ScienceDaily: Most Popular News


Deep oceans dissolve the rocky shell of water-ice planets

Posted: 26 May 2021 03:59 PM PDT

Laboratory experiments allow insights into the processes under the extreme pressure and temperature conditions of distant worlds.

Amazon indigenous group's lifestyle may hold a key to slowing down aging

Posted: 26 May 2021 03:58 PM PDT

The Tsimane indigenous people of the Bolivian Amazon experience less brain atrophy than their American and European peers. The decrease in their brain volumes with age is 70% slower than in Western populations.

Widespread coral-algae symbioses endured historical climate changes

Posted: 26 May 2021 03:58 PM PDT

One of the most important and widespread reef-building corals, known as cauliflower coral, exhibits strong partnerships with certain species of symbiotic algae, and these relationships have persisted through periods of intense climate fluctuations over the last 1.5 million years, according to a new study.

Technology to monitor mental wellbeing might be right at your fingertips

Posted: 26 May 2021 03:58 PM PDT

To help patients manage their mental wellness between appointments, researchers have developed a smart device-based electronic platform that can continuously monitor the state of hyperarousal, one of the signs of psychiatric distress. They said this advanced technology could read facial cues, analyze voice patterns and integrate readings from built-in vital signs sensors on smartwatches to determine if a patient is under stress.

Unveiling what governs crystal growth

Posted: 26 May 2021 03:58 PM PDT

Crystals are wonders of nature and science with important applications in electronics and optics. Scientists have new insights into how gallium nitride crystals grow. Gallium nitride crystals are in wide use in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and may form transistors for high-power switching electronics to make electric grids more energy efficient and smarter.

People prefer 'natural' strategies to reduce atmospheric carbon

Posted: 26 May 2021 03:58 PM PDT

A cross-disciplinary collaboration found that a majority of the U.S. public is supportive of soil carbon storage as a climate change mitigation strategy, particularly when that and similar approaches are seen as 'natural' strategies.

Salmon virus originally from the Atlantic, spread to wild Pacific salmon from farms

Posted: 26 May 2021 12:02 PM PDT

A new study traces the origins of Piscine orthoreovirus to Atlantic salmon farms in Norway and finds that the virus is now almost ubiquitous in salmon farms in British Columbia, Canada.

Study of promising photovoltaic material leads to discovery of a new state of matter

Posted: 26 May 2021 12:01 PM PDT

Researchers have gained new insight into the workings of perovskites, a semiconductor material that shows great promise for making high-efficiency, low-cost solar cells and a range of other optical and electronic devices.

Study finds ongoing evolution in Tasmanian Devils' response to transmissible cancer

Posted: 26 May 2021 12:00 PM PDT

Researchers studied the evolution of Tasmanian devils in response to a unique transmissible cancer. The team found that historic and ongoing evolution are widespread across the devils' genome, but there is little overlap of genes between those two timescales. These findings suggest that if transmissible cancers occurred historically in devils, they imposed natural selection on different sets of genes.

Salmonella use intestinal epithelial cells to colonize the gut

Posted: 26 May 2021 10:21 AM PDT

The immune system's attempt to eliminate Salmonella bacteria from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract instead facilitates colonization of the intestinal tract and fecal shedding, according to scientists.

Scientists find solution to measure harmful plastic particles in human sewage

Posted: 26 May 2021 10:21 AM PDT

Scientists have got up close and personal with human sewage to determine how best to measure hidden and potentially dangerous plastics.

Stormwater could be a large source of microplastics and rubber fragments to waterways

Posted: 26 May 2021 10:21 AM PDT

In cities, heavy rains wash away the gunk collecting on sidewalks and roads, picking up all kinds of debris. However, the amount of microplastic pollution swept away by this runoff is currently unknown. Now, researchers report that stormwater can be a large source of microplastics and rubber fragments to water bodies and, with a proof-of-concept experiment, show that a rain garden could keep these microscopic pieces out of a storm drain.

Geological riddle solved: Roof of the World has gotten higher

Posted: 26 May 2021 10:21 AM PDT

There has long been controversy about whether the world's highest region, Tibet, has grown taller during the recent geological past. New results indicate that the 'Roof of the World' appears to have risen by up to 600 meters and the answer was found in underwater lava. The knowledge sheds new light on Earth's evolution.

Good bacteria can temper chemotherapy side effects

Posted: 26 May 2021 10:21 AM PDT

A new study found that specific types of gut bacteria can protect other good bacteria from cancer treatments -- mitigating harmful, drug-induced changes to the gut microbiome. By metabolizing chemotherapy drugs, the protective bacteria could temper short- and long-term side effects of treatment.

People who eat a plant-based dinner could reduce their risk of heart disease by ten percent

Posted: 26 May 2021 10:21 AM PDT

People who eat too many refined carbs and fatty meats for dinner have a higher risk of heart disease than those who eat a similar diet for breakfast, according to a nationwide study.

Scent trails could boost elephant conservation

Posted: 26 May 2021 10:21 AM PDT

Travelling elephants pay close attention to scent trails of dung and urine left by other elephants, new research shows.

Brain tumors caused by normal neuron activity in mice predisposed to such tumors

Posted: 26 May 2021 10:21 AM PDT

Researchers have found that normal exposure to light can drive the formation and growth of optic nerve tumors in mice -- and maybe people -- with a genetic predisposition. Such tumors can lead to vision loss.

Electric fish -- and humans -- pause before communicating key points

Posted: 26 May 2021 10:21 AM PDT

Electric fish pause before sharing something particularly meaningful. Pauses also prime the sensory systems to receive new and important information. The study reveals an underlying mechanism for how pauses allow neurons in the midbrain to recover from stimulation.

Embryos of many species use sound to prepare for the outside world

Posted: 26 May 2021 10:21 AM PDT

It's well known that reptiles depend on temperature cues while in the egg to determine a hatchling's sex. Now, researchers say that embryos of many different animal species also rely on acoustic signals in important ways. They call this phenomenon 'acoustic developmental programming.'

AI with swarm intelligence

Posted: 26 May 2021 10:21 AM PDT

Researchers have used 'swarm learning' - a novel, artificial intelligence technology - to detect blood cancer, lung diseases and COVID-19 in data stored in a decentralized fashion.

Slender robotic finger senses buried items

Posted: 26 May 2021 10:21 AM PDT

Researchers developed a 'Digger Finger' robot that digs through granular material, like sand and gravel, and senses the shapes of buried objects. The technology could aid in disarming buried bombs or inspecting underground cables.

How the mold influences a chocolate bar's crystalline structure

Posted: 26 May 2021 10:21 AM PDT

When enjoying a chocolate bar, most people don't think about how the molecules within it are organized. But different arrangements of the fats in chocolate can influence its taste and texture. Now, researchers have found that the side of a chocolate bar facing the mold has a more orderly crystalline structure than the side facing air, knowledge that might help chocolatiers produce tastier confections, the researchers say.

Universal travel pattern across four continents

Posted: 26 May 2021 08:56 AM PDT

New research confirms people visit places more frequently when they have to travel shorter distances to get there. The study establishes a 'visitation law' and could help in urban planning.

Journey of PFAS in wastewater facilities highlights regulation challenges

Posted: 26 May 2021 08:55 AM PDT

Researchers have conducted two of the first studies in New England to collectively show that toxic human-made chemicals called PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances), found in everything from rugs to product packaging, end up in the environment differently after being processed through wastewater treatment facilities -- making it more challenging to set acceptable screening levels.

Don't count on caffeine to fight sleep deprivation

Posted: 26 May 2021 08:55 AM PDT

Sleep scientists assessed how effective caffeine was in counteracting the negative effects of sleep deprivation on cognition.

Aquaculture turns biodiversity into uniformity along the coast of China

Posted: 26 May 2021 08:55 AM PDT

Fishery and aquaculture have given rise to an enormous uniformity in the diversity of bivalves along the more than 18,000 kilometer long Chinese coast, biologists report.

The world's smallest fruit picker controlled by artificial intelligence

Posted: 26 May 2021 08:55 AM PDT

Inspired by insects that suck nutrients directly from plant veins, physicists have studied whether valuable chemical substances can be harvested directly from the cells of plants. Using a harvester measuring only a few microns, they have now achieved a technological breakthrough.

Similar states of activity identified in supermassive and stellar mass black holes

Posted: 26 May 2021 08:55 AM PDT

The researchers Juan A. Fernández-Ontiveros, of the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) in Rome and Teo Muñoz-Darias, of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), have written an article in which they describe the different states of activity of a large sample of supermassive black holes in the centres of galaxies.

Non-parents expand 'facial dexterity' in caring for infants among primates

Posted: 26 May 2021 08:55 AM PDT

Non-parents expand the range of their facial expressions in caring for infants among primates. The study shows the ability, among non-relatives, to both decipher facial expressions and to be attuned to others' emotional states, revealing the evolutionary nature of communication.

Warm ice may fracture differently than cold ice

Posted: 26 May 2021 08:55 AM PDT

Researchers have found strong evidence that warm ice - that is, ice very close in temperature to zero degrees Celsius - may fracture differently than the kinds of ice typically studied in laboratories or nature. A new study takes a closer look at the phenomenon.

What causes the deep Earth's most mysterious earthquakes?

Posted: 26 May 2021 08:55 AM PDT

The cause of Earth's deepest earthquakes has been a mystery to science for more than a century, but a team of scientists may have now cracked the case. New research provides evidence that fluids play a key role in deep-focus earthquakes -- which occur between 300 and 700 kilometers below the planet's surface.

Record-shattering 2020 trans-Atlantic dust storm

Posted: 26 May 2021 08:55 AM PDT

Researchers parsing the mechanism that in June 2020 transported a massive dust plume from Saharan Africa to the Caribbean and U.S. Gulf Coast.

Proteomics reveals how exercise increases the efficiency of muscle energy production

Posted: 26 May 2021 08:54 AM PDT

By applying mass spectrometry, scientists provide some of the most detailed data on how mitochondrial proteins cluster into supercomplexes - a process that makes mitochondria more efficient at producing energy.

How antibiotic-filled feces helps 'bessbug' beetles stay healthy

Posted: 26 May 2021 08:54 AM PDT

Researchers have discovered that the frass of the horned passalus beetle is teeming with antibiotic and antifungal chemicals similar to the ones that humans use to ward off bacterial and fungal infections. Understanding the symbiotic relationship between bessbug beetles, actinomycetes and their antimicrobial compounds could help speed the search for new antibiotic drugs, and help doctors create better strategies for preventing the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections.

A new 'gold standard' compound for generating electricity from heat

Posted: 26 May 2021 08:54 AM PDT

Researchers show in a new study that a single material, a layered crystal consisting of the elements rhenium and silicon, turns out to be the gold standard of transverse thermoelectric devices.

Researchers discover fundamental roles of glucosamine in brain

Posted: 26 May 2021 08:47 AM PDT

Using novel imaging methods for studying brain metabolism, researchers have identified the reservoir for a necessary sugar in the brain. Glycogen serves as a storage depot for the sugar glucose.

Hundreds of antibiotic resistant genes found in the gastrointestinal tracts of Danish infants

Posted: 26 May 2021 06:31 AM PDT

Danish one-year-olds carry several hundred antibiotic resistant genes in their bacterial gut flora according to a new study from the University of Copenhagen. The presence of these genes is partly attributable to antibiotic use among mothers during pregnancy.

Understanding of invisible but mighty particles in Earth's radiation belts

Posted: 26 May 2021 06:31 AM PDT

Tiny charged electrons and protons which can damage satellites and alter the ozone have revealed some of their mysteries to scientists.

New tools to battle cancer, advance genomics research

Posted: 26 May 2021 06:31 AM PDT

New approaches to battle cancer have already unearthed a treasure trove of useful data -- and they're now being made available for free.

Small modular reactors competitive in Washington's clean energy future

Posted: 26 May 2021 06:31 AM PDT

A new report finds small modular reactors could provide competitively priced electricity in Washington state's future electricity market.

Slope stability model can help prevent landslides to protect communities and save lives

Posted: 26 May 2021 06:31 AM PDT

Researchers hope industry and governments worldwide will use the SSSAFE model to help early warning systems mitigate landslide risks

Deciphering structure of a toxic matter that destroys the nerves in the brain

Posted: 26 May 2021 06:30 AM PDT

Researchers reveal the structure of a hetero-oligomer nano-aggregate - a substance that causes Parkinson's and dementia - through quadruple force mapping.

Memory details fade over time, with only the main gist preserved

Posted: 26 May 2021 05:50 AM PDT

What information is retained in a memory over time, and which parts get lost? These questions have led to many scientific theories over the years, and now a team of researchers have been able to provide some answers.

Resetting the biological clock by flipping a switch

Posted: 26 May 2021 05:50 AM PDT

The biological clock is present in almost all cells of an organism. As more and more evidence emerges that clocks in certain organs could be out of sync, there is a need to investigate and reset these clocks locally. Scientists from the introduced a light-controlled on/off switch to a kinase inhibitor, which affects clock function. This gives them control of the biological clock in cultured cells and explanted tissue.

Why a vacation seems like it will end as soon as it begins

Posted: 26 May 2021 05:50 AM PDT

Time not only flies when you're having fun - sometimes anticipating a fun event makes it feel like it will be over as soon as it begins, a new study suggests. Researchers found that people judge future positive events as being both farther away as well as shorter in duration than negative or neutral events.

For men, low testosterone means high risk of severe COVID-19, study suggests

Posted: 25 May 2021 08:37 AM PDT

A new study suggests that, among men, low testosterone levels in the blood are linked to more severe COVID-19. The study contradicts widespread assumptions that higher testosterone may explain why men, on average, develop more severe COVID-19 than women do.