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| Comet 67P’s abundant oxygen more of an illusion, new study suggests Posted: 14 Mar 2022 12:44 PM PDT When the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft discovered abundant molecular oxygen bursting from comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P) in 2015, it puzzled scientists. They had never seen a comet emit oxygen, let alone in such abundance. But most alarming were the deeper implications: that researchers had to account for so much oxygen, which meant reconsidering everything they thought they already knew about the chemistry of the early solar system and how it formed. A new analysis, however, shows Rosetta's discovery may not be as strange as scientists first imagined. Instead, it suggests the comet has two internal reservoirs that make it seem like there's more oxygen than is actually there. |
| How a Massachusetts salt marsh is changing what we know about New England’s coast Posted: 14 Mar 2022 12:44 PM PDT New research into the life and times of a New England salt marsh fundamentally changes our understanding of how salt marshes acquire the sediment that keeps them viable. This research has wide-ranging implications for managing New England's coastline as it struggles to keep up with development, sea-level rise and other environmental impacts. |
| Model predicts cross-species contamination risk for livestock Posted: 14 Mar 2022 12:44 PM PDT Biosecurity efforts focused on the top 3% of farms in a particular contact network may significantly cut back cross-species disease dissemination. |
| Rapid changes to the Arctic seafloor noted as submerged permafrost thaws Posted: 14 Mar 2022 12:44 PM PDT A new study has documented how the thawing of permafrost submerged underwater at the edge of the Arctic Ocean is affecting the seafloor. |
| Close the blinds during sleep to protect your health Posted: 14 Mar 2022 12:43 PM PDT Exposure to even moderate ambient lighting during nighttime sleep, compared to sleeping in a dimly lit room, harms your cardiovascular function during sleep and increases your insulin resistance the following morning, reports a new study. Just a single night of exposure to moderate room lighting during sleep can impair glucose and cardiovascular regulation, which are risk factors for heart disease, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. |
| Posted: 14 Mar 2022 11:42 AM PDT Scientists have shown in rats how several brain regions need to work together to acquire a skill and replicate it flawlessly with each rat adding their own personal flair in the form of a 'dance.' |
| Posted: 14 Mar 2022 11:20 AM PDT Having dense breasts (more fibroglandular tissue than fatty tissue, as visualized on a mammogram) reduces the sensitivity of mammography by masking breast cancers and carries a 1.6- to 2.0-fold increased independent risk for breast cancer. To inform women about these risks, 38 U.S. states and the federal government have enacted legislation requiring a written dense breast notification (DBN) of a patient's breast density after a mammogram, but there still is limited evidence about what breast density means, and what the implications are, to women. According to a new study, while women are receiving these notifications about their breast density, not all recipients are fully understanding what they mean in terms of future health implications. Boston University School of Medicine researchers suggest that knowledge about breast density and its associated risks is partly linked to women's race/ethnicity and health literacy. |
| Smartphone app calculates genetic risk for heart attack Posted: 14 Mar 2022 11:20 AM PDT Researchers have developed a smartphone app that can calculate users' genetic risk for coronary artery disease (CAD)--and found that users at high risk sought out appropriate medication after using the app. |
| Surfing towards coastal ecosystem protection Posted: 14 Mar 2022 09:07 AM PDT Scientists believe a strategy used to protect popular surfing spots could now be more widely adopted to help preserve endangered coastal environments. |
| Deciphering gut microbiome ‘chatter’ to combat IBD Posted: 14 Mar 2022 09:07 AM PDT Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a life-long, chronic condition characterized by sporadic bouts of gut inflammation causing debilitating symptoms. Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis -- the latter affecting around 1 in 400 people - are the two most common types of IBD. Current treatments are ineffective and seriously impact the quality of life of the patients and those of their families. |
| Researchers ID sex pheromone of invasive giant hornet Posted: 14 Mar 2022 09:07 AM PDT Scientists have developed a method for tracking the Asian giant 'murder' hornet's presence and possibly accelerating its removal. The researchers identified the major components of the Asian giant hornet queen's sex pheromone, an achievement that could be used as bait to trap and track the insects. |
| Spider silk can stabilize cancer-suppressing protein Posted: 14 Mar 2022 09:07 AM PDT The p53 protein protects our cells from cancer and is an interesting target for cancer treatments. The problem is, however, that it breaks down rapidly in the cell. Researchers have now found an unusual way of stabilizing the protein and making it more potent. By adding a spider silk protein to p53, they show that it is possible to create a protein that is more stable and capable of killing cancer cells. |
| Laser flashes for cancer research Posted: 14 Mar 2022 09:06 AM PDT Irradiation with fast protons is a more effective and less invasive cancer treatment than X-rays. However, modern proton therapy requires large particle accelerators, which has experts investigating alternative accelerator concepts, such as laser systems to accelerate protons. Such systems are deployed in preclinical studies to pave the way for optimal radiation therapy. A research team has now successfully tested irradiation with laser protons on animals. |
| Precipitation trends determine how often droughts and heat waves will occur together Posted: 14 Mar 2022 09:06 AM PDT Prolonged droughts and heat waves have negative consequences both for people and the environment. If both of these extreme events occur at the same time, the impacts, in the form of wild fires, tree mortality or crop losses -- to name a few examples -- can be even more severe. Climate researchers have now discovered that, assuming a global temperature increase of two degrees in the course of global warming, the future frequency of these simultaneously occurring extreme events is primarily determined by local precipitation trends. Understanding this is important, since it enables us to improve our risk adaptation to climate change and our assessment of its consequences, according to the researchers. |
| New hope for treatment of infant cancer that has puzzled researchers for decades Posted: 14 Mar 2022 09:06 AM PDT New research has begun to unravel the mystery of why a particular form of leukaemia in infants has defied efforts to improve outcomes, despite significant improvements in treating older children. Scientists have now found subtle differences in the cell type that causes B acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL) that may help to explain why some cases are more severe than others. |
| Permafrost peatlands approaching tipping point Posted: 14 Mar 2022 09:06 AM PDT Researchers warn that permafrost peatlands in Europe and Western Siberia are much closer to a climatic tipping point than previous believed. The frozen peatlands in these areas store up to 39 billion tons of carbon -- the equivalent to twice that stored in the whole of European forests. |
| Large, long-lived, and entirely molten magma chambers once existed in Earth’s crust Posted: 14 Mar 2022 07:56 AM PDT Geologists have come up with multiple lines of evidence indicating that the Bushveld Complex in South Africa functioned as a 'big magma tank' in the ancient Earth's crust. |
| Weight loss doesn't help pregnancy chances, study finds Posted: 14 Mar 2022 07:56 AM PDT Women who are obese and struggling to become pregnant are often advised to lose weight, but a new study finds no fertility benefits from weight loss. |
| Greenland ice sheet may halve in volume by year 3000 Posted: 14 Mar 2022 07:56 AM PDT As a result of global warming in the 21st century, the Greenland ice sheet may contribute several meters to sea-level rise in the centuries to come; however, effective climate change mitigation measures will greatly reduce its decay. |
| Researchers discover new species in critically imperiled ecosystem Posted: 14 Mar 2022 07:56 AM PDT Researchers working in one of the world's most biodiverse and threatened ecosystems have discovered a new plant species, Castela senticosa, which they recommend be designated as endangered. The plant, which grows as a small bush sheathed in an imposing layer of spines, was found during a survey to catalog the flora of the Martín García mountain range in the Dominican Republic. |
| Ice sheet retreat and forest expansion turned ancient subtropical drylands into oases Posted: 14 Mar 2022 07:56 AM PDT Researchers focused on the climate of the Pliocene, over 3 million years ago, the last time Earth has seen concentrations of over 400 PPM CO2 in the atmosphere, similar to today's concentrations. The Pliocene prompts a long-standing question: despite the similarity to the present-day, why were dry areas like the Sahel in Africa and Northern China much wetter and greener in the Pliocene than they are today? |
| Scientists create novel genetic model of Down syndrome in rats Posted: 14 Mar 2022 07:56 AM PDT In pursuit of better ways to test new therapies and further explore the impacts of the unique genetics associated with Down syndrome, researchers have genetically engineered and characterized what is believed to be the first rat model of Down syndrome. |
| Endless forms most beautiful: Why evolution favors symmetry Posted: 14 Mar 2022 06:57 AM PDT An international team of researchers from biology, computer science and mathematics explains why evolution has a preference for symmetry. |
| Novel cell survival mechanisms through RNA regulation in the central nervous system Posted: 14 Mar 2022 06:57 AM PDT This study's findings will help congenital neurological disease (e.g. spinal muscular atrophy) specialists better understand the mechanisms and components involved in CNS development. Notably, the findings of this work demonstrate unequivocally that Ddx20 is a novel Olig2-interacting factor and a potent suppressor of the p53 pathway, contributing to the maintenance of neuronal and oligodendrocyte progenitor cells during CNS development. Therefore, Ddx20 and Olig2 are promising molecular targets for development of future therapeutic strategies. |
| Unleashing the tiger: Mapping the Aussie tiger prawn genome Posted: 14 Mar 2022 06:57 AM PDT Researchers have mapped the genome of an iconic Australian seafood species -- that of the Australian black tiger prawn - which may lead to bigger and more disease resistant farmed stock in the future. |
| Chemical reaction design goes virtual Posted: 14 Mar 2022 06:57 AM PDT Researchers aim to streamline the time- and resource-intensive process of screening ligands during catalyst design by using virtual ligands. |
| Scientists estimate invasive insects will kill 1.4 million US street trees by 2050 Posted: 14 Mar 2022 06:57 AM PDT A new study estimates that over the next 30 years, 1.4 million street trees will be killed by invasive insects, costing over 900 million dollars to replace. |
| History of neurological or psychiatric conditions increases the likelihood of developing more Posted: 14 Mar 2022 06:57 AM PDT People living with neurological or psychiatric conditions may have an increased likelihood of having a second such condition in the future, and their sex influences their risk, according to new research. |
| 'Sky is not the limit' for solar geoengineering Posted: 14 Mar 2022 06:57 AM PDT There are practical limits to the height at which aerosols may be deployed in the atmosphere to deflect incoming sunlight and countervail global warming. Very high-altitude injections might be more effective, but such climate intervention comes with substantially increased costs and safety risks, according to new research. |
| Maternal lead exposures correlated with sex ratios of offspring Posted: 14 Mar 2022 06:57 AM PDT Higher lead levels in a mother's blood can increase the chance of her bearing male offspring, according to new research. |
| Novel X-ray lens facilitates glimpse into the nanoworld Posted: 14 Mar 2022 06:57 AM PDT Scientists have developed a ground-breaking achromatic lens for X-rays. This allows the X-ray beams to be accurately focused on a single point even if they have different wavelengths. The new lens will make it much easier to study nanostructures using X-rays, according to a new article. |
| Microbes and minerals may have set off Earth’s oxygenation Posted: 14 Mar 2022 06:57 AM PDT Around 2.3 billion years ago, oxygen began building up in the atmosphere, eventually reaching the life-sustaining levels we breathe today. A new hypothesis suggests a mechanism for how this may have happened. |
| Anyone can be trained to be creative Posted: 14 Mar 2022 06:57 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new method for training people to be creative, one that shows promise of succeeding far better than current ways of sparking innovation. |
| New blood clot research indicates enhanced understanding of wound repair Posted: 11 Mar 2022 11:14 AM PST New research has revealed new information about how blood clots are formed during wound healing. |
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