Earth

Upset by something unpleasant? We have all been there. Fortunately, it also passes. A new day, a new beginning. At least: if you have restful REM sleep. Researchers at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience discovered why you will be better able to bear tomorrow what you are distressed about today. And why that can go wrong.

Siren of the brain

An international research team has revealed a novel mechanism for the perception of endogenous peptides by a plant receptor. The discovery of this activation mechanism sets a new paradigm for how plants react to internal and external cues. The study 'Mechanisms of RALF peptide perception by a heterotypic receptor complex' was published today in the journal Nature.

In recent years, quantum devices have become available that enable researchers — for the first time — to use real quantum hardware to begin to solve scientific problems. However, in the near term, the number and quality of qubits (the basic unit of quantum information) for quantum computers are expected to remain limited, making it difficult to use these machines for practical applications.

Brazilian and European researchers have demonstrated exactly how a nanotechnology-based compound delivers an oral vaccine against hepatitis B to the immune system. When particles containing silica and an antigen combine, even though they are different sizes, they reach the intestine without being destroyed by the acidity of the digestive system.

A compound of nanostructured SBA-15 silica and HBsAg, the hepatitis B surface antigen, was submitted to different types of X-ray imaging in European laboratories.

Online virtual worlds can help social movements raise awareness and create safe spaces for their members, according to a new study by an academic at the University of East Anglia (UEA).

The research examined how an LGBT group used a virtual world for their own cause, which was different to its intended design. These worlds are immersive, three-dimensional environments, where users create an avatar, or character, that enables them to interact with other users.

Flexible electronics is one of the most important trends in technology today. The market is growing so fast that it is expected to double in value in the next decade.

In order to create new and more efficient computers, medical devices, and other advanced technologies, researchers are turning to nanomaterials: materials manipulated on the scale of atoms or molecules that exhibit unique properties.

In the world of biology, each individual cell also has many moving parts and pieces, each with specific roles and places to be. If one of those pieces isn't working correctly, it can affect the entire cell.

For the past five years, researchers at Brigham Young University have studied protein complexes that have the job of regulating cell growth and survival, processes that are essential for cells the grow healthily. Consequently, these protein complexes are also a target for cancer and other diseases.

Researchers at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering have developed an ultra-sensitive light-detecting system that could enable astronomers to view galaxies, stars and planetary systems in superb detail.

Researchers studying the impact of fatigue on athletic performance have developed prototype software that can enable coaches to predict when elite athletes will be too fatigued to perform at their best.

QUT's Dr Paul Wu led the study published today in the journal PLOS One.

The research, which applies the tools of statistics to physiology research, provides new insights for athletes and their coaches into how best to manage and predict fatigue levels.

In very hot or cold environments, conventional tape can lose its stickiness and leave behind an annoying residue. But while most people can avoid keeping taped items in a hot car or freezer, those living in extreme environments such as deserts and the Antarctic often can't avoid such conditions. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' journal Nano Letters say they have developed a new nanomaterial tape that can function over a wide temperature range.

Scientists seeking to bring to Earth the fusion that powers the sun and stars must control the hot, charged plasma -- the state of matter composed of free-floating electrons and atomic nuclei, or ions -- that fuels fusion reactions. For scientists who confine the plasma in magnetic fields, a key task calls for mapping the shape of the fields, a process known as measuring the equilibrium, or stability, of the plasma. At the U.S.

DURHAM, N.H. - As the summer months heat up, so will the asphalt and other materials used to make roads. Pavements, which are vulnerable to increased temperatures and excessive flooding due to sea level rise, can crack and crumble. Climate change can be a major contributor and as greenhouse gas emissions continue, which scientists say have caused an increase in global temperatures since the mid-20th century, these issues are projected to accelerate.

A massive complex of thunderstorms over the southeastern United States slid into the northeastern Gulf of Mexico and now has the potential to develop into a tropical cyclone. NOAA's National Hurricane Center or NHC in Miami, Florida issued the first advisory of Potential Tropical Cyclone Two and NOAA's GOES-East satellite and NASA's GPM satellite provided views of the storm.

GP in England are prescribing fewer antibiotics and when they prescribe them they are increasingly choosing drugs that target a narrow range of organisms rather than broad spectrum antibiotics, suggests new research from King's College London published online in BMJ Open.

However, falls in GPs' rates of prescribing have been smaller in some groups of patients, in particular patients aged over 55 and those with no clear diagnosis.