Earth
CINCINNATI - Infectious disease scientists report early development of a potential universal vaccine for Ebola viruses that preclinical tests show might neutralize all four species of these deadly viruses infecting people in recent outbreaks, mainly in Africa.
Electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) into fuels and value-added feedstocks, ideally if powered by renewable electricity, provides a route to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and simultaneously close the carbon loop. At present, the rational design and controllable synthesis of more efficient catalysts, combined with the understanding of the catalytic mechanism, in order to achieve the industrial application of CO2 electric reduction technology has become the research focus and difficulty.
Ozone levels above the Arctic reached a record low for March, NASA researchers report. An analysis of satellite observations show that ozone levels reached their lowest point on March 12 at 205 Dobson units.
While such low levels are rare, they are not unprecedented. Similar low ozone levels occurred in the upper atmosphere, or stratosphere, in 1997 and 2011. In comparison, the lowest March ozone value observed in the Arctic is usually around 240 Dobson units.
Networks are at the heart of everything from communications systems to pandemics. Now researchers have found that a unique type of network also underlies the structures of critical cellular compartments known as membraneless organelles. These findings may provide key insights into the role of these structures in both disease and cellular operations.
When a patient with puzzling neurological symptoms enrolled in the Undiagnosed Diseases Network, researchers led by Dr. Hugo J. Bellen were set on solving the mystery. The patient presented with an unidentified late-onset neurodegenerative disorder. The team named this new syndrome "Mitchell disease" in reference to the first patient to be diagnosed with this disorder and looked to identify its genetic basis.
Researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and their colleagues used a new geochemical tool to shed light on the origin of nitrogen and other volatile elements on Earth, which may also prove useful as a way to monitor the activity of volcanoes. Their findings were published April 16, 2020, in the journal Nature.
The researchers say their results, using an atomically thin material, hexagonal boron nitride, constitute a significant step forward in understanding light-matter interactions of quantum systems in 2D materials, and the journey towards scalable on-chip devices for quantum technologies. The study is published in Advanced Materials.
Humans aren't the only primates who like smelling nice for their dates. In the journal Current Biology on April 16, scientists report that male ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) become more attractive to females by secreting a fruity and floral aroma from their wrists. Using detailed chemical analysis, the researchers identified three compounds responsible for this sweet scent, marking the first time that pheromones have been identified in a primate.
Three chemicals with floral, fruity scents are likely essential ingredients in the natural cologne male ring-tailed lemurs use to attract a mate. Experts in odor communication say these chemicals could be the first fully identified sex pheromones in primates.
Research published in the Journal of Animal Ecology reveals a new mechanism of how grey squirrels affect native red squirrels in Europe through parasite-mediated competition.
An international team from universities in Italy and Belgium used a natural experiment of populations of native red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) co-inhabiting with alien grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) to investigate the impact of a parasitic helminth (worm) transmitted by grey squirrels, Strongyloides robustus, on naive red squirrels' personality.
Extreme flooding events in some US coastal areas could double every five years if sea levels continue to rise as expected, a study published in Scientific Reports suggests. Today's 'once-in-a-lifetime' extreme water levels -- which are currently reached once every 50 years -- may be exceeded daily along most of the US coastline before the end of the 21st century.
From next-gen smartphones to longer-range electric cars and an improved power grid, better batteries are driving tech innovation. And to push batteries beyond their present-day performance, researchers want to see "under the hood" to learn how the individual ingredients of battery materials behave beneath the surface.
This could ultimately lead to battery improvements such as increased capacity and voltage.
Tofu, soy milk and veggie mince. More and more Danes are opting to supplement or completely replace their consumption of animal-based proteins with plant-based proteins. Climate considerations are part of their reasoning.
We often use soy-based protein when experimenting with vegetarian cooking. But, new research from the University of Copenhagen's Department of Food Science demonstrates that fava beans hold great promise as a non-soy source of plant protein. Moreover, favas are a better alternative for the environment:
Understanding droplet formation in pure water in a controlled lab setting is challenging enough, but in the atmosphere, droplets form in the presence of many other substances.
Some of them, like nitrogen, oxygen and argon, do not interact much with water and are easy to account for. The complications arise from surface-active species, namely substances that prefer to stay on the surface of the droplet.
Sensors can intercept distress signals within plants to reveal how they respond to different types of stress
Plant responses can be sent directly to remote electronic devices such as cell phones, allowing remote, real-time tracking
Nanobionic approach has a range of applications including studying how to improve crop yield in urban farms
The technology can potentially be applied to all types of plants