Tech
DURHAM, N.H.-- As the Trump administration opens millions of acres of once protected land and coastline for oil and natural gas exploration, there is mounting concern about the potential impact on the environment as well as those who enjoy the outdoors. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire took a closer look at one of these industries, shale natural gas energy development (SGD), and how it is affecting the experiences of outdoor recreationists, like hikers and campers.
A novel structural color soft robot with both color-changing and locomotion capabilities has been developed by a research team led by Dr. DU Xuemin from the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Volunteer snorkelers and scuba divers have been helping capture images of reef manta rays to better protect the threatened species.
The University of Queensland initiative - Project Manta - relied on these citizen scientists to photograph or video individual reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) across Australia's east coast.
UQ PhD candidate Asia Armstrong, who led the study, hopes the data will inform conservation planning and management along the coast.
"Manta rays are a great ambassador species for conservation," Ms Armstrong said.
New research published in Molecular Cell on 31 July 2019 conducted by researchers from the University of Konstanz's Collaborative Research Centre 969 "Chemical and Biological Principles of Cellular Proteostasis" shows that the nascent polypeptide-associated complex (NAC) acts as a major protein identifying and, possibly, sorting device inside the cell.
The discovery that an essential protein plays a protective role during cell division, could open the door to better targeted treatment of fast-growing cancer cells.
Polo-like kinase (PLK1) was previously thought to have a major function - helping chromosome alignment during mitosis for cell division.
But scientists at the Genome Damage and Stability Centre (GDSC) at the University of Sussex, have found that it also plays a crucial protective role, guarding against severe DNA damage caused during mitosis in cultured human cells.
Researchers at the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw, Poland used liquid crystal elastomer technology to demonstrate a bio-inspired microrobot capable of mimicking the adhesive locomotion of snails and slugs in natural scale. The 10-millimeter long soft robot harvests energy from a laser beam and can crawl on horizontal surfaces, climb vertical walls and an upside-down glass ceiling.
The properties of many materials can change permanently when they are pushed beyond their limits. When a given material is subjected to a force, or 'load', which is stronger than a certain limit, it can become so deformed that it won't return to its original shape, even after the load is removed. However, heavy loads aren't strictly necessary to deform materials irreversibly; this can also occur if they are subjected to lighter loads over long periods of time, allowing a slow process called 'creep' to take place.
CABI has led an international team of scientists who strongly suggest that the global trade of forest tree seeds is not as safe as previously believed, with insect pests and fungal pathogens posing a great risk to trees and forest ecosystems worldwide.
Non-native insect pests and fungal pathogens present one of the major threats to trees and forest ecosystems globally, with the potential to cause significant ecological changes and economic losses.
Data from over 12,000 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients formed the basis of a study by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) which investigated the population's vaccination behavior in relation to MS. It showed that five years before their diagnosis, MS patients were statistically less likely to receive vaccinations than comparator groups. Consequently, there was no positive correlation between vaccinations and the development of MS.
In almost all situations, even in a vacuum, light cannot travel endlessly without dissipating. Pulses of light known as solitons that propagate along fibres for long distances without changing their shape or losing focus have found applications in data transmission, but even these gradually dissipate unless the medium they travel through has ultra-low absorbance. Nikolay Rosanov of the National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics, and Optics (ITMO), St.
While structures which emulate foam-like arrangements of bubbles are lightweight and cheap to build, they are also remarkably stable. The bubbles which cover the iconic Beijing Aquatics Centre, for example, each have the same volume, but are arranged in a way which minimises the total area of the structure - optimising the building's construction. The mathematics underlying this behaviour is now well understood, but if the areas of the bubbles are not equal, the situation becomes more complicated.
Worcester, Mass. - July 31, 2019 - Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) have developed a chip made of carbon nanotubes that can capture circulating tumor cells (CTCs) of all sizes and types, and can do so with far greater sensitivity than existing technologies. The unique design of the device makes it possible to easily identify and even culture the captured cells, which could make it possible to detect early-stage tumors, predict the course of a cancer, and monitor the effects of therapy.
Since 1995, parents in many Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries and in the United States have been having their first babies at a later age. Amid this trend in delayed childbearing, a new Dutch study considered the behavior problems of children born to older parents. Specifically, researchers looked at externalizing behaviors (e.g., aggression) and internalizing behaviors (e.g., anxiety, depression) of children born to older parents when the youth were 10 to 12 years old.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (July 31, 2019)--Diabetes is a global health concern expected to affect 693 million people worldwide by 2045. It's been well documented how diet and exercise influence risk of type 2 diabetes; however, a new study suggests that early menarche also is associated with a higher risk, but body mass index (BMI) may mediate this association. Study results are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).
Just as we blend, cut, and fold ingredients together to follow a recipe, farmers use equipment to stir together soil and crop residue (stalks and roots of previous crops) before planting. This mechanical action is called tillage.
Similar to our kitchen cupboard with a blender, mixer, and beater, farmers have access to a variety of tillage equipment. Farmers choose the "right" piece of tillage based on many factors, including location, soil type, crop, and landscape.