ScienceDaily: Top News

New DNA study provides critical information on conserving rainforest lizards

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 01:07 PM PDT

Researchers have provided an important road map to conserving rough-nosed horned lizards in Sri Lanka.

Thawing permafrost releases greenhouse gas from depth

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 01:07 PM PDT

Geologists compared the spatial and temporal distribution of methane concentrations in the air of northern Siberia with geological maps. The result: the methane concentrations in the air after last year's heat wave indicate that increased gas emissions came from limestone formations.

Why is this weird, metallic star hurtling out of the Milky Way?

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 01:06 PM PDT

About 2,000 light-years away from Earth, there is a star catapulting toward the edge of the Milky Way. This particular star is one of a unique breed of fast-moving stars -- remnant pieces of massive white dwarf stars -- that have survived in chunks after a gigantic stellar explosion.

Synthetic hinge could hold key to revolutionary 'smart' insulin therapy

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 01:06 PM PDT

For people with diabetes who are insulin dependent, glycemic control is a full-time job. But what if their medication could do the work for them -- an insulin whose activity in the bloodstream responds to the blood glucose levels and adjusts accordingly? A new invention could lead to just that.

Seeing better by looking away

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 01:06 PM PDT

When we fixate an object, its image does not appear at the place where photoreceptors are packed most densely. Instead, its position is shifted slightly nasally and upwards from the cellular peak. Researchers observed such offsets in both eyes of 20 healthy subjects, and speculate that the underlying fixation behavior improves overall vision.

How headless hydra feel, react to prodding

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 01:06 PM PDT

Researchers identify redundant neural networks in jellyfish-like, freshwater hydra. The work is a step toward modeling how internal states and external stimuli shape the behavior of an organism with a highly dynamic neural architecture.

New treatment option for advanced urothelial cancer patients shows promise in a phase 2 clinical trial

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 01:06 PM PDT

A new treatment for advanced urothelial cancer was effective with tolerable side effects in an international, multi-center phase 2 clinical trial. The trial results prompted a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accelerated approval of the treatment on April 13, giving patients with this very aggressive type of cancer a new therapeutic option.

Decoding how salamanders walk

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 11:02 AM PDT

Salamanders can navigate complex and unstructured environments thanks to their impressive body-limb coordination. Researchers have built a model that mimics a salamander's walk with the hope it aids the development of agile and adaptive robots that can flexibly change their body-limb coordination.

Finding the cause of a fatal problem in rocket engine combustors

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 11:01 AM PDT

A vital piece of gas engines, combustors -- the chambers in which the combustion powering the engine occurs -- have the problem of breaking down due to fatal high-frequency oscillations during the combustion process. Now, through advanced time-series analyses based on complex systems, researchers have found what causes them, opening up novel paths to solving the problem.

Scientists boost gene knockdown in human cells via chemically modified RNA CRISPR

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 11:01 AM PDT

In the latest of ongoing efforts to expand technologies for modifying genes and their expression, researchers have developed chemically modified guide RNAs for a CRISPR system that targets RNA instead of DNA. These chemically-modified guide RNAs significantly enhance the ability to target -- trace, edit, and/or knockdown -- RNA in human cells.

Flood water: Toxins from the riverbed

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 11:01 AM PDT

A long-term hazard from flood water is often underestimated: The raging rivers swirl up pollutants out of their sediments that stem from environmental pollution decades or centuries ago. Such harmful substances can not only cause ecological damage in the river. They can also deposit themselves on flooded areas and affect crops, grazing livestock and humans.

Natural mineral hackmanite enables new method of x-ray imaging

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 11:01 AM PDT

Researchers have discovered a new method of X-ray imaging based on the coloring abilities of the natural mineral hackmanite. The international group of researchers also found out how and why hackmanite changes color upon exposure to X-rays.

Molecular switch regulates fat burning in mice

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 11:01 AM PDT

New research demonstrates a metabolic regulatory molecule called Them1 prevents fat burning in cells by blocking access to their fuel source. The study may contribute to the development of a new type of obesity treatment.

Low-power dynamic manipulation of single nanoscale quantum objects

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 11:01 AM PDT

Electrical engineers are powering the quantum computing revolution with the development of an on-demand, scalable technique to manipulate nanoscale nanodiamonds.

Cutting 250 calories daily and exercising may improve heart health in obese older adults

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 11:01 AM PDT

Among older adults with obesity, combining aerobic exercise with moderate reductions in total daily calories led to greater improvements in vascular health compared to exercise alone. Reducing calorie intake by approximately 250 calories per day may lead to significant weight loss and improve vascular health in older adults with obesity.

Drug-resistant germ packs punch to US travelers

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 11:01 AM PDT

One type of the salmonella bacteria is much more likely to cause disease and fend off frontline antibiotics when acquired in Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa rather than domestically in the United States.

Cracking the code of crack propagation in rubberlike materials

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 11:00 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a simplified mathematical model (step-loading model, SLM) that unifies two earlier mechanisms to describe the velocity jump in crack propagation. Through SLM, they showed that the near-tip mechanical behavior observed from one analysis is derived from the dynamic glass transition at the crack tip described in another proposal, thus merging the two distinct analyses, and demonstrating that the velocity jump occurs in many materials.

Oxygen spike coincided with ancient global extinction

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 08:50 AM PDT

Researchers have found that the extinction at the end of the Permian period coincided with a sudden spike and subsequent drop in the ocean's oxygen content.

Sea levels influence eruptions on volcanic island

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 08:50 AM PDT

The rise and fall of sea levels influence the likelihood of volcanic eruptions on the Greek island of Santorini, new research has discovered. Analyzing the timings of eruptions over hundreds of thousands of years, the researchers found that a 40 meter fall in sea level is a crucial point beyond which eruptions are more likely to occur. The findings could have implications for millions of people living on volcanic islands around the world.

Internet CBT for depression reviewed and analyzed

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 08:50 AM PDT

Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for depression is often just as effective as traditional CBT. This is clear from an international study. However, some online treatments have components that can potentially be harmful.

Like matryoshka dolls: One insect species introduced decades ago to a small island had an effect on several insect populations

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 08:50 AM PDT

Researchers thought 30 years ago that they just introduced some Glanville fritillary butterfly larvae on a small island in the Åland islands, Finland. Little did they know that within the butterfly larvae there nested two other insect species and a bacterial symbiont. This created a unique opportunity to study how a local accidental introduction of insects can affect the dynamics and genetics of the neighbouring populations.

Pulsed lasers in liquids speed up hunt for effective catalysts

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 08:49 AM PDT

Researchers document how the technique quickly produces arrays of highly active, carefully tuned nanoparticles with remarkably uniform properties that can be compared and tested for use as catalysts, far more quickly than traditional wet lab methods.

Russian Arctic losing billions of tons of ice as climate warms

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 08:49 AM PDT

Glaciers and ice caps in two archipelagos in the Russian Arctic are losing enough meltwater to fill nearly five million Olympic-size swimming pools each year, research shows.

Atomic-level, 3-D structure of MUTYH protein opens small window into DNA repair mechanism

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 08:49 AM PDT

A research team has analyzed the three-dimensional structure of a protein that suppresses the development of colorectal polyposis, MUTYH, at the atomic level and clarified the repair mechanism for DNA mispairings. Since mutations in the MUTYH gene cause heritable colorectal polyposis, which leads to colorectal cancer, the researchers expect that this work will be useful for future research on heritable colorectal polyposis associated with MUTYH.

Stinkweed could make a cleaner bio-jet fuel, study finds

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 08:49 AM PDT

A common farm weed could make a 'greener' jet fuel with fewer production-related environmental impacts than other biofuels, a new study indicates.

Overfishing and other human pressures are severely harming many marine protected areas around the world, study finds

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 08:49 AM PDT

A new study points to a strong 'edge effect' in marine protected areas (MPAs), sharply reducing by 60 percent the fish population living up to 1 - 1.5 km within the MPA. This significantly diminishes the effectiveness of the MPA. Most of the damage stems from fishing pressure around the MPAs.

Birnessite study offers insights for electrochemistry, energy storage

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 08:49 AM PDT

The adsorption of ions from the electrolyte at an electrode surface is a ubiquitous process, of use for both existing and emerging electrochemical energy technologies. But what happens when these ions penetrate very small spaces? To address this question, researchers examined the behavior of birnessite.

New material offers ecofriendly solution to converting waste heat into energy

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 08:49 AM PDT

Scientists have demonstrated a high-performing thermoelectric material in a practical form that can be used in device development. The material -- purified tin selenide in polycrystalline form -- outperforms the single-crystal form in converting heat to electricity, making it the most efficient thermoelectric system on record. A key application target of thermoelectric devices is capturing industrial waste heat, with potentially enormous energy savings.

Lake Huron sinkhole surprise: The rise of oxygen on early Earth linked to changing planetary rotation rate

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 08:44 AM PDT

The rise of oxygen levels early in Earth's history paved the way for the spectacular diversity of animal life. But for decades, scientists have struggled to explain the factors that controlled this gradual and stepwise process, which unfolded over nearly 2 billion years.

Common insecticide is harmful to bees in any amount

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 07:30 AM PDT

The dangers of neonicotinoid insecticides likely can't be watered down. That's the conclusion of a new study showing an insecticide made for commercial plant nurseries is harmful to a typical bee even when applied well below the label rate and the plant receives high levels of irrigation.

Host proteins that impair Ebola virus infection identified

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 07:30 AM PDT

Several proteins have been identified in hosts that interact with Ebola virus and primarily function to inhibit the production of viral genetic material in cells and prevent Ebola virus infection, according to a new study.

New York City's hidden old-growth forests

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 07:30 AM PDT

Tree-ring scientists have mined rare old-growth timbers from demolition at an iconic Manhattan building to produce historical and climate data. Ongoing salvage efforts at other buildings promise to expand on these findings.

Plastic creates 'evolutionary trap' for young sea turtles

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 07:30 AM PDT

Plastic pollution creates an 'evolutionary trap' for young sea turtles, new research shows. After hatching on beaches, sea turtles travel on currents and spend their early years in the open ocean. But these currents now accumulate vast quantities of plastic and -- feeding near the surface -- many young turtles swallow it.

Transforming amber waves of grain: New genome assembly for 'Fielder' wheat cultivar

Posted: 30 Jul 2021 07:43 AM PDT

Researchers have established an accurate genome assembly of 'Fielder' wheat, which -- unlike other wheat cultivars -- is very amenable to genetic editing through bacterial transformation. This genome sequence was generated using a technique that is easier than previous sequencing methods. The development has important implications for wheat genome-editing research and agriculture.