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| Reducing the melting of Greenland ice cap using solar geoengineering? Posted: 07 Jul 2021 01:05 PM PDT Injecting sulphur into the stratosphere to reduce solar radiation and stop the Greenland ice cap from melting: An interesting scenario, but not without risks. Climatologists have looked into the matter and have tested one of the scenarios put forward using the MAR climate model. The results are mixed. |
| Energycane produces more biodiesel than soybean at a lower cost Posted: 07 Jul 2021 11:07 AM PDT Bioenergy from crops is a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. New crops such as energycane can produce several times more fuel per acre than soybeans. Yet, challenges remain in processing the crops to extract fuel efficiently. Four new studies explore chemical-free pretreatment methods, development of high-throughput phenotyping methods, and commercial-scale techno-economic feasibility of producing fuel from energycane in various scenarios. |
| Impulsiveness tied to faster eating in children, can lead to obesity Posted: 07 Jul 2021 11:07 AM PDT The research sought to uncover the relationship between temperament and eating behaviors in early childhood. The findings are critical because faster eating and greater responsiveness to food cues have been linked to obesity risk in children. |
| For many students, double-dose algebra leads to college attainment Posted: 07 Jul 2021 11:07 AM PDT In the United States, low-income and minority students are completing college at low rates compared to higher-income and majority peers -- a detriment to reducing economic inequality. Double-dose algebra could be a solution, according to a new study. |
| Arctic seabirds are less heat tolerant, more vulnerable to climate change Posted: 07 Jul 2021 10:30 AM PDT The Arctic is warming at approximately twice the global rate. A new study finds that cold-adapted Arctic species, like the thick-billed murre, are especially vulnerable to heat stress caused by climate change. |
| Rare genetic variants confer largest increase in type 2 diabetes risk seen to date Posted: 07 Jul 2021 08:25 AM PDT Scientists have identified rare genetic variants - carried by one in 3,000 people - that have a larger impact on the risk of developing type 2 diabetes than any previously identified genetic effect. |
| New model accurately predicts how coasts will be impacted by storms and sea-level rise Posted: 07 Jul 2021 08:25 AM PDT Scientists have developed a simple algorithm-based model which predicts how coastlines could be affected by extreme storms and predicted rises in sea levels and - as a result - enables communities to identify the actions they might need to take in order to adapt. |
| Gene therapy in early stages of Huntington's disease may slow down symptom progression Posted: 07 Jul 2021 08:25 AM PDT In a new study on mice, researchers report that using MRI scans to measure blood volume in the brain can serve as a noninvasive way to potentially track the progress of gene editing therapies for early-stage Huntington's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that attacks brain cells. |
| Cutting through noise for better solar cells Posted: 07 Jul 2021 08:25 AM PDT Physicists used cross-correlation noise spectroscopy to measure miniscule fluctuations in electrical current flowing between materials inside silicon solar cells. The researchers identified crucial electrical noise signals that are completely invisible to conventional noise-measuring methods. They were also able to pinpoint the likely physical processes causing the noise, which often results in a loss of energy and lower efficiency. The technique is an important new tool to improve material interfaces for a better solar cell. |
| Nova explosions alone cannot explain amount of lithium in current universe Posted: 07 Jul 2021 08:24 AM PDT A new study of lithium production in a classical nova found a production rate of only a couple of percent that seen in other examples. This shows that there is a large diversity within classical novae and implies that nova explosions alone cannot explain the amount of lithium seen in the current Universe. This is an important result for understanding both the explosion mechanism of classical novae and the overall chemical evolution of the Universe. |
| Quantum laser turns energy loss into gain? Posted: 07 Jul 2021 08:24 AM PDT Scientists have fabricated a laser system that generates highly interactive quantum particles at room temperature. Their findings could lead to a single microcavity laser system that requires lower threshold energy as its energy loss increases. |
| Anti-androgen therapy can fuel spread of bone tumors in advanced prostate cancer Posted: 07 Jul 2021 08:24 AM PDT Anti-androgen therapy is commonly used to treat patients with advanced prostate cancer at stages where the disease has spread to the bones. However, new research has found that anti-androgen treatment can actually facilitate prostate cancer cells to adapt and grow in the bone tumor microenvironment model developed by biomedical scientists. |
| How vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) happens Posted: 07 Jul 2021 08:24 AM PDT Researchers recently discovered how, exactly, the COVID-19 vaccines that use adenovirus vectors trigger a rare but sometimes fatal blood clotting reaction called vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia, or VITT. |
| Changes in Earth's orbit enabled the emergence of complex life Posted: 07 Jul 2021 08:24 AM PDT 'Snowball Earth' is the most extreme climate event in Earth's history, when it was completely engulfed in ice. The theory of its existence has faced two challenges - how life survived and variations in rock formations from the time implying changes to the climate cycle. New study shows that changes to Earth's orbit caused the ice sheets to advance and retreat, providing ice-free 'oases' for animal life and explaining variations in rock formations. |
| Study reveals how our immune system reacts to COVID-19 variants Posted: 07 Jul 2021 08:24 AM PDT New research into how our immune system responds to COVID-19 reveals that those infected by early variants in 2020 produced sustained antibodies, but these antibodies are not as effective against contemporary variants of the virus. |
| Mucus and mucins may become the medicine of the future Posted: 07 Jul 2021 08:24 AM PDT The body is filled with mucus that keeps track of the bacteria. Now, researchers present a method for producing artificial mucus. They hope that the artificial mucus, which consists of sugary molecules, may help to develop completely new, medical treatments. |
| For female vampire bats, an equal chance to rule the roost Posted: 07 Jul 2021 08:24 AM PDT Female vampire bats establish an egalitarian community within a roost rather than a society based on a clear hierarchy of dominance that is often seen in animal groups, a new study suggests. |
| Importance of teaching children about environmental issues Posted: 07 Jul 2021 08:24 AM PDT Environmental education provision needs greater investment and innovation if future generations are to be able to respond fully to the climate emergency, experts have said. |
| New clues to why there's so little antimatter in the universe Posted: 07 Jul 2021 08:23 AM PDT New research shows radioactive molecules are sensitive to subtle nuclear phenomena. The molecules might help physicists probe violation of the most fundamental symmetries of nature, including why the universe contains relatively little antimatter. |
| Posted: 07 Jul 2021 08:22 AM PDT As melting sea ice brings more ships through the Northwest Passage, new research shows that Canada must prepare for the costs and consequences of an Arctic oil spill. |
| There's a 'man in the moon': Why our brains see human faces everywhere Posted: 06 Jul 2021 04:16 PM PDT Whether you see an angry face in a tree trunk or even the presence of Jesus Christ in toasted cheese, until now scientists haven't understood exactly what the brain is doing when it processes visual signals and interprets them as representations of the human face. |
| Canine feces reveal more about 17th century working sled dogs Posted: 06 Jul 2021 04:16 PM PDT Proteins from frozen canine faeces have been successfully extracted for the first time to reveal more about the diets of Arctic sled dogs. |
| Context in science reporting affects beliefs about, and support for, science Posted: 06 Jul 2021 01:38 PM PDT How the media frame stories about science affects the public's perception about scientific accuracy and reliability, and one particular type of narrative can help ameliorate the harm to science's reputation sometimes caused by different journalistic approaches to scientific storytelling, according to a new study. |
| Personalized medicine for cats with heart disease Posted: 06 Jul 2021 01:38 PM PDT Veterinarians at the University of California, Davis, have found that a cat's DNA alters how it responds to a life-saving medication used to treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM, a heart disease that affects 1 in 7 cats. |
| Secret to weathering climate change lies at our feet Posted: 06 Jul 2021 01:38 PM PDT Researchers recently discovered that the ability of agricultural grasses to withstand drought is directly related to the health of the microbial community living on their stems, leaves and seeds. |
| Posted: 06 Jul 2021 12:30 PM PDT Researchers have developed a method that may lead to new types of displays based on structural colors. The discovery opens the way to cheap and energy-efficient color displays and electronic labels. |
| Posted: 06 Jul 2021 12:30 PM PDT Until now, fisheries have set catch levels a year in advance. Long-term influences such as changes in water temperatures are not taken into account. Researchers have now developed a computational model that can estimate the future of cod a full ten years in advance - taking into both account fishing and climate. The fishing industry has a completely new planning tool at its disposal. |
| Loss of biodiversity in streams threatens vital biological process Posted: 06 Jul 2021 12:30 PM PDT The fast-moving decline and extinction of many species of detritivores -- organisms that break down and remove dead plant and animal matter -- may have dire consequences, an international team of scientists suggests in a new study. |
| Posted: 06 Jul 2021 12:30 PM PDT Researchers design a new COVID-19 therapy that uses a defective version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to drive the disease-causing version to extinction. |
| Keeping bacteria under lock and key Posted: 06 Jul 2021 12:30 PM PDT A chemical and biomolecular engineer with biosecurity expertise in teaching cells to create and harness chemical building blocks not found in nature. New research describes progress on the stability of a biocontainment strategy that uses a microbe's dependence on a synthetic nutrient to keep it contained. |
| Acid sensor discovered in plants Posted: 06 Jul 2021 12:30 PM PDT If plants are flooded, they lack oxygen and their cells over-acidify. A sensor protein detects this and triggers a stress response. |
| Lab analysis finds near-meat and meat not nutritionally equivalent Posted: 06 Jul 2021 12:30 PM PDT A research team's deeper examination of the nutritional content of plant-based meat alternatives, using metabolomics, shows they're as different as plants and animals. Beef contained 22 metabolites that the plant substitute did not. The plant-based substitute contained 31 metabolites that meat did not. The greatest distinctions occurred in amino acids, dipeptides, vitamins, phenols, and types of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids found in these products. |
| To understand ecology, follow the connections Posted: 06 Jul 2021 12:30 PM PDT New research argues that it's not enough for ecological modelling to focus on the landscape. If we want the best-possible ecological management, we should consider when and where individuals are located. |
| Digital pens provide new insight into cognitive testing results Posted: 06 Jul 2021 10:31 AM PDT During neuropsychological assessments, participants complete tasks designed to study memory and thinking. Based on their performance, the participants receive a score that researchers use to evaluate how well specific domains of their cognition are functioning. |
| Source of remarkable memory of 'superagers' revealed Posted: 06 Jul 2021 10:31 AM PDT 'Superagers' who performed a challenging memory task in an MRI scanner were able to learn and recall new information as well as 25-year-old participants. Neurons in the visual cortex of brains of superaging older adults retain their selective and efficient ability to process visual stimuli and create a distinct memory of the images. In the future, interventions to train specific areas of the brain to be more efficient may enable normal aging adults to enhance memory and other cognitive functions. |
| The evolution of vinegar flies is based on the variation of male sex pheromones Posted: 06 Jul 2021 10:31 AM PDT By analyzing the genomes of 99 species of vinegar flies and evaluating their chemical odor profiles and sexual behaviors, researchers show that sex pheromones and the corresponding olfactory channels in the insect brain evolve rapidly and independently. The new study is a valuable basis for understanding how pheromone production, their perception and processing in the brain, and ultimately the resulting behavior drive the evolution of new species. |
| Making computer servers worldwide more climate friendly Posted: 06 Jul 2021 10:31 AM PDT An elegant new algorithm can significantly reduce the resource consumption of the world's computer servers. Computer servers are as taxing on the climate as global air traffic combined, thereby making the green transition in IT an urgent matter. The researchers expect major IT companies to deploy the algorithm immediately. |
| How an unfolding protein can induce programmed cell death Posted: 06 Jul 2021 10:31 AM PDT The death of cells is well regulated. If it occurs too much, it can cause degenerative diseases. Too little, and cells can become tumors. Mitochondria, the power plants of cells, play a role in this programmed cell death. Scientists have obtained new insights in how mitochondria receive the signal to self-destruct. |
| Developing new techniques to build biomaterials Posted: 06 Jul 2021 10:28 AM PDT Scientists have developed an approach that could help in the design of a new generation of synthetic biomaterials made from proteins. The biomaterials could eventually have applications in joint repair or wound healing as well as other fields of healthcare and food production. |
| Muscles retain positional memory from fetal life Posted: 06 Jul 2021 08:54 AM PDT Muscles and the resident stem cells (satellite cells) responsible for muscle regeneration retain memory of their location in the body. This positional memory was found to be based on the expression pattern of the homeobox (Hox) gene cluster, which is responsible for shaping the body during fetal life. These findings are expected to provide clues to elucidate the pathogenesis of muscle diseases like muscular dystrophy, and help develop regenerative treatments based on positional memory. |
| New report aims to improve VR use in healthcare education Posted: 06 Jul 2021 08:54 AM PDT A new report could help improve how immersive technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are used in healthcare education and training. |
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