Tech
Everybody is talking about microplastics. But the amount of microplastics in air and water is small compared to another polymer that pollutes our air and water - and therefore our organism: Micro rubber. These are the finest particles from tyre abrasion, which enter our soil and air via the road surface or are removed by artificial turf. Empa researchers have now calculated that over the last 30 years, from 1988 to 2018, around 200,000 tonnes of micro rubber have accumulated in our environment in Switzerland.
Thermoelectric materials can convert heat into electrical energy. This is due to the so-called Seebeck effect: If there is a temperature difference between the two ends of such a material, electrical voltage can be generated and current can start to flow. The amount of electrical energy that can be generated at a given temperature difference is measured by the so-called ZT value: The higher the ZT value of a material, the better its thermoelectric properties.
Typhoons and marine eutrophication are probably the missing source of organic nitrogen in ecosystems
Atmospheric nitrogen deposition has a significant impact on both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and alterations in its level will significantly affect the productivity and stability of an ecosystem. In recent years, with the reduction of anthropogenic inorganic nitrogen emissions, interest in organic nitrogen (ON) has increased because it represents a large fraction of total nitrogen. Given this large amount of ON deposition, researchers are interested in identifying its sources.
Amsterdam, NL, November 14, 2019 - Relatively new research findings indicating that the earliest stages of Parkinson's disease (PD) may occur in the gut have been gaining traction in recent years.
Philadelphia, Pa. - (November 16) - Some chemical alternatives to plastic bisphenol-a (BPA), which is still commonly used in medical settings such as operating rooms and intensive care units, may be less disruptive to heart electrical function than BPA, according to a pre-clinical study that explored how the structural analogues bisphenol-s (BPS) and bisphenol-f (BPF) interact with the chemical and electrical functions of heart cells.
The ocean hosts an inconceivable wealth of marine life and diverse habitats, most of which remains unknown and unseen. International plans to mine minerals from the deep seafloor threaten this largely unexplored biodiversity hotspot. States are currently seeking to develop a legal framework for deep seabed mining.
COLUMBUS, Ohio--Mobile apps that work with Bluetooth devices have an inherent design flaw that makes them vulnerable to hacking, new research has found.
The problem lies in the way Bluetooth Low Energy devices - a type of Bluetooth used by most modern gadgets - communicate with the mobile apps that control them, said Zhiqiang Lin, associate professor of computer science and engineering at The Ohio State University. Lin presented the findings this week at the Association for Computing Machinery's Conference on Computer and Communications Security (ACM CCS 2019).
Tropical Storm Fengshen's cold cloud top temperatures revealed that the storm was maintaining strength as a strong tropical storm. Forecasters expect Fengshen will continue strengthening and reach typhoon status.
One of the ways NASA researches tropical cyclones is by using infrared data that provides temperature information. The AIRS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured a look at the temperatures in Fengshen which gave insight into the storm's strength.
All plants need carbon dioxide, or CO2 to live. They extract it from the air and use it during the photosynthesis process to feed themselves.
But what happens to aquatic plants? How do they get carbon dioxide?
ST. LOUIS - Since the 1990s, scientists have been exploring the possibilities of miniaturized chemical "laboratories" on a chip, which have potential as point-of-care diagnostics, analysis kits for field research and someday even conducting chemical tests on other planets.
In a normal lab, chemists use beakers to mix chemicals and study reactions. In a miniaturized laboratory, microfluidic systems can conduct chemical experiments on a chip through a series of small connected tubes the size of a hair.
Language research has documented that people tend to draw inferences about speakers based on how they talk. These often implicit inferences can occur in the blink of an eye and can affect how smart we think someone is, how much we like them, and more. This is also the case for the non-native accents typically present in speakers who learn a new language later in life.
New Haven, Conn. -- The transition to electronic health records (EHRs) was supposed to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare for doctors and patients alike -- but these technologies get an "F" rating for usability from health care professionals, and may be contributing to high rates of professional burnout, according to a new Yale-led study.
By contrast, Google's search engine earned an "A" and ATMs a "B" in similar but separate studies. Like EHRs, the spreadsheet software Excel got an "F."
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Race-based discrimination and stereotypes are ubiquitous in the online communities and mobile apps that gay and bisexual men use to search for sexual and romantic partners, research indicates.
But because racialized sexual discrimination - also called sexual racism - is a relatively new area of study, researchers currently don't have a tool for measuring its impact on the well-being of men of color who use these websites, according to University of Illinois social work professor Ryan Wade.
Tropical Cyclone Kalmaegi is still experiencing wind shear and those winds have continued to displace the strongest storms north of the cyclone's center. NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed overhead and identified those strong storms using infrared light.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- For years, physicists have assumed that Cooper pairs, the electron duos that enable superconductors to conduct electricity without resistance, were two-trick ponies. The pairs either glide freely, creating a superconducting state, or create an insulating state by jamming up within a material, unable to move at all.