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Published New tool reveals gene behavior in bacteria
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers showed that the way in which genes are turned on and off as bacteria grow provide clues to their regulation.
Published Chemists use the blockchain to simulate over 4 billion chemical reactions essential to the origins of life
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Cryptocurrency is usually 'mined' through the blockchain by asking a computer to perform a complicated mathematical problem in exchange for tokens of cryptocurrency. But now a team of chemists have repurposed this process, asking computers to instead generate the largest network ever created of chemical reactions which may have given rise to prebiotic molecules on early Earth.
Published Syphilis-like diseases were widespread in Americas before arrival of Columbus, researchers find
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered the genetic material of the pathogen Treponema pallidum in the bones of people who died in Brazil 2,000 years ago. This is the oldest verified discovery of this pathogen thus far, and it proves that humans were suffering from diseases akin to syphilis -- known as treponematoses -- long before Columbus's discovery of America. The new findings call into question previous theories concerning the spread of syphilis by the Spanish conquistadors.
Published Global groundwater depletion is accelerating, but is not inevitable
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Groundwater is rapidly declining across the globe, often at accelerating rates. Researchers now present the largest assessment of groundwater levels around the world, spanning nearly 1,700 aquifers. In addition to raising the alarm over declining water resources, the work offers instructive examples of where things are going well, and how groundwater depletion can be solved. The study is a boon for scientists, policy makers and resource managers working to understand global groundwater dynamics.
Published Atmospheric pressure changes could be driving Mars' elusive methane pulses
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research shows that atmospheric pressure fluctuations that pull gases up from underground could be responsible for releasing subsurface methane into Mars' atmosphere; knowing when and where to look for methane can help the Curiosity rover search for signs of life.
Published New pieces in the puzzle of first life on Earth
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Microorganisms were the first forms of life on our planet. The clues are written in 3.5 billion-year-old rocks by geochemical and morphological traces, such as chemical compounds or structures that these organisms left behind. However, it is still not clear when and where life originated on Earth and when a diversity of species developed in these early microbial communities. Evidence is scarce and often disputed. Now, researchers have uncovered key findings about the earliest forms of life. In rock samples from South Africa, they found evidence dating to around 3.42 billion years ago of an unprecedentedly diverse carbon cycle involving various microorganisms. This research shows that complex microbial communities already existed in the ecosystems during the Palaeoarchaean period.
Published New model predicts how shoe properties affect a runner's performance
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new model predicts how shoe properties will affect a runner's performance. The model could be a tool for designers looking to push the boundaries of sneaker design.
Published New study unveils how plants control the production of reactive oxygen species
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Reactive oxygen species (ROS), though generally regarded as toxic byproducts of biological processes, serve many important functions in plants. However, the precise mechanism that plants use to regulate the production of ROS remains elusive. In a recent study, researchers clarified how an important ROS-generating enzyme is activated, revealing mechanisms likely conserved across all land plants. Their findings could pave the way for breakthroughs in agricultural and environmental remediation tools.
Published World's largest database of weeds lets scientists peer into the past, and future, of global agriculture
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new database of weeds that can help scientists understand how traditional agricultural systems were managed throughout history, could also provide insights into how global trends like the climate crisis could affect the resilience of our modern day food systems.
Published Live animal transport regulations not 'fit for purpose', major international study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A 'fitness check' of regulations in five countries meant to protect animals during transportation, has deemed that they all fall short of fully protecting animals during transport. Findings from this interdisciplinary work involving animal welfare scientists and a law lecturer which compared animal transport rules designed to protect the billions of livestock that are transported on lengthy journeys in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, EU (including UK) and US, highlights serious failures.
Published Gravity helps show strong force strength in the proton
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research conducted by nuclear physicists is using a method that connects theories of gravitation to interactions among the smallest particles of matter. The result is insight into the strong force, a powerful mediator of particle interactions in the subatomic realm. The research has revealed, for the first time, a snapshot of the distribution of the shear strength of the strong force inside the proton -- or how strong an effort must be to overcome the strong force to move an object it holds in its grasp. At its peak, the nuclear physicists found that a force of over four metric tons would be required to overcome the binding power of the strong force.
Published Injectable water filtration system could improve access to clean drinking water around the world
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new portable filtration system collects dirty water with a syringe and injects it into a hydrogel filter that weeds out nearly all tiny particles.
Published A new 3D bioprinted model offers a novel tool to study common liver disease, and perhaps find an effective treatment
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Metabolic dysfunction--associated steatohepatitis or MASH (formerly known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis) is an inflammatory, liver-scarring disease that affects 1.5% to 6.5% of all U.S. adults. There are no approved pharmacological therapies for MASH and in the most severe case, the only recourse is liver transplantation.
Published Study offers rare long-term analysis of techniques for creating standing dead trees for wildlife habitat
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Ecologists have long known that standing dead trees, commonly referred to as snags, are an important habitat element for forest dwellers and act as a driver of biodiversity. They're so important that in some managed forests, snag creation is part of the conservation tool kit -- i.e., crews sometimes convert a percentage of live trees into dead ones through techniques ranging from sawing off their tops to wounding their trunks to injecting them with disease-causing fungi.
Published Marine heat waves trigger shift in hatch dates and early growth of Pacific cod
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Marine heat waves appear to trigger earlier reproduction, high mortality in early life stages and fewer surviving juvenile Pacific cod in the Gulf of Alaska, a new study shows. These changes in the hatch cycle and early growth patterns persisted in years following the marine heat waves, which could have implications for the future of Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod, an economically and culturally significant species.
Published When lab-trained AI meets the real world, 'mistakes can happen'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Human pathologists are extensively trained to detect when tissue samples from one patient mistakenly end up on another patient's microscope slides (a problem known as tissue contamination). But such contamination can easily confuse artificial intelligence (AI) models, which are often trained in pristine, simulated environments, reports a new study. Each of the four AI models in the study paid too much attention to the tissue contamination, which resulted in errors when diagnosing or detecting vessel damage, gestational age, lesions and prostate cancer, the study found.
Published New video camera system captures the colored world that animals see, in motion
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new camera system allows ecologists and filmmakers to produce videos that accurately replicate the colors that different animals see in natural settings.
Published When conditions cool down, a bacterial prey species becomes the predator
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a new study, two species of bacteria grown in a lab reversed their predator-prey relationship after one species was grown at a lower temperature.
Published Mind the (green) gap
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Color mixing is the process of combining two or more colors: red and green make yellow, blue and red make purple, red and green and blue make white. This process of mixing colors is the basis for the future of solid-state lighting. While currently white light is achieved by phosphor down-conversion, LED color mixing actually has a higher theoretical maximum efficiency, which is needed in order to achieve the 2035 DOE energy efficiency goals. Despite the potential efficiency of color-mixed LED sources, there exists one significant challenge: green. The 'green gap' is described as the lack of suitable green LEDs. Current green LEDs are made from state-of-the-art hexagonal III-nitride but only reach one third of the efficiency goals laid out in the 2035 DOE roadmap.
Published As a carbon offset, cookstove emission credits are greatly overestimated
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source On the global carbon market, credits for distributing efficient cookstoves in countries that traditionally burn wood or kerosene are the fastest growing type of offset traded. A new study evaluates these credits against published data on cookstove efficiency and usage and concludes that cookstove offsets are 10 times overvalued. The group offers guidance for choosing carbon offsets from cookstoves projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the impact on health, and for revising offset programs to avoid excess crediting.