than a century ago, the researchers say. Furthermore, the heatwaves hitting Euro
Despite being one of the nation's most vital watchdogs, compliance and enforcement actions by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have severely declined since the Trump administration took office, according to an investigative report from Charles Piller, a contributing correspondent in the News department at Science.
A new report details the progress scientists have made in developing brain organoids from stem cells. They use human embryonic stem cells to culture neurons – brain cells. Lead author, Hideya Sakaguchi, describes the process : "The team cultured the organoids for 70-100 days, dissociated them into single cells and then disseminated them into another culture dish. The disseminated cells created ne
Nature, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02022-8 This year's International Day of LGBTQ+ People in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths has our fullest backing.
Nature, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02041-5 Some star psychologists don't disclose in research papers the large sums they earn for talking about their work. Is that a concern?
The lunar rocks brought home by Apollo astronauts reshaped our understanding of the moon and the entire solar system. Gathering more of them is one of the most important reasons to go back — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
The dream of enjoying one's so-called Golden Years, or advanced years of life, in comfortable retirement may be a fantasy for an increasing number of working Californians.
A newly developed material that is so perfectly transparent you can barely see it could unlock many new uses for solar heat. It generates much higher temperatures than conventional solar collectors do—enough to be used for home heating or for industrial processes that require heat of more than 200 degrees Celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit).
There is little known about the effects of space radiation on the human body. Astronauts cannot see or feel it, yet the high doses they are exposed to outside Earth's cocoon pose health hazards for trips to the Moon and Mars. To help investigate and find out more, European scientists can now accelerate atoms at close to the speed of light to learn how to protect astronauts.
Last month, Senator Bernie Sanders defined his vision for democratic socialism in an address at George Washington University. The speech elicited mixed reactions from political reporters and scholars, several of whom questioned how Sanders had evoked socialism , and from some of Sanders's Democratic rivals. When my colleague Edward-Isaac Dovere told Senator Michael Bennet the title of the speech,
O n February 13, 1920, Carrie Chapman Catt stood triumphant before the opening session of the National Woman Suffrage Association convention and declared the organization's decades-long mission finally accomplished. "Women be glad today. Let your voices ring out the gladness in your hearts," the 61-year-old suffragist said . Thirty-one states had so far ratified the Nineteenth Amendment, which ga
The Hungarian parliament passed a bill Tuesday enabling the takeover of research institutes by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government, which is accused by critics of seeking to control key institutions and sectors.
Nature, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02042-4 Sand and gravel are being extracted faster than they can be replaced. Monitor and manage this resource globally, urge Mette Bendixen and colleagues.
– Resultaten kan komma till nytta för att hitta markörer som visar vilka cancerceller som är särskilt farliga för män med prostatacancer och därmed skulle vi kunna rikta behandlingen mer precist i framtiden, säger Maréne Landström, professor i patologi vid Umeå universitet. Prostatacancer är den vanligaste cancerformen bland män och skördar årligen cirka 2500 liv bara i Sverige. Så länge cancern
The origin of the virus responsible for the ongoing yellow fever epidemic in Brazil, the worst in 40 years, has been identified by scientists affiliated with two Brazilian institutions, Adolfo Lutz Institute (IAL) and the University of São Paulo (USP).
The origin of the virus responsible for the ongoing yellow fever epidemic in Brazil, the worst in 40 years, has been identified by scientists affiliated with two Brazilian institutions, Adolfo Lutz Institute (IAL) and the University of São Paulo (USP).
Whether they are synthetic materials such as PET and Teflon, medicines or flavourings, life without synthetically produced compounds is barely conceivable. The chemical industry depends on efficient, long-term methods of producing synthetically derived molecules. For this purpose, chemists often use catalysts, i.e., additives with which they can facilitate and control chemical reactions. But how a
Hvis hele verden straks holdt op med at bygge nye kraftværker og biler, ville menneskeheden stadig udlede så meget CO2, at temperaturen stiger mere end Paris-aftalens mål.
Søndag førte en stor lækage i køleanlægget i Interxions Ballerup-datacenter til, at flere it-systemer i landet gik i sort. Der er stadig oprydningsarbejde, der venter forude, lyder det fra datacentervirksomhedens managing director, Peder Bank.
Most food-waste-related apps focus on food recovery — that is, salvaging food that would have otherwise been thrown away and distributing it to others. While such apps do bridge local gaps between abundance and need, they don't address one of the main causes of food waste — societal norms.
Forecasters are nervous that 5G communications could interfere with collecting weather information. 5G happens to use bandwidths that include the frequency emitted by moisture in the air.
This weekend, at the invitation of Kim Jong Un, President Donald Trump stepped briefly across the demilitarized zone into North Korean territory, becoming the first sitting United States president to do so. That's one short waddle for a U.S. president, one giant leap for a supreme leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Previous presidents had refused to even contemplate such a gestu
His advisers will deny it, but when Donald Trump stepped into North Korea on Sunday, he effectively stepped away from his administration's stated goal of fully eliminating Kim Jong Un's nuclear weapons. There were many remarkable aspects of the U.S. president's surprise meeting with the North Korean leader at the border, but perhaps the most notable was the absence of the issue that brought Trump
Among the many things we've learned so far in the presidential campaign is this: The Democratic candidates are talking more honestly about health care than about immigration. To develop a coherent approach to immigration in an era of rising asylum claims , Democrats need to explain—among other things—whom they would and wouldn't let in. But Donald Trump has made that discussion extraordinarily di
Somewhere along the line during the making of The Rook, a decision seems to have been made regarding tone. The book the new Starz series is based on, a 2012 supernatural spy thriller by Daniel O'Malley, is characterized by its humor, and by its weirdness (errant plot points include a cannibalistic cube of human flesh, sentient mold, and a man who sweats tear gas), a kind of Lovecraftian Jason Bou
Donald Trump's rise triggered a debate about the so-called alt-right, how best to define it, and its role in the American political theater. Broadly speaking, two poles dominate that debate, as most of the public focuses its fleeting attention elsewhere. One side defines the alt-right broadly enough that it encompasses large swaths of the Republican Party, the conservative movement, and Trump sup
Nature, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02043-3 A timely treatise on the plight of the honeybee Apis mellifera grips Gene E. Robinson.
Nature, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02023-7 Our foe is determined and adaptable, says Bhushan Patwardhan. A list of credible titles is the latest salvo in the fight against shoddy scholarship.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the moon landings, an interactive collection of the sounds of space and the history of space travel has been launched by global sound project Cities and Memory. The project, called Space is the Place , combines 80 recordings from Nasa and the European Space Agency for the first time with reimagined, remixed interpretations of those space sounds, all designed to ans
A highly acclaimed neuroscientist whose work offered hope for many patients with brain injury has fallen from grace. Niels Birbaumer. From https://www.wysscenter.ch/person/niels-birbaumer-phd/ Prof. Niels Birbaumer, of the Eberhard-Karls University of Tübingen in Germany, came under investigation earlier this year. The probe began after researcher Martin Spüler raised serious concerns over a 2017
One in 10 people with this condition were born with a mutation in the TTN gene, but — until now — it has been unclear whether everyone with these mutations will inevitably develop dilated cardiomyopathy. In a new study, researchers at Penn Medicine and Geisinger reviewed gene sequences of more than 70,000 people, and found that 95 percent of patients who had the genetic mutations did not have he
If you want your friend to see you in a crowd, you wave your arms to stand out. As University of Rochester researchers found, one reason why this works is that the brain suppresses the background, allowing the person to focus on the moving object in front of them. As we age, our brains become less adept at suppressing background and reacting to foreground movement. But people can train their brain
Nature Communications, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-10853-2 The ligand-activated transcription factor farnesoid X receptor (FXR) acts as a cellular sensor for bile acids and is of interest as a drug target. Here the authors employ X-ray crystallography and NMR to characterize the molecular determinants of FXR agonists, antagonists and a partial agonist that drive FXR act
Nature Communications, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-10471-y Galaxy clusters contain vast amount of dark matter and baryonic matter. Here the authors show the observational detection of the anti-correlation of gas mass and stellar mass observables in the most massive galaxy clusters, indicating such clusters retain close to the cosmic mix of baryons and dark matter.
Nature Communications, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-10889-4 Fas signalling induces apoptosis of activated T cells to maintain immune homeostasis. Here the authors show that Fas also induces PKC-β activation to promote NF-κB-mediated TH9 cell differentiation, while p38 activation by PKC-β antagonizes this effect, thereby supporting a synergy between p38 inhibitor and Fas
Nature Communications, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-10971-x Metal-organic framework nanosheets are promising for separations, but interactions among them, affecting the performance, are largely unexplored. The authors reveal the favored stacking modes in a model system, and that untwisted restacking by thermal treatment improves isomer separation performance in gas chrom
Nature Communications, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-10957-9 Phospho-MurNAc-pentapeptide translocase (MraY) is a bacterial integral membrane enzyme that is essential for peptidoglycan biosynthesis. Here the authors present the crystal structures of MraY from Aquifex aeolicus bound to caprazamycin, capuramycin and mureidomycin and discuss the implications for antibiotic de
Nature Communications, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-10792-y Processing bodies (P-bodies) are non-membrane-bound protein/RNA granules in the cytosol. Here the authors combine bioinformatics, NMR and cell based assays and find that lysine is enriched in the disordered regions of P-body-associated proteins and show that lysine-rich polypeptides form highly dynamic lysine/RN
Nature Communications, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-10950-2 Author Correction: Soluble TREM2 ameliorates pathological phenotypes by modulating microglial functions in an Alzheimer's disease model
Nature Communications, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-10653-8 The visual system excels at segregating moving objects from their backgrounds, a key visual function hypothesized to be driven by suppressive centre-surround mechanisms. Here, the authors show that spatial suppression of background motion signals is critical for rapid segmentation of moving objects.
Scientific Reports, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/s41598-019-45975-6 New Ca . Liberibacter psyllaurous haplotype resurrected from a 49-year-old specimen of Solanum umbelliferum : a native host of the psyllid vector
Scientific Reports, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/s41598-019-46060-8 Collapse on the line – how synthetic dimensions influence nonlinear effects
Scientific Reports, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/s41598-019-46004-2 Epidemiological, Clinical and Genetic Study of Hypophosphatasia in A Spanish Population: Identification of Two Novel Mutations in The Alpl Gene
Scientific Reports, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/s41598-019-45947-w Quaternized cellulose and graphene oxide crosslinked polyphenylene oxide based anion exchange membrane
Scientific Reports, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/s41598-019-46032-y Nasal delivery of donepezil HCl-loaded hydrogels for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease
Scientific Reports, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/s41598-019-46037-7 Impact of weight variability on mortality among Korean men and women: a population based study
Scientific Reports, Published online: 02 July 2019; doi:10.1038/s41598-019-46009-x Electrically driven spin torque and dynamical Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in magnetic bilayer systems