- Researchers take 'significant leap forward' with quantum simulation of molecular electron transfer
Researchers have made a meaningful advance in the simulation of molecular electron transfer -- a fundamental process underpinning countless physical, chemical and biological processes. The study details the use of a trapped-ion quantum simulator to model electron transfer dynamics with unprecedented tunability, unlocking new opportunities for scientific exploration in fields ranging from molecular electronics to photosynthesis.
- Breakthrough new material brings affordable, sustainable future within grasp
Researchers have developed a new material for sodium-ion batteries, sodium vanadium phosphate, that delivers higher voltage and greater energy capacity than previous sodium-based materials. This breakthrough could make sodium-ion batteries a more efficient and affordable alternative to lithium-ion, using a more abundant and cost-effective resource.
- Study reveals right whales live 130 years -- or more
New research reveals that right whales can survive for more than 130 years -- almost twice as long as previously understood.
- Research points the way to lifesaving antiparasitic drugs while unlocking a scientific mystery
A breakthrough in understanding how a single-cell parasite makes ergosterol (its version of cholesterol) could lead to more effective drugs for human leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease that afflicts about 1 million people and kills about 30,000 people around the world every year.
- Researchers discover replication hubs for human norovirus
Combining bioinformatics and experimetal approaches, researchers have discovered replication hubs for human norovirus, the leading cause of viral gastroenteritis accounting for an estimated 685 million cases and approximately 212,000 deaths globally per year. The findings could lead to designing antiviral drugs to prevent, control or treat these serious infections.
- Tiny, wireless antennas use light to monitor cellular communication
Researchers developed a biosensing technique that eliminates the need for wires. Instead, tiny, wireless antennas use light to detect minute electrical signals in the solution around them.
- Geothermal aquifers offer green potential but quality checks required
A research team has revealed that to use the aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) system safely over the long term it is crucial to investigate the groundwater quality before operating the system and to continuously monitor the water quality.
- Programming cells: Revolutionizing genetic circuits with cutting-edge RNA tools
Researchers have developed a new technology that improves the precision and integration density of synthetic genetic circuits.
- A tropical disease in Switzerland: Call for coordinated action on Chagas disease
Researchers conducted a comprehensive review of Chagas disease in Switzerland. Although typically found in Latin America, Chagas disease affects between 2,000 and 4,000 people in Switzerland. The review underscores the need for improved screening and healthcare strategies to eliminate Chagas disease in Switzerland.
- Water and gruel -- not bread: Discovering the diet of early Neolithic farmers in Scandinavia
At a Neolithic settlement on the Danish island Funen dating back 5,500 years, archaeologists have discovered both grinding stones and grains from early cereals. However, new research reveals that the inhabitants did not use the stones to grind the cereal grains. Instead of making bread, they likely prepared porridge or gruel from the grains.
- Growing safer spuds: Removing toxins from potatoes
Scientists have discovered a way to remove toxic compounds from potatoes and tomatoes, making them safer to eat and easier to store. The breakthrough could cut food waste and enhance crop farming in extreme environments, like outer space.
- Dripstones offer insights into climate dynamics in Europe
Investigations into precipitation patterns in eastern Central Europe since the end of the last ice age have shown that dynamic processes in atmospheric circulation, such as the North Atlantic jet stream, influence regional changes in precipitation. The researchers analyzed dripstones from caves in Romania, which act as a natural climate archive that allows conclusions to be drawn about precipitation variability over a period of approximately 20,000 years.
- ESA and NASA satellites deliver first joint picture of Greenland Ice Sheet melting
Scientists have delivered the first measurements of Greenland Ice Sheet thickness change using data from ESA and NASA ice satellite missions. With global warming causing the Greenland Ice Sheet to melt and flow more rapidly, raising sea levels and disturbing weather patterns across our planet, precise measurements of its changing shape are of critical importance for tracking and adapting to the effects of climate warming.
- AI-driven approach reveals hidden hazards of chemical mixtures in rivers
Artificial intelligence can provide critical insights into how complex mixtures of chemicals in rivers affect aquatic life -- paving the way for better environmental protection.
- Construction materials and household items are a part of a long-term carbon sink called the 'technosphere'
We know a lot about how much fossil-derived carbon is emitted to the atmosphere but less about how much is stored in human-made products. Ecological economists estimate that each year, humans add around 400 million tons of fossil carbon to long-lasting products such as plastics, buildings, and human infrastructure. Although these products could be considered a 'carbon sink,' proper waste management is essential to prevent them from becoming environmental hazards.
- Pollinators most vulnerable to rising global temperatures are flies, study shows
Despite their reputation as buzzing nuisances, flies serve a critical role as some of the Earth's most prolific pollinators -- and new research suggests they are increasingly at risk due to rising global temperatures.
- Changes in store for atmospheric rivers
Communities up and down the West Coast of the United States can expect atmospheric rivers to evolve as the climate warms. But residents in Southern California will see much different changes than residents in more northerly locations like Seattle
- First results from 2021 rocket launch shed light on aurora's birth
Scientist have begun to reveal the particle-level processes that create the type of auroras that dance rapidly across the sky. The Kinetic-scale Energy and momentum Transport experiment -- KiNET-X -- lifted off from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on May 16, 2021, in the final minutes of the final night of the nine-day launch window.
- Brain inflammation alters behavior according to sex, mouse study finds
Inflammation in the hippocampus -- the brain's memory center -- significantly alters motivation and behavior in mice, according to new research.
- Shiitake-derived functional food shows suppression of liver fibrosis progression
A research team found out how AHCC, a standardized extract of cultured Lentinula edodes mycelia, might be able to suppress the progression of liver fibrosis.
- New software unlocks secrets of cell signaling
SMART, a new software package, can make studying signaling processes significantly easier. Results could accelerate research in fields across the life sciences, such as systems biology, pharmacology and biomedical engineering.
- A user manual for yeast's genetic switches
When introducing genes into yeast to make it produce drugs and other useful substances, it is also necessary to reliably switch the production on or off. Researchers have found three gene regulation design principles that provide a flexible guideline for the effective control of microbiological production.
- More people living without running water in U.S. cities since the global financial crisis, study reveals
More American cities -- even those seen as affluent -- are home to people living without running water as people are being 'squeezed' by unaffordable housing and the cost-of-living crisis, new research finds.
- Tinkering with the 'clockwork' mechanisms of life
Opening new doors for the development of nanotechnologies in medicine and other fields, scientists recreate and compare two natural mechanisms to better program the timescale of molecular communication and functionality.
- A festive flying reptile family reunion 150 million years in the making
A new study finds nearly 50 hidden relatives of Pterodactylus, the first pterosaur. Joined by its newly discovered relatives, Pterodactylus's 'family' now encompasses tiny flaplings, a host of teenagers, some mums and dads and even a few large old seniors. Fluorescing bones stimulated by powerful LED UV torches, revealed invisible details of the head, hands and feet of Pterodactylus.